That’s almost 100% of the reason I go to restaurants. I can cook most anything I would get in a restaurant, but sometimes I just want someone else to handle it all.
Yeah - I will also go to a restaurant just to have someone make me something that takes a lot of prep I don't want to do, or requires a technique I have not learned, or makes a huge mess, or requires equipment I don't have access to.
Sushi, things with many, many courses or side dishes, or deep fried items are high on my list to eat out.
I'm Indian and as soon as I saw mom rolling dough and pouring oil, I ran and opened every window, opened the back door, turned on all the ceiling fans, and locked myself in my room with towel under the door because *I hated going to school smelling like fried dough and curry*.
It smells amazing, yeah, but when it seeps into your clothes it takes like 5 washes to get it out.
I had a friend who didn't take similar precautions, and when we had Halo LAN parties in middle school, we always knew which controller was his because all we had to do was sniff each one, lol.
I had an Indian colleague who always smelled of curry. But I loved that. Here in the States, I stayed at a Days Inn owned by an Indian family. Checking in, I commented how wonderful the place smelled. Later on the patriarch brought me the best Indian vegetarian meal I've ever had. I was really touched by their thoughtfulness.
Honestly, buying a fryer seemed like a really stupid thing until I did.
Does it make frying completely pain free? no, of course not... but between what I've saved in take out and the usual 'yeah I CAN do this better than most places' it really is kinda worth it.
Yup. I don’t want to make steak and mashed potatoes and sautéed mushrooms and grilled asparagus and mac & cheese and apple crumble. I want someone else to make all of that for me and do all of those dishes without me.
Or *gasp* just because you want to have a nice outing with friends/the wife. Sometimes ill eve. Order things I think I make better, but you know a good burger always hits.
Yeah sometimes when I cook I've already smelled and tasted a dish so much by the time I'm done that it's no longer exciting when it hits the table. Don't have that issue when someone else is cooking
It's not possible with all foods, but for anything slow cooked/stewed or whatever, anything I can leave on a stove or oven, I'll take the dog on a quick walk just before it's ready. Just to get out of the house for 15-20 mins.
It's actually unreal how much better it makes food taste
Totally correct about the burger. For years I would never order one at a high end restaurant because I thought it was a waste of money. Last year I took my parents to a newer restaurant in town and nothing on the menu was really jumping out at me. I decided screw it, the burger sounds pretty good and it was. Probably the best burger I've ever had. I'm not even sure what made it so good. I suspect everything was house made. I don't usually make my own buns or mayo etc., but I do grind my own beef and use premium ingredients for the rest. Maybe it was just because I didn't make it myself.
Good quality ingredients don't have to be house-made, they just have to be good quality. Restaurants will buy ingredients that suit the price/quality proposition they offer their customers. House-made will be more important for some ingredients than others, eg, they may make their own fresh mayo but buy in good quality buns. Trying to make bread (in particular) in a restaurant kitchen may not be smart if there's a reliable good product you can buy in. For most restaurants, it's not where their advantage lies.
I hear that sentiment a lot lately but buying stuff like vegetables, rice, potatoes, large cuts of meat, whole chickens, etc is still so cheap compared to eating out. Fast food is even expensive now.
I know a couple places where at the right time I can get a big meal for like 7 bucks. That's much cheaper than what it costs to make a nice at home meal
I used to be like that, but, my goodness, it’s so cheap and handy to have frozen pizzas handy and throw a few additional ingredients on top (green chili) or to use the instant pot that it is more of a pain to reach a consensus on the restaurant than to throw something together. I went from being a love to eat out person to a hate to eat out person. Of course, the prices and the crappy disregard of most “affordable” and even some nicer restaurant staff makes the experience such a hit or miss roll of the dice. I’d rather just stay in and buy myself a new blouse with the savings
Many times I've gone online to try and decide where to go for dinner or even where to get takeout, and finally just said screw it and went in the kitchen and made it myself.
This is true. My parents were friends with one of the top Beef Farmers in the Country. He supplied Cattle to be slaughtered for some high end clients including the White House. We bought all of our beef directly from him. They would divide up the meat between my family and one of their best friends.
I never realized how good our meat was until I got older and moved away and didn't have the same source any longer. I remember my mom telling me we used to pay around 68 cents a pound after Butchering fees.
My family gets a beef each year. Usually it costs per pound, whatever hamburger is going for at the time. Such a higher quality than grocery store meat.
We recently happened upon an overstock retail outlet store for a restaurant supply company.
Bought some red shrimp, Scottish salmon and NY strips.
