Losing interest in dining out

[yorkville]

I have been on some work related travel recently. In the past, when I go to a new city, I usually look up the notable restaurants and try to go to a few. Recenly, I  found myself losing interest as I don't feel I can justfiy the cost and benefit, and not necessarily from a monetary perspective.

Ok, hear me out.  I was on west coast for my last trip, and some friends recommended an authentic hole in the wall taco place. I took an uber there and wait about half hour in line. The food was great and I enjoyed it. But I also love chipolte. While the food at the taco place was incrementally better (10%, 20%?), but I don't think I can justify the extra time and effort. Since we are in the middle of the virus scare, I also feel Chipolte probably has higher hygeine standard. (OK, I am aware of the food poison incidents at Chipotle, but we have to consider the number of customers Chipotle serves and the overall odds)

I was also on a trip to Taiwan a few months ago. Arriving late one night, and the only place open was the local 7-11, so I grabbed a microwave box of mapo tofu from the shelf. I would venture to say the 7-11 entree was almost as good as the the authentic local restaurant my friend took me to a few days later. (Granted, 7-11 in Asia has much higher quality food selection than US.)

I know there are other reaons for dining out, amibiance, culture, etc. But in the age of globaliztion, there are hole in the wall taco places or chinese restaurants serving authetnic mapo tofu in many places. Once you been to a few , the experince becomes essentially the same. 

[mozar]

Your chipotle must be awesome because the ones around here are terrible. 

[OtherJen]

Your chipotle must be awesome because the ones around here are terrible.

Same. I stopped eating at Chipotle after I found hair in my food on two separate occasions. I always preferred Qdoba.

We rarely eat out, and when we do we tend to choose restaurants that make things like authentic shawarma or sushi that we don't make at home. Or, we'll patronize local businesses that serve celiac-safe food, like the vegan cafe that makes its own delicious burger patties and only puts plain potatoes in the air-fryer, or the vegetarian restaurant that only puts gluten-free foods in their fryer (their General Tso's cauliflower is amazing) and makes the best pesto I have ever had. I think both are open for carry-out, so we should probably patronize one soon.

[Schaefer Light]

Restaurants now look like they would if everyone ate out as much as me.

[Tasse]

For years I've only eaten out for food I can't recreate at home, which has meant essentially only Ethiopian food and sushi. Someday I will learn to make those two cuisines at home...

[Zikoris]

We're like that as well. We get sushi once a year, and we eat out when we travel if we're somewhere that has good food, but honestly, we find restaurants in North America to be overpriced and disappointing, so we just stopped going to them.

[Just Joe]

I live in the land of fried food. I'm so over it. There are alternatives for which I'm thankful. Fried food is okay occasionally. Better to just cook at home.

[CodingHare]

When we eat out it's almost always for sushi.  Good, delicious, expensive sushi.  Because I simply don't trust myself to source good safe fish and there is a fair amount of skill in cutting the fish properly.  Grocery store sushi just cannot compare.

Otherwise I can make it at home in saner portions with healthier ingredients.

[fasteddie911]

Taiwan 7-11s are legit.  Nevertheless it sounds like you still like to eat out but are more aware of cost-benefit analysis.  I like to go out to eat just to eat something better than I can cook (which is a lot of things) and change things up.  But I too am aware of cost-benefit. I rarely find table service worth it, prefer to do takeout or order at counter. I rarely find long waits worth it and don't like large/loud places. I don't have a discerning palate or care all that much for an experience.  But different strokes.

[seemsright]

I find I am a control freak. It is just simpler to cook at home. I want to eat when I want to eat and I want to eat exactly what I want at that time.

We go out maybe once every few months. I just find it really over rated for the most part.

[LetItGrow]

When we eat out it's almost always for sushi.  Good, delicious, expensive sushi.  Because I simply don't trust myself to source good safe fish and there is a fair amount of skill in cutting the fish properly.  Grocery store sushi just cannot compare.

Otherwise I can make it at home in saner portions with healthier ingredients.

This is us also. I can’t remember the last time I had lunch out, and dinner was Valentine’s Day sushi. We do travel a fair amount, and then things change, but we have eaten in several times even when on the road.

I think it is close to half cost and half health that keeps me away. Plus the annoyance of it all.

