Poll: When we go out to eat, I'd rather...

[ShortInSeattle]

Being a vegetarian/vegan with two dinner choices within 20 miles of home, in cattle country. How do you think I voted?

Ouch. I suppose you've developed good cooking skills?

 

[Sarah in SC]

I like to try new places and new dishes. DW isn't as adventurous. But we tend to eat at the old same place most of the time for the above reasons - price, convenience, comfort.

But what's wrong with cuy? Looks yummy! Probably right up there with possum and muskrat.

Eek, you should have seen that one cuy stand, right past the toll booth, where everyone is going slow anyway. It was a 55 gallon barrel cut into two halves, with the little guinea pigs split open and spread out on top, just sizzling away! Yikes! I might have considered it if I'd had the option of a filet version. I'm told many restaurants keep a pen of the little guys in the kitchen so they are fresh when ordered! <shudder>

 

[harley]

Eek, you should have seen that one cuy stand, right past the toll booth, where everyone is going slow anyway. It was a 55 gallon barrel cut into two halves, with the little guinea pigs split open and spread out on top, just sizzling away! Yikes! I might have considered it if I'd had the option of a filet version. I'm told many restaurants keep a pen of the little guys in the kitchen so they are fresh when ordered! <shudder>

If you ever had to study for exams while working in a pet shop where the little b****rds are squealing all night you wouldn't have any problem with munching down on them. Tastes like chicken.

 

[Ronnieboy]

We tend to stay with tired and true favorites.

I venture out every once and awhile to try something new, but as I am a very picky eater, a meat and potatoes kind of guy. I am usually disappointed if I try something new and don't like it. Not only due to the expense of buying the new item and either not eating it and feeling that I wasted $$ but also that I tried something new and didn't succeed.

That is why I usually stick with what I know I like because I have had it before

 

[Nords]

I downloaded the app "Fast Food Nation " . This will stop you in your tracks from dining at most casual restaurants . The calories & sodium content are horrendous .

Gosh, that's precisely why we go to Taco Bell & Costco pizza in the first place!

Y'all got me to thinking now and that's dangerous. For some time now, I've been thinking about going out to eat more often. Like every day if we could. Even though DW liked to cook in the past, she getting sick of it and I'm getting sick of cleaning up the kitchen (my part of cooking).
Any thoughts that might convince me to go this route?

Let me suggest the "Lean Cuisine", "Weight Watchers", and "Healthy Choice" brands in your local grocery store's frozen-food aisle. Anything between 300-350 calories is usually pretty good with a salad or a fruit side. You'll really appreciate the cleanup part of the meal, too.

This menu might seem unacceptably dull to many, but consider that my palate was developed during 90-day underwater patrols where you couldn't just stop in at the local 7-11 for a Slurpee...

 

[obgyn65]

I don't eat out that often, but when I do I like to try new places and new dishes. I have a sweet spot for chocolate desserts.

 

[obgyn65]

What is this dish ? Looks like a BBQ rat to me

 

[Katsmeow]

Forgetting the coupon deal, let's say you could get by on $25 for two dinners including tax and tip. That's $750/mo and $9000/yr. Lets say you could recover half of that by not buying equivalent groceries. I wonder how my budget would react to that. We really don't operate on a budget, but I bet I would have to if we followed this schedule. Any thoughts that might convince me to go this route?

Well, the economics of it depend upon how you cook at home. I've read some articles saying that the cost to make equivalent foods at home to what is bought at a restaurant is usually very close with making it at home often more expensive.

Of course, we don't cook restaurant foods at home so eating out more does increase our costs.

Other alternatives as mentioned would be frozen foods and possibility meal services. For example, around here you can buy My Fit Foods and I am current buying a lot of meals from them so there isn't much cooking going on.

 

[obgyn65]

If you ever had to study for exams while working in a pet shop where the little b****rds are squealing all night you wouldn't have any problem with munching down on them. Tastes like chicken.

Well at least it's not this pet

 

[Huston55]

Well at least it's not this pet

Might have to worry about [-]role[/-] meal reversal with this guy.

 

[Sarah in SC]

What is this dish ? Looks like a BBQ rat to me

It is cuy, popular in Peru. Guinea pig is what we'd call it.

 

[MichaelB]

But what's wrong with cuy? Looks yummy! Probably right up there with possum and muskrat.

I'd try it. Never miss an opportunity for something new - you might not get another chance.

 

[Walt34]

I'm a little more culinarily adventurous than DW but options are more limited without driving absurd distances. Since the health department publishes restaurant inspection scores online there are some we wouldn't dare set foot in, let alone eat in.

I understand to some degree Nord's flexibility since the options on a midnight shift weren't much better. Lessee, we had 7-11 hot dogs, Little Tavern "gut grenades", High's junk stuff on the shelf, and the Choke 'n Puke diner.

 

[MichaelB]

I understand to some degree Nord's flexibility since the options on a midnight shift weren't much better. Lessee, we had 7-11 hot dogs, Little Tavern "gut grenades", High's junk stuff on the shelf, and the Choke 'n Puke diner.

Walt, you give new meaning to fine dining.