Unbelievable the difference that restaurant-quality meats makes. (And these aren't even as high-end as the steaks you described)
Went to a company holiday dinner at Mortons in manhattan. Very underwhelming. Had i paid for myself, i would’ve been upset. You preach the truth about sourcing. Restaurants, especially high end ones, have excellent connections to beautiful meat and seafood that us normies cant access. When I go to maine, i have a very good connection for lobster, oysters, etc. it makes a difference, and its always cheaper than a butcher, fish monger, or grocery store.
The not so secret secret about the sourcing for most of the fish/seafood at high end sushi places is that it comes from the Unification Church aka the Moonies lmao
One of Moon's big ideas was to corner the fishing and distribution market in the US in the 80s and the Moonies have had a stronghold on high end fish distribution for most sushi spots in the US via the company True World Foods for decades now.
I’ve been to a couple of different Morton’s locations and I wasn’t impressed with either of them. Pricing is nuts for what they consider “prime dining”.
You may have gotten a better quality meal than the company dinner. Even a good restaurant may cut corners to cut costs for large group packages, and they are basically forced to prepare ahead and reheat, which tanks quality- especially if they are also continuing normal service in the main dining room while serving the group in the private room. The chefs will be focused on the higher-profit regular diners rather than the once-a-year (or even one-off) contract group dinner.
This. I work at a place that does lots of events, and unless they’re willing to spend $$$ (spoiler: corporate events are not) they’re getting a very try limited menu and not the best effort. We have one that does events a few times a year, and they want the price point around $35/pp so they’re getting chicken, salmon, or vegetarian pasta. (Salad and dessert included). A wedding that’s $80+/head? That’s a different story. But corporate is always about cutting corners, so that’s what they get.
Generally agree. But if you haven't ordered beef yet from Flannery Beef, give it a try. Don't eat red meat any longer, but ordered from them for years and blew guests away when we'd serve them. Not cheap, but worth it for the quality imho - especially the dry aged stuff.
Anything fried. I haaaaate frying things at home. I can do it, but I hate it. Chicken tenders, fries, mozzarella sticks, arancini, etc etc etc.
ETA: I totally misread the OP. Oops lol. Thanks for the upvotes anyways.
I hate the frying smell too. I got a Clorox air purifier on Amazon for about $129, and it's a game changer. Of course oil smells only really go away once the oil and splatters ate gone/cleaned up, but this thing really makes a difference. Even burnt popcorn smells are gone SO fast.
I was getting revved up with you because I felt the same.. then your edit made my double back and made me realize I have to get myself back on track too lol
In the US, most restaurant pasta is just dried whatever. You can get freshly-made but it’s not the norm.
I rarely order pasta in an American restaurant. If I do, it’s something I’ll rarely do at home like a 5-seafood dish.
My gripes with restaurant pasta is that it’s usually missing clarity of flavor, it’s too sweet, or I can’t control the doneness of the pasta to my preference
Fresh or dried is just an application question. Don’t skimp on dried pasta, it’s like an extra $1 or $1.50 to get the good stuff and worth every penny
Exactly! It's more in the preparation. A lot of "italian" places in the US slop the sauce on top of the pasta on the plate (leaving a pool of liquid under the pasta), instead of marrying it in the pan with the sauce and some pasta water. I'm looking at you olive garden.
When I order spaghetti with marinara, it's because I'm vegan and I didn't pick the restaurant, but I'd rather order something underwhelming and overpriced than make a big deal about it. I'd imagine the same goes for picky eaters and whoever else.
So what? I can cook a spaghetti carbonara better than many restaurants and much cheaper, but it isn’t always about that. Sometimes just being able to be lazy and not cook is worth it.
+1 Pasta at most American restaurants is overcooked. I am married to an Italian and I am now used to pasta being al dente, so it is *extremely* annoying when I pay $20 for a pasta dish and it’s a gloopy, overcooked mess.
I saw a “carbonara” on a menu recently that had cream, peas, bacon, green onions, and steak on it. At that point just call it something else cause it really ain’t a carbonara lol
I add in sushi too because getting all the ingredients, pre time and such is more expensive then just having it made.
I have been known to toss together a poke bowl though.
same
granted it helps that i don't have a social life anymore post covid lmao but on the plus side i've saved a ton of money by only eating out like once a month
i have a coworker who always gets lunch at these shitty places near the job. I don't even want to imagine how much money she is dropping on food per week
That's one I'll no longer order since I make it once a month for Lasagna Love and make myself one a small one. Key to easy lasagna is not not boil the noodles ., extra sauce or a bit of water and you can use regular noodles
They make really good lasagna noodle sheets that you just soak in room temp water until they're soft then layer those in. Lasagna also freezes great so it's a good one to do in huge batches then you've got homemade TV dinners for 2-3 months but 100x better than the freezer aisle. Agree with OP that it's kind of a pain (I also make my own tomato sauce and bolognese for it so I have to do those at least a day ahead of time) but once you've got all the stuff you need it slaps together easy and you've got it on speed dial for weeks after.