[sui generis]

I used to live for dining out.  It was a passion for sure.  I'd do elaborate tasting menus with paired wines at top restaurants wherever I traveled....sometimes even completely alone if I wasn't traveling with anyone, which is hard to do at a restaurant, but that's how much I loved it!  And definitely also did the long lines for buzzy hole in the walls.  I kept up on top chefs and what they were up to.  And some of it was really, really worth it.  So delicious and fascinating and amazing pairings I could never achieve on my own.  Plus a fun atmosphere and a real experience.

But perhaps as with a lot of hobbies it just waned.  I still like eating out and doing occasional fancy dinners, as well as hole in the walls and middle of the road bistros.  Eating out is almost the only time I eat meat, as well as certain ethnic foods I can't make at home.  But I don't get as excited about it.  I rarely have an experience anymore.  And I spend a lot less money on it.  Which is good for me for now.

Maybe someday you'll get interested again.  And that also seems totally normal for a hobby.  There are lots of people on here that have expensive hobbies and that's their "thing" and you don't have to quit your thing to be mustachian (so long as everything isn't your thing).  And maybe you won't and now you get to spend or save your money other ways - the bottom line being it should be in line with your carefully crafted values.

Have fun reprioritizing that money!  It should be lots of fun to redirect it to more productive things that are in line with your values now. Seems like you are in an enviable situation. More often folks need to change their spending habits to reduce spending on something they love (or think they can't do without) rather than finding savings on something that doesn't bother them to reduce.

[Bloop Bloop]

I guess everyone's different. I enjoy dining out. I like the taste and it saves me time and hassle at home. The money I spend on dining out in a given year equates to about 2 weeks' wages (after tax), but it also saves me - if I conservatively estimate that each meal would take 15 minutes to make and 5 minutes to clean up after - about 150 hours a year, i.e., 4 weeks of my time. I'm also a terrible cook and I hate cooking. So each to his/her own.

[SwordGuy]

I guess everyone's different. I enjoy dining out. I like the taste and it saves me time and hassle at home. The money I spend on dining out in a given year equates to about 2 weeks' wages (after tax), but it also saves me - if I conservatively estimate that each meal would take 15 minutes to make and 5 minutes to clean up after - about 150 hours a year, i.e., 4 weeks of my time. I'm also a terrible cook and I hate cooking. So each to his/her own.

You neglected to include:

travel time to/from the restaurant.
gasoline and wear and tear on your vehicle.
wait time to be seated.
wait time to be served.
wait time to have food prepared.
wait time to have food brought to you.
wait time for the server to notice you want to pay.
wait time for the server to handle your transaction.

You aren't saving time.

[Bloop Bloop]

I guess everyone's different. I enjoy dining out. I like the taste and it saves me time and hassle at home. The money I spend on dining out in a given year equates to about 2 weeks' wages (after tax), but it also saves me - if I conservatively estimate that each meal would take 15 minutes to make and 5 minutes to clean up after - about 150 hours a year, i.e., 4 weeks of my time. I'm also a terrible cook and I hate cooking. So each to his/her own.

You neglected to include:

travel time to/from the restaurant.
gasoline and wear and tear on your vehicle.
wait time to be seated.
wait time to be served.
wait time to have food prepared.
wait time to have food brought to you.
wait time for the server to notice you want to pay.
wait time for the server to handle your transaction.

You aren't saving time.

I don't drive to the restaurants. They are all located on the 10 minute walk from my workplace to my home (I live and work downtown, so I have plenty of choice). I can call in advance and have my order sorted out. The "transaction" handling takes about 2 seconds with payWave.

Sometimes when I have more spare time I choose to cook at home, which saves me a small amount of money but costs a lot of time. The only reason I do it is for health reasons - home cooking is healthier than eating out. From a time/money perspective it makes no sense whatsoever.

As I said, I dislike cooking, just as some others dislike driving, or going to the gym.

[Slee_stack]

I guess everyone's different. I enjoy dining out. I like the taste and it saves me time and hassle at home. The money I spend on dining out in a given year equates to about 2 weeks' wages (after tax), but it also saves me - if I conservatively estimate that each meal would take 15 minutes to make and 5 minutes to clean up after - about 150 hours a year, i.e., 4 weeks of my time. I'm also a terrible cook and I hate cooking. So each to his/her own.

You neglected to include:

travel time to/from the restaurant.
gasoline and wear and tear on your vehicle.
wait time to be seated.
wait time to be served.
wait time to have food prepared.
wait time to have food brought to you.
wait time for the server to notice you want to pay.
wait time for the server to handle your transaction.

