Anyone Else Soured on Dining Out?

[CaptTom]

I grill outdoors all year round in Maine. Granted, some days just aren't worth the effort, but a better day always comes along soon enough.

 

[Music Lover]

I will use the barbeque as low as -15C or so (5F) and it works just fine. Any colder and I can't be bothered.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

All the above are GREAT reasons why not to eat out as much. Not to mention typically one gets better healthier food, with less salt and fat and better fresher ingredients when DW or DH or whoever cooks at home. Oh, and there are the savings too.

 

[pacergal]

We don't eat out as much as before, generally do pick up and eat at home.
this weekend, we had the kids/grands over for dinner. Picked up from our favorite Chinese restaurant. $138 for 6 entrees. It fed everyone, 6 adults 3 kids, including 6'4" 16 yr old football playing grandson! Then DH and I had leftovers for 3 meals. Did I mention their portions are pretty big?
I think we got our moneys worth! And it's is pretty darn good food. The Chinese couple who own it have been there for years.

 

[Scuba]

And highly inflationary because of the dominoes.

Yep. Hence the high migration rate out of CA. It was already relatively expensive before this. Fast food doesn’t personally affect me as we rarely if ever eat it, but as mentioned this will impact other restaurant wages as well as wages for lots of other low skilled jobs.

 

[Scuba]

Sorry, not sure I understand your point. There are typically plenty of folks who are unskilled. True, birth rates are falling, but millions of people do not attend college/trade schools. If inflation continues, the ranks of unskilled seniors will also swell.



But my take is that rising minimum wages will price unskilled labor out of the market. Machines may well replace most unskilled labor. Kinda sad, really. Unskilled labor is a paid training ground for motivated people to move on to better positions. YMMV

It certainly worked that way for me. I worked for a couple of restaurants including McD’s in high school and my freshman year in college. Decided I would never again take a job working directly with the public.

 

[Scuba]

I ate at a nice Italian restaurant with friends tonight. It was worth it because of the company and the setting. We had a private room for a group of 12. I had a small Caesar salad, salmon piccata with veggies, and a club soda for $68 including tax and tip. Pricey but it was good. Still, I can cook a healthier salmon and veggie meal at home that would be almost as delicious and would cost less than $10 for the equivalent meal.

 

[tmitchell]

I worked in the restaurant industry from the age of 12 for over 20 years across all levels of quality. McD's, hot dog vendor at the student grill, mid-range, and ultimately fine dining.

In NYC during the 90s we were paid 2.01/hr because the industry lobbied crying poor house because we earned so much money in tips. In '94 the IRS came in and checked credit card receipts and concluded that we should pay 18% tax on all tips, which cut our shady take home tips down a hefty notch. I owed nothing the year before and that year got slammed with a $4k tax bill, which was a lot for a kid in his 20's trying to pay off student loans.

Working in American restaurants can be a total nightmare. Customers bring all their baggage, entitlement, and unspoken insecurities and push it off onto waiters and cooks, all because they "have" to tip. I was constantly in jeopardy of having some rich bastard go off on me because the coffee wasn't hot enough or their food didn't come out on time during the rush. I grew enormous rhino skin which ultimately helped me later in life, but I lost a lot of blood in the war.

I'm not sure why CA is making this move against fast food chains, except maybe to put them out of business for health reasons, and try to make some impact on the cost of healthcare. But what they should do is what's happened a lot in NY fine dining, which is to end the practice of tipping and just pay living wages like they do in Europe, then bake that into the prices. It would bring a higher degree of professionalism and better quality and help solve the working poor issues.

Trying to live in CA on minimum wage is next to impossible, so the working poor will catch a nice break--automation does away with them completely.

As an aside dear mother insisted on taking me out for a steak dinner this week. We went to Ruth Chris during happy hour and got the discounted offerings. The bill came to $175 including tip. Service was great but the food was pretty crappy. I can do much better at home, as some others have said for a fraction of the price. But mom was happy to have the "experience."

 

[Souschef]

We do not eat out at all, right now. We are fortunate to have many restaurants within a 10 minute drive for me to pick up.

We have all their menus in a binder, and order what we feel like (not every day)

 

[aja8888]

We do not eat out at all, right now. We are fortunate to have many restaurants within a 10 minute drive for me to pick up.

We have all their menus in a binder, and order what we feel like (not every day)

Getting take out is very close to eating out. You have to go pick it up, you get the same crappy food (in a bag too!), you pay the inflated prices, and you end up with the trash.

 

[Souschef]

Getting take out is very close to eating out. You have to go pick it up, you get the same crappy food (in a bag too!), you pay the inflated prices, and you end up with the trash.

I am sorry you feel that way. These are all locally owned restaurants. The food is good, the prices not too bad, and we have daily trash pickup.
I would agree with you about a lot of the fast food and chain restaurants.

YMMV

 

[aja8888]

I am sorry you feel that way. These are all locally owned restaurants. The food is good, the prices not too bad, and we have daily trash pickup.
I would agree with you about a lot of the fast food and chain restaurants.

YMMV

Well, if the food and the restaurants are that good, then you are not "soured on dining out"? (you are OK with the restaurants and food, but just not going for some other reason, I guess)

 

[CaptTom]

Getting take out is very close to eating out. You have to go pick it up, you get the same crappy food (in a bag too!), you pay the inflated prices, and you end up with the trash.