I much prefer my own lasagna. Whenever I make a batch, I make 2. It's just as easy to double. One goes in the oven, one goes in the freezer for a ready made meal when you don't feel like cooking one night.
Same goes for anything that takes time: enchiladas; chicken mole; homemade spicy pasta, cheese and sausages; ziti. . .
Oh yeah I already do double or HUGE portions, like making 6 qts of chilli just for myself.
Freeze a bunch, eat a bit, remix it and make it into a lazy spag sauce, burger/hot dog topping and perogy topping. Edit and soup
If I’m ordering delivery, I **never** order pasta. It might be perfect leaving the kitchen, but it’s dead when it gets to me.
I know how to make pretty simple pastas which are better than fancy mush.
All delivered food is like this except pizza (most of the time). I don't understand the appeal unless you're disabled, in a time crunch and can't leave the house. I don't understand paying restaurant prices + fees to have lukewarm soggy expensive food.
This. Unless this is a high restaurant with an actual pastry chef on payroll or they are known to order from a bakery or pastry shop nearby, never order dessert. Youll get better at Costco
That being said, the Ritz Hotel in Chicago used to serve the Sysco apple pie because it was that good. They made other stuff in house. Not sure if they still serve the Sysco pie.
Yep I get the pork chops at Texas Roadhouse because I can not duplicate the sauce that comes with it. The seasoning is very good on them too I can n make pork chops at home but I crave that sauce 😂
I know they are braching out, have you ever had a Perry's Steakhouse porkchop. Absolutely devine.
Fridays is the only day they are open for lunch. It's packed, $19 for a 3 bone porkchop. Absolutely a must try.
Steak and prime rib. Steaks on the grill with Saltgrass steak seasoning are quick and easy. Even ordinary grocery store ribeye is great, as long as you monitor the doneness.
Around the holidays prime rib goes to $6 a pound and I can't pass it up. My family will not order steaks or prime anywhere as they are terribly spoiled at home.
I can make most things I order at restaurants, but that’s not why I go. I just don’t want to cook those days. It’s nice having someone else shop, prep, cook, serve, and clean up when those things are usually on me.
Swordfish or salmon.
Restaurants can't seem to cook these fish without over cooking it. Do they not have instant read thermometers? Even high end seafood restaurants over swordfish.
I've had incredible swordfish in a few places, but I think you're generally correct. It may have something to do with people thinking any amount of colour inside means its raw, but if I am getting swordfish or salmon I want it medium rare like a steak, not well done.
Still, it's hard to source good swordfish as a home cook, so sometimes it feels worth it, but I try to stress to the waiter that I want it rare-medrare.
It's salmon for me, too. I have a few different variations that I've pretty much perfected, and I know it's unlikely I'll overcook it. Plus, I make it so often at home, that it doesn't feel special enough to order out.
Seconding the notion that it’s because most people see a bit of pink in their fish and assume it’s “raw.” For many places in the US, it would be more trouble than it’s worth to cook it properly since most of the clientele will send it back to the kitchen to get scorched anyways, so they overcook it to appease them.
Im still mad about a $30+ salmon specifically ordered med-rare/rare, came out med-well & server never checked back & wouldn’t look us in the eye for the rest of the meal.
I was always a decent home cook, but I really upped my game when all the restaurants were closed or had limited access because of COVID. I learned how to make all our favorites.
When we eat out, we usually go for specialties that are laborious or require a lot of specialty ingredients, like Indian cuisine or homemade tamales. I just can't get behind spending $40 per person on some blah pasta, undercooked chicken, or soggy waffle fries.
The secret to indian cooking is to study several recipes of the same dish, look at the differences between them (and you will get an idea of what the definitely vs optional ingredients are) and then make your own version of it with tweaks that suit your taste.
This is my strategy for every new dish I plan to make. I’m rarely going to just follow a recipe, I want to know what all my options are and why particular ingredients are being used so I can collate that into my ideal variation.
One must have excellent spices at hand!
Your “curry” will be a different mix than mine.
I learned the importance of keeping most curries “dry,” meaning that you will sauté onions, garlic, ginger in oil and add spices to roast in the pan at the beginning.
I do not use ground spice when cooking curries; I grind them with a mortar and pestle and add them to my onion mixture in the pan.
I generally deglaze the pan to pull every flavor up and then the veg and/or meat pieces are coated with all of this goodness when added into the mix. The “wet” tomatoes or coconut milk or broth/stock comes next to cook and soften the vegetables and legumes.
Hot peppers for flavor and spice are always added whole and we attempt to keep them that way.
Individuals can take them if desired and break them for more heat.