 

[Moemg]

They only go where there is a coupon like BOGO. Forgetting the coupon deal, let's say you could get by on $25 for two dinners including tax and tip. That's $750/mo and $9000/yr. Lets say you could recover half of that by not buying equivalent groceries. I wonder how my budget would react to that. We really don't operate on a budget, but I bet I would have to if we followed this schedule. Any thoughts that might convince me to go this route?

I think $25.00 is a little low unless it is during lunch or always hitting the early bird specials . Maybe an alternative would go be to go out more and make the meals at home super simple .Lots of time we will just have a piece of chicken or salmon and a salad . Preparation takes minutes and clean up is a breeze .

 

[Midpack]

I'm surprised the poll came out that even. We like to cook as well, but we aren't willing to pay to eat out every day/night. And I also tend to order in restaurants dishes I can't make at home due to ingredients, special equipment and/or technical degree of difficulty. I'm willing to try most anything once, who knows you might like it. And in fairness DW is reasonable adventurous though it's usually sampling from my order, while eating her tried and true favorites (again). Thanks everyone...

 

[FUEGO]

We are in the favorite restaurant, same dish category when we eat out (or get take out), but we usually eat at home (we spend around $1000 a year dining out for a family of 4). Since we have kids, pizza and chinese buffet are always a pleaser. We have 1 of each in the neighborhood that we walk to, so these are the easy choices for the rare occasions we eat out.

But when we do go to restaurants where you order a specific plate (ie not buffet), we usually get the same thing. The Pad Thai at Pei Wei's for example. It is about the only thing I like there, and it is expensive and time consuming for us to make pad thai the same way at home, so we'll hit them up occasionally, especially if we have a BOGO coupon ($7 for enough pad thai for the 4 of us).

 

[M Paquette]

This menu might seem unacceptably dull to many, but consider that my palate was developed during 90-day underwater patrols where you couldn't just stop in at the local 7-11 for a Slurpee...

yeah but... All the bug juice you can drink. Green OR red! It's like a warm Slurpee! And those great dinners where Cookie was down to just the cans that had lost their labels...

I like my own cooking. Chili sauces, peppers, garlic, onions. DW, not so much. Too spicy, she says? We do dine out every week or two, but mostly to places she considers safe. No Thai or Moroccan cuisine. :-(

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Just got home from lunch. This is what you call going "on the cheap" as we went to Wendy's. We might do this twice a week. Two sour cream and chive baked potatoes ($1.29 each. They were $.99), one crispy chicken Ceasar wrap ($.99), one cheesy cheddar burger ($.99) and two senior diet Cokes (free). Total $4.98 including tax. No tip. How can you beat that for lunch?

 

[veremchuka]

I seldom eat out because I grow a lot of the food I eat, I'm a good cook and I'm frugal. I may eat Chinese or pizza once a month and that's a choice of one or the other not both. I've been a vegetarian for close to 30 years but I'm getting tired of cooking and often fantasize about eating out and not growing much more than some tomatoes, cukes and pole beans.

The problem is most places aren't geared to vegetarians though you can find non meat dishes in most places, the sodium and fat content is beyond your control, it would be a big increase in the amount of money I spend but on the plus side it'd free up a lot of time and be fun. I like unusual dishes so ethnic restaurants would be my choice.

 

[Nemo2]

Frequent cooking will help you live longer

During the 10 year study, 695 of the participants died and an analysis of the cooking habits of the studies participants, revealed that those who cooked more were more likely to still be alive (only 59 per cent of the frequent cooks died). The possibility of other factors, besides cooking, was also extensively investigated, but the aforementioned link still remained.

 

[tangomonster]

Loved the article about cooking, Nemo. Not surprised that it has health benefits.

We eat out about 1/3 of the time. We love to cook, but we enjoy ethnic foods that we somehow can't quite cook as well as the restaurants do (like Ethiopian). And I participate in a lot of Meetups where eating is the main social activity. We try to do different restaurants. Being vegetarian, I don't have unlimited options since some ethic restaurants have nothing vegetarian on the menu (some Vietnamese restos do, some don't).

What amazes me are all the meetups that are nothing but happy hours and people make their dinner out of this. Some can be bargains at half price, but it;s all fried things.

 

[harley]

I'd try it. Never miss an opportunity for something new - you might not get another chance.

I agree. I'll try pretty much any ethnic food. My theory has always been that if someone else eats it and it doesn't kill them, then it probably won't kill me. I've tried some pretty surprising foods that I turned out to love. Of course, I've had a few that haven't killed me but were unbelivably disgusting. That guinea pig looks pretty yummy compared to some foods. One rule I've developed, never eat seafood in an ethnic restaurant of a landlocked country.

 

[Katsmeow]

And in fairness DW is reasonable adventurous though it's usually sampling from my order, while eating her tried and true favorites (again). Thanks everyone...

I tend to like a lot of different tastes so enjoy buffets where I can get a lot of small bites. Failing that I often make sure that DH and I order something different so I can taste a bite of his.

 

[FIYes]

We eat most of our meals at home...both DH and I enjoy cooking. When we go out to eat we like to try different restaurants. Last fall we were in Peru and we did try the cuy. Neither of us were crazy about it. I thought that it was okay but not great. It did not taste like chicken. The flavor was closer to duck.