How do y'all go out for only $30? When we try to go cheaper, like when we go to our favorite Lebanese restaurant and bring our own bottle of wine, it's always still atleast $40-$50. We could probably get under $30 at the taqueria with some beef tacos and Sol. But that's my usual Saturday lunch spot, and I don't know if I want to introduce my wife to my little oasis.
Wow, I spent $50 for dinner the other night and that is splurging. Only spend that much maybe twice a year. But I guess if I had loads of money I wouldn't worry about it as much, but I would still have a limit. We had a great meal out last night for under $20. But I guess to answer your original question, we eat out about 2 times a week. We don't have any kids yet. The two reasons we don't eat out more is $$ and we wanted to start making healthy food (that actually tastes good).
The only way I could do it is by drinking water. Like you, the bar bill is usually as much or more than dinner. Edit: So, I'm from WI....I like my beer.
No appetizer. Eat the cheaper meals. Only have one drink and then water afterwords. Ask what the special for the night is. Etc.
Germ, you know that you would never get union employees in a kitchen. Working conditions would be far too harsh. And the dishpan hands,....forget about it. Please, no offense anyone, just kidding!!
But the app is always my favorite part of the meal... Sometimes we go to restaurants and just order a bunch of apps. And the duck confit or tenderloin always sounds so much better than the chicken. I think that's my problem. If we go out, I'm ordering whatever sounds the best, and usually the specials are more expensive than the normal menu entrees, but they always sound so good. Here were the specials to our favorite place this weekend: APP: Elk&Duck Sausage w/ Pineapple Passionfruit Jam ...SAND: Bison Bacon & Munster on Ciabatta RED MEAT: Rack O' Lamb w/ Pear Chutney WHITE MEAT: Pork Loin Nantua Smoked Fish: Norwegian Dry Smoked Salmon How am I supposed to turn any of that down? I can't. So I think the solution will be just to cook at home more once we get our kitchen finished.
I won't and can't disagree with anything you have to say. It all sounds great! I probably compromise 90% of the time eating out from what I really want and get something that also sounds good that is a lot less money. It's how I (we) roll. But that is how we afford to have a nice 2200 sq ft home in a nice subdivision with 2 young children and only have one income. We are very frugal. Heck I'm not hunting with my Hoyt Powerhawk because it's the best bow out there.
Went 2 to 3 times a month before kids and we go 1 or 2 times with kids. Usually totals 65 bucks with our meals, a beer or two (wine for the wife) and a kids meal for the boy. 100 bucks on a meal for the two of us is really rare, I think we did that one time and there is only one restaurant in town that is worth it. (we had a 50 dollar gift cert) Honestly, my wife is a FANTASTIC cook. There's very little that any restaurant has to offer that she can't make better. I'm a lucky man in that aspect. That's why most of our meals out are about 40 bucks at a club that I belong to.. That gets us a bunch of apps (3), drinks, and food. Love that place.
We might go out to eat with the kids once every two weeks. Feeding five people can be really expensive around here.
Too much:D Maybe 1-2 times a week. Sometimes less, sometimes a little more (never more than 3 times in a week). We never spend more than $20-$25. Appetizers are rare, and I never have room for dessert, and I don't drink beer/wine with dinner, and I hate soda:D
For me, it really depends. During the Spring and Summer months, I try to eat very clean, and, stay lean, which means eating what I prepare. I'll give myself one "cheat" meal per week, which, is generally a meal I go out for. During the Fall and Winter months, I eat out twice per day, generally.
We go out 2-3 times a week most of the time. Friday night is usually a Chicago Style Wine Bar. The wife likes her Fillet Meal which is 23.00 and I usually get a meal from 16.00-23.00. She drinks 4-5 glasses of wine and I have 3-5 pricey beers. We have a sweet hook up but still walk out with a 65.00-100.00 bill. Saturday can be anything from a simple 40.00-50.00 up to a 200.00 meal for two of us if we hit Justin's favorite steak house or a few other restaurants. Sunday is usually her favorite Sushi place where we spend 50.00-70.00. I would love to find a place around here that has good food and cheap enough liquor to have bills under 50.00 but it just doesn't happen
Your "going out to eat" budget exceeds my mortgage (by a hefty margin). Rock on. We go out to eat "maybe" 2X/mo.. Usually, one of those is at the local Mexican restaurant.....which is +/- $35 (including a few beers). Nothing wrong with anything you choose to spend your hard-earned money on, though. We just have different uses for our expendable income.
My wife likes to cook - its a PIA to go anywhere with the kids... We usually go out once a week, after church either Sat night or Sunday morning. Gets too damn expensive now that they eat adult size portions...my kids can throw down. Before kids - we went out just about every night. We rarely ate at home.
We don't go out. Recently we have had: Venison Moussaka Squirrel in Creole sauce slow cooked in a Tangine Venison Stroganoff on frsh homemade pasta Spaghetti(homemade) with meat sauce (venison, we canned it) Canned venison chili (we canned it) on rice with frsh onion, grated cheddar We refinished/rebuilt our kitchen. It still isn't real big but it is a blast to cook in. The crown jewel is the 6 burner GE Monogram duel fuel stove. We like to cook here and cook much better than 95% of the restaurants around here. One thing I like to do, although we haven't done it in a few months, is go to a steakhouse for lunch have a couple bloody mary's that will set fire to your mouth and a rare ribeye with a salad. I can do all that here but it just doesn't taste the same :D .
I guess I have simplistic taste buds, because I wouldn't order any of those if offered to me on a menu. lol I'm a chicken type of guy. I eat out maybe once a week and I'm even in college....It's mainly a cost and healthiness issue. Turkey sandwiches, apples, and carrots are my daily lunch. Protein shakes for breakfast/afternoon snack....and I'll usually cook something from the freezer for dinner.
You said the KEY word, Jeff; BUDGET. I eat out twice per day, in the Fall and Winter. I budget my money, very well, and, stay within the parameters of this budget. When our little recession hit, it caught me pretty bad. I denied assistance from my rich father, haha, and, I limited my food budget, which, forced me to cook less expensive meals, at my house.