You aren't saving time.

Likely valid for the average consumer.
Perhaps presumptuous for the average forum member here.

What is saving time anyway? I think it was incorrectly used and then blanketly attacked a little.

I would rather present it like this:

Resources (time and money) spent dining out (vs in) can be deemed a good (happiness) investment for those that are financially responsible.  Time cooking/preparing vs time dining is a very different thing to different people.  Pretty much like just about all spending of time.

On the flip side, its probably a good thing to re-evaluate one's spending and return on anything...including dining out.  All of us can  be slow to realize we might be continuing to toss money at things that we don't appreciate as much as we used to.

Its a good thread.

Personally, our household enjoys spending on some ethnic cuisines that we haven't been able to successfully replicate at home.  We tend to enjoy those as cheaply as we can.  We also deny ourselves (dining out) enjoyment more often than we need too though.  It could be general mustachian guilt kicking in.

[Metalcat]

You really don't need to justify not enjoying spending on restaurants.

To some of us, they are for the most part, incredibly overrated and typically deliver nowhere near the level of experience they would need to in order to justify their cost.

[HenryDavid]

Agree with all those who say it's more satisfying to create good food at home. Way better value, better experience. Any restaurant that is a) part of a chain, or b) needs to serve more than one group at each table every evening, i.e. they hustle you out after an hour . . . forget about it. Which rules out a huge number of North American restaurants. (Maybe some old-school diners excepted?)

However--from travelling around Europe over the past bunch of years I'd make an exception for small, family-run restaurants that don't live for one-time tourist visits. Places that rely on repeat visits from locals. Such places have to be good, and good value, otherwise they don't last. They offer a kind of paid-for home-visit experience, always decent and often amazing food, and pretty fair value. Some of our best dining-out moments have happened in places like this in France and Italy. Often it takes a while to track these places down, but we scout locations (quieter streets, no nearby tourist attractions) watch for local guest traffic, and check the ages of the staff: this type of restaurant rarely/never has part-time student workers. Usually it's grown-ups making their whole living cooking and serving food. They're gonna be there next week, next month, next year. They care. So often, we don't even futz over the menus, we just trust the staff to bring us what's good--and they do. These places can be a treasure.

[yorkville]

Sui Generis

I find it hard to treat eating out as a hobby, as its requires no effort other than spending money. If someone also cooks extensively at home and uses eating out as a way of comparing notes, then yes, I can see eating out being a hobby in the broader context of cooking. But most foodie type I run into seem only into eating out, and less about cooking.

Great comments on repriortizing the money to something I find more meaningful!

Maybe someday you'll get interested again.  And that also seems totally normal for a hobby.  There are lots of people on here that have expensive hobbies and that's their "thing" and you don't have to quit your thing to be mustachian (so long as everything isn't your thing).  And maybe you won't and now you get to spend or save your money other ways - the bottom line being it should be in line with your carefully crafted values.

Have fun reprioritizing that money!  It should be lots of fun to redirect it to more productive things that are in line with your values now. Seems like you are in an enviable situation. More often folks need to change their spending habits to reduce spending on something they love (or think they can't do without) rather than finding savings on something that doesn't bother them to reduce.

[sui generis]

Sui Generis

I find it hard to treat eating out as a hobby, as its requires no effort other than spending money. If someone also cooks extensively at home and uses eating out as a way of comparing notes, then yes, I can see eating out being a hobby in the broader context of cooking. But most foodie type I run into seem only into eating out, and less about cooking.

Great comments on repriortizing the money to something I find more meaningful!

Maybe someday you'll get interested again.  And that also seems totally normal for a hobby.  There are lots of people on here that have expensive hobbies and that's their "thing" and you don't have to quit your thing to be mustachian (so long as everything isn't your thing).  And maybe you won't and now you get to spend or save your money other ways - the bottom line being it should be in line with your carefully crafted values.

Have fun reprioritizing that money!  It should be lots of fun to redirect it to more productive things that are in line with your values now. Seems like you are in an enviable situation. More often folks need to change their spending habits to reduce spending on something they love (or think they can't do without) rather than finding savings on something that doesn't bother them to reduce.

It was definitely a hobby for me. I spent hours reading and researching chefs and their activities, backgrounds and innovations. The same for cities and their restaurants and cuisines they're famous for, then doing the actual eating, and sometimes I'd take notes (I briefly considered a side gig as a food critic) and get pics with the famous chef there. None of that did I apply to my own cooking. As with almost anything, humans can take their interest in any topic really far, beyond hobby. It was that for me for a while. It definitely didn't *require* effort beyond spending money, but the fact that hobbyists voluntarily give all that effort that isn't required is, I think, part of the definition of hobby.

