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Gary350
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Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Eating at Home vs eating in Restaurants

How fun it is to find good restaurants with good food with good prices. Some restaurants have a lunch special every day of the week. We treat our self to Waffle House about once or twice a month we split the $8 breakfast, we are not big eaters at breakfast. We seldom eat dinner out once a year prices in the evening are 2 or 3 times more expensive than lunch. We sometimes use discount coupons for lunch. Many fast food places are $7 and $8 now we don't want to eat there anyway. WE have found a lot of places to eat $5 and $6 lunch. Sometimes we have to splurge like at the Thai restaurant $8 each but wow food is better than we can make at home. We make lots of stir fry at home with garden vegetables it is good. We eat breakfast at home for about $1.50 each. Dinner at home with garden vegetables from the pantry plus about $2 for meat. We eat at home Sunday, restaurants that are open for lunch are several times more expensive than during the week.
Last edited by Gary350 on Sat Feb 02, 2019 9:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

pepperhead212
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Posts: 2844
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:52 pm
Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b

I eat at restaurants very seldom - only when I'm away somewhere, and have to, as a rule! Sometimes, when a bunch of people get together for some event, but again, rarely. It's hard to find a good one with good prices, as well. I always try to get things I don't make at home; only one Thai restaurant I have been in had food good enough to make me come back! They were using the same herbs I grow at home, for Thai food. Naturally, it was up in Vermont! lol

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KeyWee
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Posts: 231
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 2:50 pm
Location: West Kentucky

Eating out should be a treat, but with the high prices and sometimes questionable quality, my husband and I can eat way better at home for way less. If we favor certain items, we do the research and LEARN to make them at home. We have perfected our pizza dough and sauce (lack of delivery in our rural area), and my husband has steaks down to an art in the cast iron pan. Since a large pizza will cost at least $20, and a steak dinner for two approaches $100, we can treat ourselves at home (and in our jammies) for a lot less.

We do try out each and every new restaurant in our area, but they normally only get ONE chance. If we aren't impressed with the quality and price, we don't go back. (Who knows what you're getting on the plate half the time, anyway :roll:).

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jal_ut
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Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

I live out in the boonies. It is a six mile drive to the nearest restaurant. If I want to drive 12 miles there are some more available. So we don't eat out very often. We did go out for breakfast the other day to a new place, and wow did they ever put on a feed.

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Gary350
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Posts: 7392
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

We bought a package of 100% pork hot dogs, 1 pack of buns, chips. I eat 1 hot dog with bun & chips, wife eats 2 hot dogs no buns, cottage cheese, potato salad. Lunch for both of us about $4 every day for the next 3 days.

We bought sliced meat at deli, discount bread, cheese, make potato salad. Meat & cheese about $20. Home made potato salad about $6 lunch every day for the next 4 days.

We bought white meat chicken in a can, wife made chicken salad, bread, chips, cottage cheese, potato salad. Lunch about $4 every day next 2 days.

Windy's for the senior discount lunch burger & fries. $3 each = $6 total

We ate at Mexican restaurant $5 lunches special with $2 discount coupon $8 total.

We ate at the Greek Grill $5.22 lunch special total $10.44

We split lunch at Cracker Barrel $6.99 total.

We at lunch at Windys again this time Chili & baked potato $6 total.

We ate the chicken restaurant lunch special for 2 cost us $10 total.

If we are careful we can almost eat it a restaurant for the same price as home. When garden is ripe we will eat at home every day for probably $1 or $2 total.

We ate at BBQ restaurant on Wed lunch special cost us $6 total.

If WE go to lunch specials or use discount coupons we can eat for slightly more than eating at home if we are careful. Nice thing about eating in restaurants we can eat things WE don't know how to cook or don't have time to cook at home. Sometimes about 2 times per month we eat Chinese we can not make it this good at home it is a real treat even if it does cost $18 total.

imafan26
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Posts: 13947
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I eat at McDonald's almost everyday and I spend way too much on eating out. I do live alone and I am often out all day, so eating out is more because I don't have the time or energy to cook when I get home. Getting a costco roast chicken, hot dog, and caesar salad is actually cheaper for me than anything I could make myself. When I do cook, it is usually a big pot of spaghetti or stew or something that I can have for at least 4 days. It means I have to eat the same thing everyday until it is gone. Sometimes that is o.k. but other times I get tired of it. I have some frozen lasagna left from the last batch I made.

gumbo2176
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Posts: 3065
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:01 am
Location: New Orleans

I really love to cook and have a pretty vast assortment of recipes and different type cuisines to keep me in the kitchen. I've been cooking for decades and cooking is no longer a chore, but a pleasure.

I live in New Orleans and this city is known for its cuisine, has tons of world class restaurants and even more down home "Mom & Pop" types that I find more to my liking. It's not that the wife and I don't go out to eat, but we really only do so about once a month at most-----if that...….

I'm retired and my wife still works M-F from 8-5, so she really appreciates a nice home cooked meal at the end of her day. And if I've got a happy wife, I've got a happy life.



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