If you cook dinner every night and you do it for about ten years, you’re liable to be astonished at how much it costs to eat out these days. The other night I went down to Teddy’s Bigger Burgers, something we’ve talked about doing for months since it moved into a place right down our hill, and got two Original burgers, an order of fries and an order of onion rings. The Original is the least expensive burger they sell, and it’s not all that pricey at $5.29, but it still cost us $17.24 for a fast-food dinner for two (with no drinks).
This isn’t to pick on Teddy’s, either. It’s more a “I need to get out more” kind of observation.
I know the feeling. The 4 of us can have a real dinner at home for about 12 bucks. That includes dessert. Basically the same meal at a supposed family restaurant like Ruby Tuesday costs about 12 bucks each! No dessert. I don’t think it’s the case that you don’t get out enough. I think the price of eating out has gone up relative to eating at home in the last few years just enough for the difference to be felt. It’s probably an unconscious value judgement. When it cost only 2x as much to eat out we could feel it was worth the extra money for the convenience, service, and a nice night out. But when it jumps to 4x the cost, the extras don’t feel worth it.
Not to mention that the food you get out anywhere will have too much salt, and (if pasta) too much heavy sauce. Did they put mayo on your burgers? We’re going on a river cruise in Europe this summer and I’m seriously considering telling the cruise company I want a low-salt diet. I wonder what kind of food I’d get. But a diet with a lot of salt actually makes it hard for me to sleep.
hedera, they have a “secret sauce” which I think tries to replicate the Thousand Island-like sauce McDonalds uses on its Big Mac. It’s not bad, and it’s not heavy.
When I flew a lot between here and the Coast I used to ask for a veggie meal once in a while, just to avoid the salt issue. I remember upgrading to first-class and having Chateaubriand which was too dry and salty!
Lance, I think you’re right. It’s sure gone up. I remember the first time I went to McDonalds and got two Big Macs, fries and Cokes and watched the meter register over $10; I almost keeled over.
I should perhaps have made it clear that I eat my hamburgers dry. No mayo. No mustard. No secret sauce. When tomatoes are out of season I may put ketchup on them. I tried McDonalds’ secret sauce once – the only time I’ve ever eaten at Mickey D’s. I hated it. But then, I hate Thousand Island dressing too. If the hamburger meat is any good you shouldn’t need a sauce. We are fortunate here to get hamburger meat from Niman Ranch in a lot of restaurants: grass-fed organic beef.