Anyway, I get your clarification that that doesn't apply to you. All the more reason to follow your gut and stop don't it. Enjoy all that extra money!

[partgypsy]

I have to admit I enjoy going out to eat, though I don't o it very much since ex and I split (I guess u could say we were both foodies, given my family was in the restaurant business and he worked for decades in restaurants). I don't consider it a hobby, but it is something that I enjoy.
 Many chefs have techniques, equipment, experience also raw ingredients (see sushi grade fish, authentic sushi rice) tht I don't have or be hard to replicate. But I've def had times I've gone out to eat, been disappointed as far as value versus price. I just don't think you should compare going out to eat vs cook at home prices in terms of cost per calorie. And I am a decent cook. In my budget I have grocery/food/Staples, restaurant, and entertainment/travel as separate categories. For me restaurants are somewhere between food and entertainment category.

[Hula Hoop]

We like eating out but don't eat out a ton normally for mustachian reasons. Now that I've been on full lock down for 18 days (I'm in Italy), I find myself really craving eating out, amongst other things.  Tomorrow night, just to break things up a bit and stop us from going completely crazy, we're planning a family movie night but, since restaurants are all closed, I'm going to have to make home made pizza.  I really miss the ease and yumminess of take out pizza from our local place. 

I think we're all just craving going outside and seeing other people though.  I've only been out of my apartment 3 times in 18 days - twice for supermarket shopping and once to buy medicine.  If you're found outside without a valid reason, the fine is Euro 3000 currently.

[BikeFanatic]

We really reduced our eating out, and I am thrilled about it. I feel the experience never satisfies, and the cost to enjoyment ratio just doesn't calculate in my favor. Since I quit drinking the allore of going out to eat has greatly diminished.

On the flip side we save money, eat healthier and  my spouse is leaning to cook better, so less pressure on me. 

[asauer]

Same.  We now only eat out for two reasons: 
1. Date night once per month.  I am specifically paying for someone else to cook, bring me food and clean up.  I'm also paying for some level of ambiance, I don't pretend that I'm paying for food that couldn't be made at my house.
2. Kids special occasions like End of School and birthday

That's it.  It's not really worth it to me otherwise.

[Cassie]

We love to eat out and do it twice a week. However, now with the virus we are getting takeout and tipping generously.

[RFAAOATB]

I live in an area with one good restaurant and quite a few of lower middle quality food and decor with upper quality prices.  The good one isn't as good the numerous times I've come back.  I want to go to good restaurants but it is hard mentally justifying a $100-$250 bill.  I want to be able to buy a bottle of wine more often without worrying about the price.  When the restaurants open again I suspect they will have a month of pent up demand to deal with. 

In any case, I guess the more often we go, the less special it feels.  If I could plan ahead enough that we go out to eat 25% of the time we normally do but spend twice as much per visit I think it would be more enjoyable.

[yorkville]

After posting about losing interest in dining out around late March, I thought about this matter more and have some additional thoughts.

While I understand that we all derive pleasure from food, I wonder if the act of seeking out flavorful food or elaborately prepared food in itself is anti-mustachine. I thought there might be some discussion along this line in the text of stoicism, and here is what I found.

https://medium.com/stoicism-philosophy-as-a-way-of-life/how-to-eat-like-a-stoic-d72b90553011

Here is something that struck me as profound: "In particular, he thought that mastering one’s appetites for food and drink was the beginning of and basis for self-control."

We all know the importance of controlling our appetite for the sake of health. For example, I crave fried food, but since I kow its bad for my body, so I manage that craving. However, what if fried food has no harmful effect on my body, then should I indulge in it? The stoics are basically saying no. Even if there is no harm to the body, indulging in one's appetite is bad for one's mind.


 

[Metalcat]

After posting about losing interest in dining out around late March, I thought about this matter more and have some additional thoughts.

While I understand that we all derive pleasure from food, I wonder if the act of seeking out flavorful food or elaborately prepared food in itself is anti-mustachine. I thought there might be some discussion along this line in the text of stoicism, and here is what I found.

https://medium.com/stoicism-philosophy-as-a-way-of-life/how-to-eat-like-a-stoic-d72b90553011

Here is something that struck me as profound: "In particular, he thought that mastering one’s appetites for food and drink was the beginning of and basis for self-control."

