Eating out- Is it really worth it.

[MPF9]

Been thinking of a meal out, and have been checking out Menus at what in the main are chain Restaurants.Am rather surprised at how much prices seem to have escalated.
We recently went out to a place near to us, and neither my meal ot that of my wife were that good , and certainly not good value.Steaks now tend to be pricey, and I rarely order one as in the past have found them to be chewy and overcooked.Very mediocre places are charging £23-25 for very ordinary dishes, and for me too keen to add Chilli/ Katsu/ Siracha flavours to everything.
Have found Greek restaurant with quite good looking menu, which is reasonably priced, but for me some chain places are now asking too much for poor quality dishes, and I won’t be in a hurry to use them.

 

[Twelvefret]

I eat out for social purposes, convenience, and because I am unable to prepare a type of food as well as they can, like Asian. While I am not opposed to having a steak out, I prefer my cast iron skillet. Fish is another food that I've never developed a skill preparing.

 

[JamieM]

Not that I eat out that often, but having said that, I do enjoy a good carvery, a good old British nosh-up, the full works, two meats, two Yorkshire puddings, cauliflower cheese, potato & swede mash, sprouts and gravy. On the rare occasion, I did very much enjoy a Harry Ramsden, I would have a giant Haddock with chips, mushy peas; the fish and chips were always deep fried in beef dripping.

 

[Vacumatic]

Not that I eat out that often, but having said that, I do enjoy a good carvery, a good old British nosh-up, the full works, two meats, two Yorkshire puddings, cauliflower cheese, potato & swede mash, sprouts and gravy. On the rare occasion, I did very much enjoy a Harry Ramsden, I would have a giant Haddock with chips, mushy peas; the fish and chips were always deep fried in beef dripping.

There was a time when chefs had the idea that they could give you as little food as possible and call it haute cuisine, charging you a fortune and you came out hungry and called in at a Harry Ramsden on the way home

I was living near Leeds when Harry Ramsden had their 50 year anniversary, for one night only they sold fish and chips at 1928 prices, 1p for chips, 2p for fish, the robbing bathplugs - it should have been 1d and 2d.

People queued for hours.

 

[AndThatsARockFact]

The whole service sector in general sort of fell off a cliff after Covid. Only a few local joints have maintained standards. Not even talking about rising prices, which is understandable and expected.

But our tastes have changed too.

Fast casual chains were really popular here in our neck of the woods twenty years ago, but they’re all awful now. I spent the last twenty years building fruit handling systems and commercial kitchen equipment, and I’ve seen the fortunes of some of them change drastically. Perceived value isn’t there anymore. Spending habits have changed.

No. I don’t think it’s worth the trouble or cost to go out if the goal is to eat well and save money. We mostly grill meats and vegetables at home, and we buy delicious bread from local bakeries. Soups, stews, potatoes, lentils, rice, and squash are some of our regular items. No, if we go out, it’s for the experience, and there aren’t many places that even seem to try anymore.

 

[Paper Plane]

About the only time we eat out these days is when we’re on holiday and staying in a hotel. If it’s a self catering trip, then that’s what we do, or takeaways.

Something that adds a spin on choices for us is being vegetarian. It has to be said though, that the variety of veggie food available these days, is considerably wider than it used the be, thankfully.

steve

 

[Twelvefret]

If I wanted to have a traditional American country breakfast, I would need to purchase eggs, a box of grits, bacon or sausage, a bag of frozen biscuits, and a gravy mix, or I can go to Cracker Barrell and have them provide it for $11.

 

[Mark12]

If I wanted to have a traditional American country breakfast, I would need to purchase eggs, a box of grits, bacon or sausage, a bag of frozen biscuits, and a gravy mix, or I can go to Cracker Barrell and have them provide it for $11.

And you don't have to wash up either

 

[AndThatsARockFact]

I forgot about our local grocery store’s deli. That’s where it’s at! You can literally see everything being made. It’s like a big open kitchen. Beats the socks off of corporate chains who just warm things up from the freezer. I sometimes forget just how much we rely on the local deli for salads and rotisserie chicken when we’re feeling lazy.