How often do you eat out/get take out?

[buckytom]

we eat takeout an inordinate amount every week of late; every day for a week or more sometimes.

before we had our son, dw and i used to go out to a restaurant about 2 or 3 times a week for dinner, and depending on my schedule, i'd often eat lunch out.

since we've had our son, we get takeout from many of those same restaurants, actually more often than before since time is at a premium now.

while i love to cook, i love to eat good food even more. unfortunately, i'm often too busy or too exhausted to even think of cooking, and dw is usually tied up being a great mom all day. i was thinking it might be financially more feasable just to get a private chef a few times a week, but i'm not sure how that works. i'll have to look into it.

anyway, i was wondering how often you eat out or get takeout?
i would imagine that the chefs and cooks here eat in their places of business often (of which i'm sorta jealous), and people who live in more remote locations wouldn't have that option.

 

[wasabi]

We usually eat out on the week ends when DH and I are out and about. About once a month, I'll order a Pizza Hut pizza, delivered for lunch.

 

[kyles]

I try and keep it to once or twice a month (I'm not counting my restaurant meals at work though!) I find take out food (and a lot of restaurant food) very salty and fatty, and unpalatable.

We've gone a bit crazy of late though, because my new fiance keeps finding new people for us to celebrate with!

 

[XeniA]

We're in the "rarely" category. There are only so many times I want souvlaki, and KFC/McDonalds is really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Past that, while I sometimes crave the ease and the atmosphere, I'm just too critical of the food to be satisfied dining anywhere that isn't truly superb, and that's usually out of the question money-wise. The mid-range stuff just makes me sick that I've spent the money for what is always mediocre food. However, because we so seldom eat out, we can justify splurging on the occasional filet or huge, fresh prawns. Thank heavens both my husband and I find cooking after a long day in the office a nice way to unwind.

I DO miss a good breakfast/brunch out, though, and also breakfast foods available 'round the clock. If those options were available here we might be going more often!

 

[boufa06]

DH prefers homecooked food so we do not dine out often except when he wants me to take a break from the kitchen and when we celebrate special occasions like namedays, birthdays, anniversary etc. Also when we entertain. I do however, have a penchant for gyros so once in a while I will patronise my favourite haunt for a takeout.

 

[YT2095]

we don`t eat out anymore since my daughter was born, but that`s only a temp thing until she`s old enough to come with us, but we still have the occasional Take-Away with Style

lemme explain, we live right in the middle of town, there are 4 take aways that dont involve crossing a road and 2 others that do require this, all are shouting distance away (the closest is 50 feet away).
we fone the order through AND get it delivered ))

 

[Chopstix]

We usually eat out Sunday night when our housekeeper takes her day off. It happens pretty often that I get invited to join DH and his visiting colleagues for dinner at a nice place. Then DH invites me out on a dinner date about once a month. Other than that, we normally eat at home. DH prefers my homecooked food but he'll never turn down an invitation to a really good restaurant.

 

[Robo410]

school feeds me at least once a day, sometimes more depending on duty. Eat out at a restaraunt, maybe once every 10 days or so.

 

[goboenomo]

More than once a week for me.
I had fast food only once this week. But it's still early in the week.

Would you count ordering chicken strips during my break at work fast food?
I work at a sit down restaurant called Montanas.

 

[Barb L.]

Now that we are retired, and watch our funds, we rarely go out to eat. We do order pizzas 3-4 times a month. I enjoy cooking so doesn't bother me at all. I do go out on Monday's for wings, with my friends.

 

[Half Baked]

Past that, while I sometimes crave the ease and the atmosphere, I'm just too critical of the food to be satisfied dining anywhere that isn't truly superb, and that's usually out of the question money-wise. The mid-range stuff just makes me sick that I've spent the money for what is always mediocre food. However, because we so seldom eat out, we can justify splurging on the occasional filet or huge, fresh prawns.

I feel exactly the same way. I don't want to go out to dinner unless it is a magnificent restaurant and we just can't afford that very often. We definately go out for our birthdays, a special dinner around Christmas and maybe one other time a year.

I am most always disappointed when we go out to the 'mediocre' places so I'd rather go buy a couple of lobsters and have a wonderful dinner at home.

 

[sparrowgrass]

I rarely eat out, delivery is non-existent in this little town, and take out just seems to take longer than cooking something at home. I don't even go out for lunch--I come home most days.

