Eating out- Is it really worth it.

MPF9

MPF9

Forum GOD!
Did a Google map check on pubs within easy driving distance of Home. Looked at menus, and rather than revisit ones we knew, decided to try an unknown which would gives us a nice drive in countryside as well as hopefully a decent meal.
Only 16 miles away, but country miles take time.
Proved to be a good Choice, a lovely country pub which has been in family for 34 years.Good menu and our respective meals were very good, probably the best quality of those we have had recently and service was good too. Well worth trying somewhere new after checking menu to see if it suits.
 
Last edited:
Wrong End Chihuahua

Wrong End Chihuahua

Veteran
Just had one of the best Mexican meals in a small Kentucky town on our way to Florida. Authentic Mexican, too, not Tex-Mex (although there’s nothing wrong with that). Absolutely delicious. My daughter speaks some basic Spanish and ordered our meals, we’ve received a first class service. The small discoveries like that make a highlight of the day.
 
R

Rasorium

Forum GOD!
I’m probably the only person in this thread that misunderstood the interpretation of eating out. Sorry. I am bad.
 
MPF9

MPF9

Forum GOD!
Have not been out a lot recently, but revisited a restaurant which is part of small chain. I ordered a dish - slow cooked, so should be tender, and it has been when ordered before. However, this time tough as old boots despite being described as same dish at elevated price. Needless to say, after first bites complained and had it sent back when waitress came to check. As wife had finished her mains, I did not bother with alternative.
Am now finding that other than a couple of places in The Town where I live, we have to travel 20 miles or so to find a place that serves good fare at a reasonable price.
 
DesertIguana

DesertIguana

Legendary Member
Use to enjoy stopping at couples of Franchise places, sadly the quality has gone down, service is marginal, and prices are steep. Problem is no one seem to take pride in job, franchise owner only care about bottom line. So I don't eat out much and more.
 
R

R181

Grumpy old man
While the cost of a meal has increased the last few years, we still try to eat out once a week and usually do. The places we normally went to a few years ago still offer good tasting food and the service is also just as good as before. Unfortunately, we have to budget max $50.00 CAD for meals for two plus a tip with no alcoholic drinks. To me it is worth it just to give the boss a break from kitchen duties.

Bob
 
R

Rufusdog

Forum GOD!
Rufusdog said:
We’ve pretty well given up on eating out. The cost of food and drink has become ridiculous and the egregious tip “suggestions”, up to 30%, make my blood boil. Pre-COVID-19, we’d eat out every Friday; mostly pub grub, but often Indian, Thai or Japanese. Now we do take-away, which we pick up, usually pizza from a local Italian restaurant. Many of our friends are in the same boat, because we’re mostly retirees on fixed incomes, or at best incomes that increase but less than the cost of goods and services. As Warren Buffet so succinctly puts it, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” I don’t see much value in eating in a restaurant today. I should note two things: First, we travel overseas for at least a month every year and we eat in restaurants most of the time, so we’re restauranted-out for a good while after we return home. Secondly, both my wife and I enjoy cooking so we share the cooking at home; there are few limits on the food we’ll cook, other than deep fried food, which we avoid eating, and sushi/sashimi (a favourite of ours), which we always order out.
Click to expand...
We spent most of August touring Denmark and Norway. We were absolutely gob smacked by the cost of restaurant food and drink especially in the major centres, eg Copenhagen and Bergen. Notwithstanding, the restaurants were packed for dinner and if you didn’t have a reservation you were SOL. I don’t know how the locals do it in light of the high taxes they pay and the cost of things there in general. BTW, I was so bold (stupid?) as to buy coffee at a Starbucks in Copenhagen and it was double the price we pay in Canada. Nevertheless, we still find the cost of restaurant food and drink at home to be outrageous and the tipping out of control; adding to this is that the tip is calculate on the amount after tax (13%) unless you manually adjust it, which I do.
 
Last edited:
Vacumatic

Vacumatic

Testy
I still think that there must be a business model for smaller restaurants to have a restricted menu Monday through Thursday, perhaps a choice of two starters, mains and desserts, modest price. My favourite place has an early bird menu, last orders 6.30, food such as cottage pie, spag bol etc, low price. They attract a lot of driving home from work trade. I suggested that they do a salad cart, that has been a success with a soup starter for £9.50
 
Last edited:
Randy

Randy

Forum GOD!
We, wet shavers, must surely go eat out frequently, a BBS shave with a great aftershave on, a good looking shirt, a leather jacket, shoes, a glass of wine , along with a world class plate of Scallopine Piccata and a Caesar's salad with chicken is all I want 😍

It's not that we can't always eat at home, but it's a totally different experience.
 
