Dining out on the weekends?

[HeatherC]

Do you tend to dine out on the weekends frequently? Since our kids are now adults, dh and I have started making it a regular habit to dine out at least once on the weekends. Then when we get the bill, I think…”I could have made this for a lot less at home.”. But we consider it part of our entertainment.

 

[Christine]

I used to do it often and enjoyed it. I don't so much anymore. We mainly have chains where I am and I find the food mostly inferior unless you want a bunch of cheese covered stuff. Then to sit in the restaurant and be annoyed by subpar waitstaff or annoying patrons has made it less enjoyable. If I do go out, I try to find unique places and go at quiet times but, like you, I then get the check and I feel like I've wasted money because, in general, I didn't enjoy it that much. It's a shame because many, many years ago I really enjoyed dining out.

I tend to just do better quality fast-casual stuff now and I'm completely happy with that.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Haven't eaten out in awhile.
It's expensive and I'm a better cook than most. Sometimes we will go out for a cuisine that I don't cook.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I'd rather fix a steak at home so I know it will turn out the way i want it.

We went to a posh steak house that charged $10. for a plain old baked potato. really? That was years ago; it's probably even more expensive now.

That said, when I'm short on energy (which happens too much in my olde age) it's nice to hit one of our favorite restaurants, but usually not on a busy weekend.

When I feel like it, I make large batches of a meal and freeze lots of leftovers for when I don't want to cook or go out.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I don't go out very frequently. It's very expensive and many of the popular non chain places in my area don't take reservations so you need to get there before peak meal times unless you want to wait 1-2 hours for a table. If I do go out, I'm most likely going to one of the amazing Korean places in my area. I don't make Korean food at home so it's something different. Though tomorrow I'm going to a brewery for the first time since before the pandemic.

 

[Southernmiss]

Yes. Now that we're mostly empty nesters, dh and I often get lunch out on Fridays.

Dh is used to eating out when he works in the office. He doesn't have to go in as often any more, since he works from home because of covid changes, so he really missed the whole 'event'.

I have rarely eaten out as I make lunch from leftovers.

So, it's nice to have a 'date' even if it's at a quick sandwich shop while running errands.

We just got back today.

I choked when 2 sandwich halves and 2 large loaded potatoes and drinks was $30.

But we each brought half of our meals home and won't need dinner, now.

We used to feed 6 of us. We're down to just 3 of us at home, so we can absorb the extra cost.

And it is nice to not have to cook all the time and eat food we enjoy.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

We generally go out every Friday for happy hour since we get out of work somewhere between 2-3pm on Fridays (DH and I work together).

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We almost never go to a restaurant these days unless we're on vacation. We do get takeout though. Usually one weeknight, and often a pizza on Friday night. We are more likely to cook on Saturday/Sunday because we have extra time to do that on the weekends.

 

[CdnCarrie]

No but we still have one teen at home. Only seem to eat out on birthdays and vacations. But we order in once or twice a month. It's just so expensive! And doing takeout we can skip the drinks.

 

[Meriweather]

not on weekends.
If we go out it is lunch during the week

 

[fly girl]

We go out on occasion. Nothing regular, and it isn't exclusive to weekends.

 

[TippyThomas]

I go out pretty regularly but I do it more during the week than the weekend. Places are much busier on the weekends and I like to avoid crowds as much as I can.

 

[AustinTink]

Going out tonight for a romantic celebration dinner with my husband. Tomorrow is lunch out with family. We go on the weekends because that's when everyone is available.

 

[DL1WDW2]

Kinda stopped dining out since Covid taught me dining at home was faster, easier, cheaper and cleaner.
I don’t like to think about staff being sick and still needing to work nowadays.

 

[superme80]

Once a week we do take out. It is either a local Mexican fast food place or pizza. Now that my kids are older, eating out is easier, but I am still too lazy to go out much.

 

[kdonnel]

We went to a posh steak house that charged $10. for a plain old baked potato. really? That was years ago; it's probably even more expensive now.

The Bedford, a Martha Stewart restaurant in Las Vegas, has a baked potato on the menu that runs $282.90 if you add a 4 oz portion of Golden Osetra caviar, crème fraîche, and chives.

If you are ok with skipping the caviar, you get get it for just $15.95.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

DH and I eat out on Thursdays after dropping our son off at a class. We usually go somewhere relatively inexpensive such as Chipotle, a soup and sandwich place, or a fast casual pizza or Mexican food place. Last night we decided we wanted to sit down and order a decent meal so we went to a coffee shop-type place that specializes in certain foods and pie. We each got a standard meal and a drink, nothing extra. The bill came to $51. It seemed pretty high for what we ordered. Even the soup and salad bar was $18.99. Pre-pandemic it was more like $13.99. We might start avoiding that particular place. I can’t justify that much for two veggie tacos and a small pot pie. At least it tasted good.

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

We dine out once or twice a month and always on a family birthday. We get take-out usually once a weekend.

 

[Christine]

DH and I eat out on Thursdays after dropping our son off at a class. We usually go somewhere relatively inexpensive such as Chipotle, a soup and sandwich place, or a fast casual pizza or Mexican food place. Last night we decided we wanted to sit down and order a decent meal so we went to a coffee shop-type place that specializes in certain foods and pie. We each got a standard meal and a drink, nothing extra. The bill came to $51. It seemed pretty high for what we ordered. Even the soup and salad bar was $18.99. Pre-pandemic it was more like $13.99. We might start avoiding that particular place. I can’t justify that much for two veggie tacos and a small pot pie. At least it tasted good.

This past summer, my husband and I took our visiting son to our local Japanese restaurant (non-chain). We got 2 bowls of ramen, a plate of Yakisoba, and some sort of pancake appetizer. I drank water, son and husband and a soft drink. It was $115.

 

[pens4821]

I don’t go out often, and never on the weekends. It’s too crowded usually and I don’t like to wait. Will usually get some type of takeout a couple times a month (pizza or hoagies stuff like that), then maybe lunch once or twice a month (usually a burger type place). Maybe once a month a sit down dinner.

We vacation a 3-6 times a year and of course eat out that whole time so we figure that’s our eating out. As others have said, it gets expensive and I feel like the food I cook is better than most I get out.