There are several reasons why I don't eat out. I don't like to spend the money for mediocre food. I try to eat healthy foods, and that is hard to stick by sometimes when eating out. I live alone, and I don't much like to go into the sit-down restaurants by myself.

Also, my choices are limited here--a McDonalds, a Sonic (gag), Subway, gas station pizza, a couple of hometown diner places where everything tastes like cigarette smoke, a good home cooking place, and a REALLY, really good BBQ place. I love the last two, but seem to save those for when I have company.

 

[Jules582]

My boyfriend and I try to go out to eat at least 1 night out of the weekend. I do love to cook though, so sometimes I just whip something up. We eat take out for lunch on most weekends too, something simple like subway or d'angelo's. We are both pretty health concious so we try to keep ordering out to a minimum.

 

[middie]

About once a week here. Not always fast food.

 

[Alix]

Count us into the "rarely" category because we like the meal to be truly memorable. If I'm going to spend money on it, it darned well better be something I can't or won't produce at home. We go on special occasions usually and the occasional pizza when I'm too bagged to cook.

BT, you're pretty darned nice to your wife. In my handbook, staying home with the kiddos meant producing meals too. When they were little that sometimes meant chicken nuggets though. LOL. Thats pretty easy to do even when you have to scrape the playdoh off the table before setting it.

 

[VeraBlue]

I prefer to cook, I enjoy the romance of it. Unfortunately, I don't get the opportunity to cook every day, either.

Usually, I'll bring something in for a friday night, or one other week night for my son and I.

I love going for a nice dinner, but it's hard to justify a 200 dollar meal when one is saving for a vacation.

I can say that between tomorrow morning and Friday evening, all meals will be eaten out. Yay for me!!

 

[urmaniac13]

Apart from grabbing a piece of pastry or a slice of pizza on the run while we are out and about, we very, very seldom dine out or use takeaways either. Partly because I can accomodate the time to prepare a decent, if not extravagant mind you, meal most of the time, even if not, there are always something around in the house for a short cut cooking. Probably our grocery bill is bigger than average, we are always buying some curious things to try, but since we hardly ever eat in a restaurant, it should more than even things out, and I am happy with this way. Anyway that's a good sign that Cris is happy with my cooking, he loves to eat and if he weren't happy, he would be insisting to eat elsewhere!

Having said that, I do really enjoy a good Indian fare in a good restaurant when it happens, where only the Indian chefs can get it just right....

 

[buckytom]

thanks alix, but i should mention that dw does cook for our boy, and she always offers to make more if i should want some.

in fact, since he was so sick his first year and a half, dw is obsessed with getting him to eat well. she makes 6 or 7 things for him to eat most nights, hoping he'll eat enough of some of them. it's usually chicken nuggets, fish sticks, hot dogs, kielbasi, mac and cheese, pasta with cottage cheese or alio olio, frozen pizza, and other simple foods, but how often can you eat them, or would want to if you're not a kid. it's the same foods for lunch too, 'cause that's all he'll eat.

i guess i'm a bit of a foodie snob, preferring to go into debt ordering out from a restaurant a lot rather than just eating what she made.

i'm not one of those guys to complain, tho. she's already cooked something, so if i don't want it, i'll either cook or go get dinner for us. she doesn't complain in return, because she loves good food almost as much as me.

btw, we rarely get fast food, like wendy's or kfc. maybe only a coupla times a year. i don't consider pizza fast food, since we get it often with mussels fra diavolo, antipasti, eggplant rolatini, and other things from one of the dozens of mom and pop places around us.

 

[mugsy27]

im in the once a week category. breakfast and dinner are ALWAYS homemade..and lunch is usualy as well. but sometimes i dont have time to make it (the night b4) so i go accross the street to the deli and try and keep is somewhat healthy!

 

[Uncle Bob]

I checked once a month...but thats probably a stretch...
Never ever fast food!
The older we have gotten I suppose we have become food snobs! Or is it that our taste change as we get older? Or maybe some of these "fine dining" resturants are living off their reputations... do you ever find yourself saying "they are not as good as they used to be" We live only 150 miles from New Orleans... Pre-Katrina we used to go down for a week-end here and there, and we were becoming less impressed with each visit. We have not been back Post-Katrina.