R

R181

Grumpy old man
Rufusdog said:
We spent most of August touring Denmark and Norway. We were absolutely gob smacked by the cost of restaurant food and drink especially in the major centres, eg Copenhagen and Bergen. Notwithstanding, the restaurants were packed for dinner and if you didn’t have a reservation you were SOL. I don’t know how the locals do it in light of the high taxes they pay and the cost of things there in general. BTW, I was so bold (stupid?) as to buy coffee at a Starbucks in Copenhagen and it was double the price we pay in Canada. Nevertheless, we still find the cost of restaurant food and drink at home to be outrageous and the tipping out of control; adding to this is that the tip is calculate on the amount after tax (13%) unless you manually adjust it, which I do.
Click to expand...
I can't comment on the cost of things in Europe compares to Canada today as I haven't been there for years. Even years I wondered how Europeans, especially northern ones, managed things. I see nothing has changed except now we are getting into the same costs' territory.

Even years ago, we never or rarely, went to dine out at places that were known to be expensive back then. The places we used to go to back then have all increased their prices but relatively speaking they are still within the realm of reason for us. I agree that tipping is getting out of control, and we do not tip for anything, but a sit-down meal served to us. I refuse to tip for virtually anything else. It is an interesting point that you made about the tip being calculated on the after-tax value. I will definitely take that into account in the future and base the tip on the before tax value.

In the end it is all a personal choice based on a number of factors as to whether or not you consider dining out to be worth it or not.

Bob
 
MntnMan62

MntnMan62

Forum GOD!
This topic is fairly meaningful for me. I started bussing tables in a diner when I was 15 (I know, not legal). After 6 months I graduated to bussing tables in a nice restaurant where the trays are carried over your shoulder and had an extensive Continental menu. That then graduated to a position as waiter which lasted for 10 years through high school and college and my early years on the job when I made very little money. What probably escapes the memories of many people currently employed in that industry is that tip "rates" or percentages were not always what they are today. My time in the industry was from about 1977 to about 1987. Back then the "standard" (in the US) tip was 15%. If you got more than 15% you were happy. Now, the tip "rate" that seems to be expected is 20% and some even expecting more than that. Let's also not forget that inflation has caused the dollar amount of dinner checks to rise significantly. That inflationary rise coupled with the "arbitrary" rise in tip levels means that today's restaurant workers are actually far better off than I was when I was working in the industry. I don't regret my time doing that work because it gave me a healthy respect for work ethic. It's not an easy job at all. But I have to admit that I am sometimes offended by the expectations of some servers regarding tipping.

I've also found that the level of service provided by SOME wait staff in SOME restaurants is pitiful. As you can imagine I have some pet peeves dating back to my days as a waiter. One is that I was taught, for fine dining, to wait until everyone is finished with their meal before I start clearing their main entree plates from the table. Also, I was taught to serve each person their meal from the left and pour water on the right. I also learned that you need to check in with your tables more than once to be sure they are happy. It's been quite a while since I've been in a restaurant where they waited until everyone was finished before they clear the table. And forget about the other stuff. No one seems to care anymore, besides me...

And I may have already posted on this but last week I was traveling and was getting breakfast in Newark Airport. I ordered an omelette with green peppers, onions and cheddar cheese. First they serve me an omelette with spinach in it. I raised the issue with a server who then ran into the kitchen to ask the "chef". He comes out and says the chef told him that green stuff is green peppers. I use a fork to open it and it is quite clearly spinach. I tell him to take it back. He comes out WAY too quickly with a different omelette, puts it down and starts to walk away. I immediately see something red that is quite clearly tomato. I stop him from walking away and show him with my fork that there are tomatoes on the second omelette and I did not order tomatoes. Let's not even get into the fact that I need a low potassium diet and both spinach and tomatoes do not help towards that goal. Rather than give the chef another chance, I basically decided in my mind that two strikes and you're out. The mere fact that they even attempted to convince me the two omelettes were something that they obviously weren't makes me madder than anything.

Is the tipping system broken? Not if both servers and customers understand the rules and live by them. I've seen many customers (not while I was working but present day) who received fine service tipping 10% or even less. I have zero respect for someone like that. No tip or a low tip is justified when the service is less than acceptable. For instance I was out with a neighborhood friend and his wife at a restaurant I was a regular at, at least 2 to 3 times a week. The bill comes and he tips 10% for his meal. I was aghast. HIs service was good given they were sitting with us. I was so upset but was not going to make a stink with him about it and instead made up the difference by tipping more to accommodate for his cheapskate tip. Let's also not forget that if the "system" is modified requiring restauranteurs to pay higher salaries, that will only result in higher menu prices and will also likely result in the closure of many restaurants. The beauty of the restaurant industry, especially in densely populated areas, is that there are lots to choose from and the bad ones don't survive but us customers benefit from a wide choice of places to eat. I would have a problem, as someone who enjoys eating out, if I had trouble finding a decent place to eat.

I've ranted long enough. As with many things in life, it's easy to criticize the "system" yet it is often NOT the system that is broken but the people using the system. I think you know what I mean. I'll leave it there.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top