But you also get to eat in private, in a comfortable chair in your own dining room (or - why not - living room!) with nobody coming by to interrupt you and ask if everything is OK. You can stand up and walk around if you want, and you don't need to sit there forever waiting for someone to take your order, bring your food, or bring the check.

If the food is crappy or the prices are inflated I would simply never go back - to take out or dine in.

 

[aja8888]

But you also get to eat in private, in a comfortable chair in your own dining room (or - why not - living room!) with nobody coming by to interrupt you and ask if everything is OK. You can stand up and walk around if you want, and you don't need to sit there forever waiting for someone to take your order, bring your food, or bring the check.

If the food is crappy or the prices are inflated I would simply never go back - to take out or dine in.

If you really are soured on eating out, which is the theme of this thread, you would cook at home.

 

[Badger]

As an aside dear mother insisted on taking me out for a steak dinner this week. We went to Ruth Chris during happy hour and got the discounted offerings. The bill came to $175 including tip. Service was great but the food was pretty crappy. I can do much better at home, as some others have said for a fraction of the price. But mom was happy to have the "experience."

I have never been to a Ruth Chris but was curious about the one here in town. After this post I just lost that curiosity . Like you said - you can do better at home for a fraction of the price.
Moms are great though and deserve happy experiences always. If she was still around I would treat mine there if she wanted.

Cheers!

 

[Koolau]

I have never been to a Ruth Chris but was curious about the one here in town. After this post I just lost that curiosity . Like you said - you can do better at home for a fraction of the price.
Moms are great though and deserve happy experiences always. If she was still around I would treat mine there if she wanted.

Cheers!

I only went to Ruth Chris once. It was higher priced than I was used to. Also, the steak contained much more fat than I was used to. However, it was the most tender, well seasoned and flavorful steak I have ever eaten. I wouldn't avoid RC on the strength of one negative review. YMMV

 

[Scuba]

If you really are soured on eating out, which is the theme of this thread, you would cook at home.

Yep. I would much rather eat at home than get takeout. While some foods hold up better than others, I have found it’s next to impossible to get the same quality food with takeout as delivered to the table in a restaurant. Either it’s not as hot as it should be, they forgot to put the salad dressing on the side, they didn’t give enough salsa or cheese, or something. If you’re dining in a restaurant, you can usually get these kind of problems resolved quickly and easily. But with takeout, I’m usually not aware of issues until I get home and by then it’s not worth going back to get it fixed.

We ordered takeout several times during the pandemic, but now we cook at home mostly, and occasionally dine at restaurants. No take out for us, ever.

 

[Scuba]

I only went to Ruth Chris once. It was higher priced than I was used to. Also, the steak contained much more fat than I was used to. However, it was the most tender, well seasoned and flavorful steak I have ever eaten. I wouldn't avoid RC on the strength of one negative review. YMMV

DH and I love Ruth’s Chris. Best crab cakes anywhere, and I love their cooking method. I can’t cook a steak in an oven that hot and serve it with that delicious sizzling butter. And some of their sides are to die for. Yes, it’s expensive, but we like it as a special occasion place.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

DH and I love Ruth’s Chris. Best crab cakes anywhere, and I love their cooking method. I can’t cook a steak in an oven that hot and serve it with that delicious sizzling butter. And some of their sides are to die for. Yes, it’s expensive, but we like it as a special occasion place.

We have been there a couple of times. It is a real treat. Everything was delicious. Well worth it for those special occasions.

 

[explanade]

Take out is still great for times when you don't want to shop and prepare something.

I've gotten more into poke. I suspect if you load it up with the sauces, it's probably not as healthy as it could be.

But the ingredients look healthy, a matter of how much flavoring you want to put on it, the sauces probably have a lot of sodium and sugar.

 

[EarlyandLate]

Today I ran errands and was lazy, so I got Chinese takeout from a place I have only been to a couple of times. For $10 including tax and tip, the food was really good and well prepared. The counter lady was friendly and in all it was a good experience. What a surprise!
Here's the twist. The bag contained the usual fortune cookie. The paper slip inside was printed with a fortune on the front and an advertisement for Rocket Money on the back! When did they start putting advertising in fortune cookies?

 

[Dtail]

We have been there a couple of times. It is a real treat. Everything was delicious. Well worth it for those special occasions.

We have loved Ruth Chris too, but used to go there more frequently when working.

 

[Koolau]

Went to Cheddars tonight. Decent food and service. I'm not fond of the noise level, but we lucked out and had a relatively quiet corner. One couple split a huge salad with chicken on top. They took some of the salad home. DW and I had individual entrees and took about half home. All four of us drank water/lemon and asked for take home cups of water/lemon. I tipped well (over 25%), picked up the whole check and left two $20s. Not cheap but I was satisfied with the value. YMMV

 

[Time2]

I will use the barbeque as low as -15C or so (5F) and it works just fine. Any colder and I can't be bothered.

There is a thread for that "This weather is awful - 2022 to ?"

 

[Time2]

But you also get to eat in private, in a comfortable chair in your own dining room (or - why not - living room!) with nobody coming by to interrupt you and ask if everything is OK.

Yes, I have breakfast with several old guys, every time the waitress comes around asking if we need coffee, we have to stop and try to remember what we were talking about.


P.S. I have 96 year old friend that is the opposite of this thread, he never eats at home, every meal is bought at a drive up window, except Thursday breakfast, when he sits down and eats with us boys. For a while he got meals on wheels, then they found out he still drives and they cut him off.