Water Is Fine Spinoff

[RedAngie]

Growing up, how often did your family eat in restaurants? And how about now?

We’d go out to eat practically every Sunday and many Fridays as well. Sometimes other days too depending on my father’s work schedule.

Sundays after church we’d have brunch at my grandmother’s, then visit my other grandmother, then usually go for a drive or to one of the few places that were open on Sundays. Then out for dinner and return to brunch GM’s house to watch Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. Other relatives did the same; some only for brunch, others only in the evening.

For whatever reasons, my mother’s sister would visit in the afternoon when nobody else was around.

It was a rare Sunday that we were home between 10am to 9pm.

These days DH and I eat dinner in restaurants about 3 times a month.

 

[Tiggerish]

Until I started high school we lived in southwest Michigan and my family took the children with out to eat once a year. My older sister and I both had birthdays in the same month and we alternated years picking the restaurant.

When we moved to the Chicago suburbs so many things changed and by the time I graduated high school, we were going out for Sunday brunch at least once a month.

 

[Meriweather]

My father took me for pizza almost every Saturday after bowling.

Other than that it was only on birthdays or traveling

 

[BrianL]

We really didn't go out to sit-down places much. I can barely remember doing it other than at the Red Lobster where my mom worked, and even then only ocassionally. We did more family-style pickup places, like barbecue or fried chicken and such. It wasn't until I was a bit older that I can remember going to real restaurants more often.

These days I do eat out a lot on weekends, but mostly my friends and I go to fast-casual type joints. There were a few places that we would frequent for dinner, but we haven't done it as much lately. My favorite place recently closed too. The owner retired and sold it to new owners, and while they kept a lot of the same menu items, I tried it on Christmas Eve, and it is sadly not the same (they did spruce the place up though). Without that place, it will greatly reduce how much I eat at sit-down places.

 

[disneychrista]

Several times a week. Looking back I wonder how we could afford it when we were lower middle class if not upper lower class.

 

[bjscheel]

I don't remember eating out much as a little kid, maybe if we were in the city shopping we did fast food. I know we packed food for a day at the amusement park or zoo.

By the time it got to be just me as the only kid at home and especially after Mom got her RN degree (less people and more money in the household), it wasn't unusual for the three of us to make a special trip just to go out to eat.

When our kids were home we ate out once a week or a little less. DH likes to eat out at least once per weekend.

 

[JLTraveling]

My family always dined out frequently. My parents went out to lunch every day with coworkers, and if I happened to be at work with one of them I would go too. My dad and I did a lot of community theater, and that was either fast food on rehearsal breaks or the whole cast would go out for a nice meal before or after. And we dined out as a family at least once or twice a week. My parents are both excellent cooks, but always enjoyed the whole restaurant experience.

As an adult, dining out remains very important to me. I'd say probably two or three times a week, though it's a combination of fast food and mid-range local restaurants. We probably go for a really nice sit-down dinner once every couple of months or so.

 

[leebee]

When I was a kid in the early 1960s, there were no family-style, chain restaurants (like Olive Garden, Applebees, etc). Going out to dinner meant a "fancy" restaurant. Everyone would get dressed up in our Sunday finest (meaning dresses with petticoats, ankle socks with patent leather shoes, dress coat, etc) and it would be a big event. We went out maybe 4-6 times a year as a family.

Now? DH and I get take out or "go out" maybe twice a week. We live in a college town where there are 3 microbreweries w/food and seven restaurants within a 10 minute walk of our house. Makes it easy to go out or to grab something on the way home from a long day at work. If we are feeling ambitious, we can drive 15 minutes into Bangor and have our choice of chain and privately-owned restaurants, but usually we opt to stay in town.

 

[Mysterian]

We went out when extended family or friends visited, during family trips on the road, birthdays, after a matinee movie, while out during shopping, etc. Other than that, once in a blue moon.

 

[tzolkin]

Growing up we never went out to eat with just my immediate family. We went out to eat a few times with my grandparents/extended family and that's about all I can remember. We really didn't even get fast food unless it was absolutely necessary (like on a road trip where we had already eaten food from a cooler in the car for one meal).

My parents will now go out to eat fairly regularly and will order appetizers and desserts. They also absolutely must go to all TS restaurants at Disney. It's like they are going all out to make up for lost time.

In my immediate family, we really don't go out to eat much either. We will let each kid pick somewhere they want to eat for their birthday and we will occasionally eat out if we are shopping or something, but usually just on vacations.

In recent years our income has dramatically increased and our kids are older (two now adults) so my spouse and I started going out more. However, since this summer we have been vegetarian and the options are so limited where we live that we really have not been out to eat at all in the last few months.