We all know the importance of controlling our appetite for the sake of health. For example, I crave fried food, but since I kow its bad for my body, so I manage that craving. However, what if fried food has no harmful effect on my body, then should I indulge in it? The stoics are basically saying no. Even if there is no harm to the body, indulging in one's appetite is bad for one's mind.

Uh...I mean...kind of.

Healthy food can also be really exceptionally delicious, but sure, if you are looking to derive as little pleasure from food as possible, you could absolutely fashion yourself some bland Soylent-style sustenance if you really want to remove all of the basic pleasures of life.

The reason restaurant food is not generally Mustachian is because you pay an enormous premium to eat generally less healthy food than you could make for yourself at home.

I don't think anyone would consider homemade french fries to be un-mustachian. Nor do I think anyone would consider quality, delicious, inexpensive home cooked meals to be un-mustachian just because they're delicious.

There's an element of stoicism to Mustachianism, but avoiding pleasure is definitely not the main goal here for most of us.

[sui generis]

Throughout the pandemic, we've been getting takeout about once a week, much like we used to eat out once a week.  And I have to say....I AM losing interest in dining...well not "out" obviously, but eating food I didn't cook?

I definitely appreciate having the option of not cooking....one week that was a really important factor in getting takeout.  But the food also just loses something without the rest of the package, such as having the parts of the meal staged at proper times; plated conveniently and attractively; not having to do clean up.  Even just experiencing the decor of a different location than my own dining room can sometimes be a topic of conversation or at least a point of interest that is part of the package.

So I'm doing takeout to support local businesses and because sometimes I really don't feel like cooking, but it's certainly not as enjoyable as it used to be.

[Tasse]

Here is something that struck me as profound: "In particular, he thought that mastering one’s appetites for food and drink was the beginning of and basis for self-control."

We all know the importance of controlling our appetite for the sake of health. For example, I crave fried food, but since I kow its bad for my body, so I manage that craving. However, what if fried food has no harmful effect on my body, then should I indulge in it? The stoics are basically saying no. Even if there is no harm to the body, indulging in one's appetite is bad for one's mind.

I do a lot of cooking from scratch in pursuit of excellent food - excellent as in delicious, healthy, and reasonably-priced. Quashing my interest in eating well would eliminate a significant source of productive work, learning and growth, and bonding time with my partner. I suppose it would be less indulgent to drink soylent, but I can't see how it would improve any aspect of my life. It might save me time, but that time was already spent on some of my most important pursuits - pursuits I would argue are pretty in line with stoicism. What's to save?

[Cassie]

Dining out is more enjoyable than takeout. Some foods don’t travel well. I have made homemade French fries and they are delicious.

[Slow2FIRE]

We've made pho at home, no thanks, takes too long and requires some ingredients we are likely to not use anywhere else but in pho broth.  I'll go out and pay $10 for pho rather than spend 3hrs making it (not including the time to go to the Asian market we never normally visit).  $4 to $7 for a bahn mi sandwich or days on end of disappointment trying to figure out how to bake the same amazing bread?  Easy answer for me.

On the other hand, no restaurant under $50 per person can cook salmon or chicken as well as I can... (In my limited experience).

So for me it depends... Some things I would never go out to eat (most Japanese food is gross and prepared wrong in the entirety of the USA outside of the west coast, for example), and other things I would only go out to eat (I can't make donuts anywhere close to what monuts can do... They are amazing).

[billy]

Because I use to cook for corporate cafeterias I tend to do batch cooking to save time. I'm good to eat the same thing for multiple days or switch it up every other day. I heard Costco has pho broth, so with that, par frozen thin sliced beef, and some fresh produce it should be as hard as making a chinese chicken salad? ......mmm thai basil garnish for pho :)  I use my bread maker to mix pizza dough that yields 4 dough balls and freeze 3 of them, pizza sauce that I just blend up uncook with can whole can tomatoes and other stuff and done in 2 minutes. Pressure cooker/instapot is my secret weapon which saves time/creates more flavor, now that I think of it, pressure cooker is like what mmm/choose fi is for personal finance. Really though, you can make cooking as hard/time consuming or as easy as you want, just like multi fund or lazy 3 fund stock portfolio. Having said that, quick service/hipster roach coaches for special occasions (and for cooking ideal:).

