Is eating out worth it for the amount of money spent.

amother

↑ Smokey

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 7:02 pm

:)iknowit wrote:

We don’t feel like it’s worth it for us. Much prefer to buy steak and prepare it to our taste. If we go out it’s Schwarma.
For me it’s all about the food. I get social anxiety so definitely not an enjoyable experience. A night out would be us going to Whole Foods or the like and getting beautiful produce and then picking up a nice steak. We come home and prepare it together the way we like it.

Is the produce in Whole Foods so good? Sounds like a nice date night. I’ve never visited a Whole Foods.

amother

Cognac

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 7:58 pm

I live 5 hrs from the closest nice kosher restaurant. The only takeout by us is sushi once a week at the grocery store and the nursing home cafe.

At home, we do day dates where we go to a museum, go on nature walks, kayaking, biking etc Sometimes we see a play at night or go to the symphony or go out for drinks. But when we're near a nice kosher restaurant, it's worth every penny. We appreciate because it's a rare treat. I try to order well - some things aren't worth the price and don't fill you up, I agree.

amother

Catmint

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 8:04 pm

amother OP wrote:

When you go to a ''fancy meat restaurant'' do you come home full? I have been to places that are $75 -$85 a person and did not come home full. I have been to simpler places for shawarma and was fuller. (with eating Pita). We are usually home eaters (because of financial reasons).

Your question puzzles me, there are obviously other ways to feel full.
Did ever hear people say it's worth it because they feel full after eating out? Where is this idea coming from?

mommy3b2c

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 9:33 pm

#BestBubby wrote:

Restaurants are very expensive, not worth it.

But what else can a frum couple do together?

We don't go to movies.

If you go to a concert it's usually separate seating.

Separate seating at simchos.

Painting class , pottery , museum , bowling , pool, arcades , lounge , tennis , board game place ,ax throwing , Barnes and noble … you can’t think of anything to do besides going out to eat ??

(I love going out to eat but still, it’s not the only thing to do .)

amother

Lightgray

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 9:47 pm

We go out to eat but:
1)NEVER for a steak. A steak is the easiest thing to make. Literally. And silly to overspend in a restaurant for them to make it exactly the same.
2) we go to cheap places (Lakewood area). Lots of great options, and great vibes too if you look around! The most we spend is $70 total. And very full afterwards. And awesome food, sometimes even better than expensive restaurants. It makes you wonder, is it worth an extra $200 to get the fancy restaurant vibe? Also, I’m an introvert. I would hate to have to ask for ketchup or whatever. And sometimes when you go to a fancy place when it’s busy, you gotta wait for that ketchup. I’d rather get it myself lol.

amother

Maple

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 12:37 am

amother OP wrote:

OP here. We usually do not order the appetizers. Main with a drink. We also don't get 3 sides. Maybe we get a small salad. They give some bread with tiny size portions of dips but I don't want to fill up on the bread. We live Not far from Ramot. (Yerushalayim). I can't imagine spending more than $85 (each) on a meal. I would rather buy a shawarma and you get salad, pickles, it's quite filling for cheaper.

As a family, we like to order the assortment of meats that comes with many little salads. This way people can have as much as they want and nothing is wasted. We like Grill bar in Jlm. It’s 740 shekel for a specialty platter but it pays off for a family with young kids.

amother

Whitewash ↓

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 12:46 am

Its not worth it at all if you are eating out to get full.

People use dining out more as an event, an experience, eating food thats better than they make, pampering, celebration.

If your focus is to get full, then no. Save your money.

ora_43 ↓

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 11:02 am

Depends on the dish.

Generally speaking I won't pay for something I could make cheaper at home. But that still leaves a lot of options. Like an Israeli salad - not the chopped tomato and cucumber version, the kind that comes with roast vegetables and three kinds of nuts and like 200 grams of cheese. Is there a markup, sure. The ingredients didn't cost the restaurant 60 shekels. But if I wanted to go buy all the ingredients to make the salad at home, it would cost me 150 shekels, and it would take an hour to make. So - worth it.

And I'm not a great cook, so there's plenty of stuff I can't make, period Very Happy

. Plenty of options.

But the main fun of eating out isn't getting full. It's trying new dishes and spending time with people you like in a setting that feels removed from daily life. It's just different talking to a friend over coffee at a cafe than talking in your living room, knowing that the dirty dishes are lurking behind you, waiting.

amother

Tuberose

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 12:27 pm

Eating out isn’t to get full. It’s for an experience or a night out or to just get a break.

Experienced eater outter here lol- I eat out a couple of times a week at cheaper places and once a month at a nicer place for $300-400

amother

Jean

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 12:36 pm

I personally don’t think so but my husband does so we go out to steakhouses etc for birthdays anniversary. It’s super expensive but a nice experience. I guess we could afford it but I would rather save up the money for something else.

icedcoffee

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 12:37 pm

I go out to eat a lot and definitely have a lot to say about whether or not it's worth it, but I've never had the issue of not feeling full afterwards... whether it's a cheap falafel place or an expensive meat place, I don't think I've ever left a restaurant feeling like I'm still hungry. What

amother

Sapphire

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 12:47 pm

Who eats out for the feeling full factor I eat out for the taste and experience lol. If my goal was to feel full I would drink a protein shake not go out to fancy restaurant where u get to try all the different delicacies and sinful desserts.
But no I never leave a restaurant hungry

amother

Oldlace

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 2:26 pm

DH and I went out this week for an anniversary, new place, new cuisine and more than we'd ever spent on just the two of us. I don't regret that we did, although money is tight and it ended costing more than we planned, but of course we enjoyed each others company, and it was blessedly quiet - most of the cheaper restaurants are noisy and I have enough noise at home. But the food was meh. The next night I made gnocchi from a frozen pack, and DH and I both commented that it tasted better than the food the night before, for 5% of the price. But we ate it in bowls in front of the computer as we were working and kids kept coming out of bed
🤷‍♀️

↑ :)iknowit

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 2:56 pm

amother Smokey wrote:

Is the produce in Whole Foods so good? Sounds like a nice date night. I’ve never visited a Whole Foods.

k

Not really. Just not our local grocery store. We walk the isles and pick up some interesting things we’d like to try. It’s more for the outing.

amother

Trillium

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 3:08 pm

amother Lightgray wrote:

Where in Lakewood is cheap??

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 3:22 pm

amother Catmint wrote:

Your question puzzles me, there are obviously other ways to feel full.
Did ever hear people say it's worth it because they feel full after eating out? Where is this idea coming from?

I assume we are coming from different cultures. I came With a large family on Aliyah. Maybe we are living on less but I am not interested in the ''Excitement'' of the restaurant. We are going out to eat because our family is hungry and I don't want to cook. For us $85 a person is alot of money and I am expecting a nice amount of food. I understand what you are saying though. When relatives come here and we go out for brunch or something, they do not finish eating their food. The family living here in Jerusalem laughs about this all the time. We always finish whatever is on our plates.

amother

Geranium

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 3:27 pm

amother OP wrote:

I guess Israel is different, but here in Lakewood you can get very nice full meals for 15 to 20 dollars a person. You pay top dollar for the ambience and experience, not the food.

amother

Daylily

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 3:33 pm

The portions in fleshing places in israel are usually smaller- especially the ones with the better shechita hechsehers.

So op you’re not crazy! Had the same experience and much prefer to either go for shawarma or milchig.