Several times a week. Looking back I wonder how we could afford it when we were lower middle class if not upper lower class.

I think a lot of people can't afford going out to eat, but they do it anyway because it's the norm where they live.

I was honestly shocked when we first moved here how often people eat out. The majority of people we know get something out (at least Starbucks or fast food) every single day. It is completely normal here for parents to take their pre-schoolers to Chick-fil-A multiple times a week and their school-aged kids to get fast food every day when they get picked up. Every person my husband works with buys lunch daily. And most of the families we know go out to a "sit down" restaurant 3-4 times a week. I think it's partially a different mindset and partially because it's a more affluent suburban area. (Where we lived before was very poor and rural so there weren't places conveniently located and no one could afford it even if there had been. We ate out when we went shopping because it was an hour from home, so you made a whole day of it.)

 

[barkley]

growing up in the 60's it was an infrequent event in our household. i remember occasionally (once or twice per year) going out to a mexican restaurant b/c mom just could'nt replicate the food. when we traveled we would eat out but other than that i don't recall much. it think it was fairly common for the area i lived in b/c i had friends who until well into their high school years had never been in a restaurant (like leebee posted-we had no chain restaurants, just very fancy/ethnic specific or coffee shops).

 

[Micca]

We'd go out about once a week, but it was never anything fancy/special. There was a regular rotation of Chinese, cafeteria, diner type places. These were really "down home" places that I probably wouldn't set foot in these days.

DW and I almost never go out to dinner, it takes too long and it's so expensive.

 

[mumto3girls]

Very rarely. Going out became more common as we got older, particularly after my mom started working part time. I was the oldest of 4 and she stayed home when we were little. I was in middle school when she went back to nursing 2 days a week. The extra money and her exhaustion after working all day made going out to eat more likely. We definitely went out on birthdays and vacations. We did eat out a lot with my maternal grandparents (just us kids). They ate out most days and we spent a lot of time with them when we were little. My grandfather grew up poor and hungry and he liked nothing more than to watch us eat.

When my kids were younger we ate out fairly often. Probably sit down at least every other week, maybe every week. Pizza/Chinese delivery a few times a month. Since the pandemic almost never although we get take out a few times a month. Restaurants here are still struggling with staffing issues and wait times are long. It’s easier to pick up and eat at home.

 

[prairie_girl]

Growing up, we rarely, rarely went out to eat. It was a super special treat if we ordered kfc or went to McDonalds.

 

[luv2cheer92]

About twice a week growing up for sit down meals, and about the same now.

Fast food was, and still is, much more often.

 

[DLgal]

Not very often. Maybe once a month to a restaurant that wasn't fast food.

My kids eat out WAY more than I ever did as a kid. We go out to eat at least once a week and also get either pizza or fast food once a week in addition.

 

[monsterkitty]

We had pizza on Friday nights or sometimes went to a neighborhood diner.

Our special treat was we got McDonalds if we did well at a swim meet. That was a huge incentive to swim hard!

 

[amcnj]

Growing up it was extremely rare that we went to a restaurant. I only recall a handful of times. By high school I think maybe the financial picture had improved somewhat, and we did go out more, but still not regularly or at all often. We did have friends and relatives over or go to their houses for meals throughout the year though.

Now I would say, aside from vacations, restaurants once a month. And takeout, fast-casual or fast food four to six times a month.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Very, very rarely we would go to Roy Rogers. That was always a treat, getting a Double-R-Bar burger like my Mom.

 

[LuvOrlando]

As rare as a rainbow when I was little, I remember Red Lobster being fancy and it probably was back then.

We went very often with other families when the kids were in sports from about 2003-2010 or so, back then a family with kids could have a nice meal for around $50. I am shocked to see the prices at fast food now so I imagine a lot of that was choked out.

As my kids got older we really enjoyed fine dining as a family. We also went out to matinee movies and a nice lunch at a chain near the theater maybe once a month or whenever there was a Marvel hit or something that caught my family's attention. Such days typically ran around $150 but it was worth it to carve out family time.

When 2020 hit we backed off everything because, well, just no thanks. We started to go back to restaurants a bit when things were still restrained and for a while I thought I'd be back in the saddle, but now that everyone is pushing to throw caution to the wind I find myself turtling because I simply do not trust other people's judgement. We now order in every now and again because there are things we like that I can't make like sushi and pho'. Many foods we don't do because lots of places became resistant to caution and stopped with curbside, so I now find myself in a strange stalemate - same thing with flying I guess. There are things I want to do but I want to do the on my terms so I am sort of waiting for something somewhere to catch up, or maybe they won't bend and I just don't do them anymore. Toying with the idea that there may be things I will consider based on the time of year.