[slackmax]

I lost interest in eating out when a cheeseburger, fries and and a thimble  of cole slaw went from $2.99 to $8.99. And a pint of microbrew went from $2 to $6.

Even so, I do still frequent a local sandwich joint where you can get a decent 7 inch italian hoagie with everything on it, for $4.29 plus tax.   That's a good deal, imho.  Plus soak up the atmosphere.       

[billy]

In some of the extra fancy hyper local microbrews that are sold at the grocery store, are getting to be almost as much as they are at the brewery. Happy hour for sure. In comparison beer costco kirkland $0.833 ea, Budweiser $0.611 ea (plus tax crv), my homebrew $0.44 ea

[YHD]

I can not wait to go out to eat in my favorite places.  Yes, I could probably learn how to cook my faves, even fast food.  But what is the point if I don't enjoy it for a false trade-off of money for time.

If self-actualization is the goal, part of my living my best life is to engage in hedonistic pleasure that provides high value and be an ascetic when faced with low value pursuits.  The dogmatic "be a stoic" is tiring and tiresome without contextualization.  But if being a stoic is what floats your boat, then by all means, eat the soylent, but only in moderation.

[rachellynn99]

When I travel I like to go to a local joint- Lobster rolls in downtown Portland, overlooking the water, a legit oyster bar, maybe a cutesy coffee shop to share a pastry with my daughter, but at home- we do not eat out.

It's a hassle for us- three kids to load up, we live out of town so driving there, driving back etc. just is a chore. I'm a good cook. My family isn't picky so we eat a variety of cool stuff.

I think that if I lived closer to places that were good and maybe my kids were older I would enjoy it more. We are just in a stage in our lives where we don't eat out much.

[flyingaway]

I never liked a full service restaurant for the following reasons.
(1) When I go to a restaurant, I am hungry and I don't want to wait an hour to get my meal.
(2) A full meal at a restaurant is usually too much for me and I want to lose some weight. I cannot just order an appetizer at a restaurant.
(3) I have to figure out a tip, too much or too little does not make me feel good.
(4) Although we are making $250k a year in a low cost of living area, I still don't like to spend a lot of money.
(5) A restaurant meal is not always better than a one prepared at home, or even from a fast food store.

[SailingOnASmallSailboat]

We eat out very rarely - generally, I can make better food at home. That said, every now and then (about 4-5 times a year, with maybe another 3 times getting a takeout kebab meal) we do go out for dinner together. Though I enjoy the fact that we have a lot of awesome options if we choose to dine out, and I get that if we don't support them now they're not likely to be there when the pandemic is over? We're completely uninterested in getting takeout, other than the place we have done in the past. Not convinced of the food safety, but more for me, a huge part of my enjoyment is in the fact that someone else cleans up.

[clarkfan1979]

My wife and I lived on Kauai for 4 years. Our biggest sacrifice was cutting the restaurant budget. The restaurant food on Kauai is so overpriced, it is incredibly difficult to justify. We could bring our own $1 beers to the beach, watch sunset and then drive 8 minutes home to cook burgers. Or we could spend $8 per beer and $24 each for the burger and fries.

Six beers ($6), 2 burgers ($7) , fries ($2) and a salad ($2). Three hours of leisure and eating for $17. Add tax and we are at $18. If we re-created this at the casual bar restaurant near the beach, it would be 6 beers ($48), 2 burger and fries ($48) and split one salad ($14). We are at $110, Then add $5 for tax, another $20 for tip and we are at $135.

$18 vs. $135

Is the food 650% better at the restaurant? Actually, the burgers at home are way tastier and more enjoyable. 

[YHD]

I agree about the restaurant situation in Kauai.  Hawaii in general is expensive.  In Kauai, they are expensive and mediocre.

Although we did find a pizza place we liked enough to go to twice in a 4 day holiday.

[Cassie]

Fly, you can bring leftovers home or just eat a appetizer.

[sui generis]

Fly, you can bring leftovers home or just eat a appetizer.

Yeah, agree. Just before the pandemic, my husband and I were just starting to get good at remembering to take a small Tupperware or two with us when we went out so we didn't keep collecting more excess takeout containers every time we couldn't finish it meals or wanted to save room for dessert. We had a good system!

[Catica]

(5) A restaurant meal is not always better than a one prepared at home, or even from a fast food store.

A restaurant meal is never better, it's terrible actually. The ingredients are always going to be inferior. Just visit any restaurant supply store. I went to one since they are now selling to the public and I will never eat out again. At least I know what I'm putting in my food!

[Arbitrage]

I agree about the restaurant situation in Kauai.  Hawaii in general is expensive.  In Kauai, they are expensive and mediocre.

Although we did find a pizza place we liked enough to go to twice in a 4 day holiday.

We honeymooned on Kauai, and that was my wife's lone complaint about the location - the food was quite mediocre. 

Aside from that, I agree with the general sentiment that I'm becoming more and more meh on eating out - sure, as a social event with friends it can be fun on occasion, but it takes too much time and I have more fulfilling things to spend my money on.  Fast food or fast casual options might save time on occasion, but there are the health and cost considerations.  Now that I'm putting more and more time and energy into cooking, I am learning to enjoy it as well. 

[Bloop Bloop]

(5) A restaurant meal is not always better than a one prepared at home, or even from a fast food store.

A restaurant meal is never better, it's terrible actually. The ingredients are always going to be superior. Just visit the restaurant supply stores. I went to one since they are now selling to the public and I will never eat out again. At least I know what I'm putting in my food!

There's no point dealing in absolutes. Some restaurants grow their own veggies and bake their own bread. A lot of meals prepared at home are just based on ingredients from the local HyperMegaMart.

[BlueMR2]

We were never really big on going out to eat.  Maybe once a week or once every 2 weeks as a special treat.  After a couple months of at home though, I don't miss going out to eat at all.  I really have no interest in going out to eat again once things open up.

[Runrooster]

I can not wait to go out to eat in my favorite places.  Yes, I could probably learn how to cook my faves, even fast food.  But what is the point if I don't enjoy it for a false trade-off of money for time.

The trick is to prefer homemade food.  Once you get used to certain flavors from a restaurant, you won't be able to recreate it at home no matter how good a cook you are.  Even McDonalds is hard to replicate.  So, don't try.  Make a homemade burger and fries and eat it so often that you feel sad if you have to endure a fast food burger.  Tastes are malleable like that.  That's why most people prefer Mom's home cooking unless Mom was really a terrible cook.  Or everyone prefers the type of pizza made in their hometown.  Beyond a certain basic level, we like what we're familiar with.

[OtherJen]

(5) A restaurant meal is not always better than a one prepared at home, or even from a fast food store.

A restaurant meal is never better, it's terrible actually. The ingredients are always going to be superior. Just visit the restaurant supply stores. I went to one since they are now selling to the public and I will never eat out again. At least I know what I'm putting in my food!

There's no point dealing in absolutes. Some restaurants grow their own veggies and bake their own bread. A lot of meals prepared at home are just based on ingredients from the local HyperMegaMart.

^^^This. One of my favorite restaurants in Detroit has a rooftop garden, bakes all their own breads and desserts, brews their own beer, and makes their own cheese. And the Lebanese and Yemeni restaurants in my area cook with high-quality meat from halal suppliers and loads of fresh veggies. They also bake their own bread. We've only gotten carry-out once during the last 2 months, and that was from our favorite Lebanese restaurant. We can't make shawarma like that in our kitchen, and their hummus is always better than whatever I make at home.

A lot of restaurants do use crap ingredients. I waited tables in a chain restaurant when I was in undergrad, and I haven't eaten there since. When possible, I avoid those restaurants like the plague.

[Catica]

(5) A restaurant meal is not always better than a one prepared at home, or even from a fast food store.

A restaurant meal is never better, it's terrible actually. The ingredients are always going to be superior. Just visit the restaurant supply stores. I went to one since they are now selling to the public and I will never eat out again. At least I know what I'm putting in my food!

There's no point dealing in absolutes. Some restaurants grow their own veggies and bake their own bread. A lot of meals prepared at home are just based on ingredients from the local HyperMegaMart.

True, I agree with you.  The problem for me is to find that kind of restaurant.  So if I have my own garden and bake my own bread, I see no need to seek out these places. I only eat out when I travel.
I found one place where they were making food in front of me and it was outrageously good.  The master chef/owner inspected every plate that was delivered to each table.  I was OK paying the high premium for that.  But 2 months later the place was gone.  To my chagrin, I read later in a paper that the chef was unwilling to sacrifice the quality but he couldn't afford to run the place.  The reality is that most places where I live (major US metropolitan area) in order to afford the rent have to cut corners as the clientele is not willing to pay proximity of $50+ a dish.