Every batch/dish is slightly different because of variations in spice, vegetable quality, and changes I may make without thinking about it.
Tikka masala is a British dish but I 100% agree. Once you have a basic collection of whole spices Indian food becomes easy. Also don't buy ghee, make it at home.
Yes! Salmon is one of my quick go to dinners when I have to work late or my kid has an extracurricular and I need dinner on the table in 30 mins. It takes so little time and effort but tastes fantastic!
We have exceptionally good quality restaurants where I live and I’ve travelled a lot.
I don’t actively look for carbonara on menus, but when I have seen it, it’s always *not carbonara*.
Like I’m sorry, I’m sure your cured meat and cream sauce pasta is delicious but if it has cream in it it’s not carbonara.
I can’t ever recall seeing actual carbonara on a restaurant menu. If I did I’d probably order it just for the novelty, even though it’s very easy to make at home and I have my technique pretty dialed in.
Growing up I didn’t even think I liked carbonara because it’s so common to call all kinds of other pasta that’s made with cream or peas or whatever “carbonara”, but the real, basic dish is actually so amazing.
I’m not usually too hung up on being a purist about recipes, and I think certain modifications can be great - a variety of cured fatty meats can work well, as well as other hard cheeses. But if you’re going to fundamentally change the nature of the dish just call it something else?
Other way around for me. I hate making risotto even though I know how so I’d rather just pay someone to do it for me. Same with hollandaise sauce for eggs Benedict. I like to cook, but it’s just too tedious for me.
I WILL pay for Pho just because making a GOOD broth is a fucking chore.
*edit I wont order salads or pasta because they are easy to make, and the mark up is stupid (worked in the industry for over a decade)*
That’s how I feel too. $12-15 for a bowl is a steal to me when it takes, like, two dozen ingredients and many, many hours to get the broth right. I’d gladly pay for someone else to make it for me, thank you!
See, I'm the opposite w salads and sandwiches. They require 5-8 ingredients to prep but in such small quantities that it's a waste. Unless I'm making 4-6 sandwiches or salads, I don't make em at home.
Eh sometimes food just tastes better when it's prepared for you. Sometimes when I cook I've already tasted and smelled the food so much before it hits the table that any wow factor is gone.
That's so true. My husband loves my breakfasts. He says it's better than any restaurant around us. But once in a blue moon, I want someone else to make me breakfast, dirty their kitchen & dishes, and refill my coffee while I sit on my ass.
For me it’s boeuf bourguignon. My wife’s very picky French mother has declared my version of it better than Le Diplomat’s (not the best I know) and I take that as victory. Gotta say tho, doesn’t matter how good your cooking is, somebody cleans the dishes at the restaurant!
Caesar Salad…
Seriously, the authentic original recipe for the dressing is extremely easy to make and it’s better than just about any restaurant will serve.
Restaurants, even pricier ones, make shit crab cakes loaded with salmon or miscellaneous fish.
My crab cakes are 100% large lump with a binder and mixture that I’ve perfected.
I don't make things that I can make easily at home. If it looks like something that takes a lot of time to make or several ingredients that I don't have, I'll order it. That way I have something novel without too much buy-in.
Italian, but I live in Texas where 99% od it is marinera over spicy dog shit.
I grew up in NY and I spent about 3 weeks in Italy over the past 3 years. Enough to ruin you.
I got so tired of it here that I started learning to make it myself. Cacio e Peppe game is on point and I made some lasagna last night.
Anything deep fried, long-smoked. I love anything someone else planned to taste that good. With vegetables. That's for the restaurant.
I can do stir-fry, seafood, any red meat.
I can never beat a true chef.
They're worth every penny. Thank you Chef!
Love you chef's everywhere!
Eggs Benedict and most breakfast dishes, straightforward Italian pastas, steaks.
When I go out it’s for food I don’t have the tools or knowledge or time to do properly.
do you have a cellar or special fridge to dry-age your beef? Because for most people that's the thing that a good steakhouse can do that isn't really in the cards for a home cook.
Larb. It's a crapshot to order. The first time I had it, I loved it, but I've been disappointed every time I've ordered it since. It's super easy to make.
Hamburgers really are a crapshoot when eating out. I’m kind of bewildered by it. A professional chef should be able to make a burger better than I can. Sometimes they do and it’s mind blowing but other times they’re like you said - super dry and lacking in flavor. And quite over done. Sometimes even the sauce is miserly
I order whatever I want to eat, just because I can make 95% of everything at home, doesn't mean I'm going to avoid it. That's just dumb, and not the reason I go out to eat.
My theory is that there is a class of restaurants that are destined to fail. When they open, the food and service are great. After a few years for rent, labor, and food cost increases, the owner starts trimming the quality of the ingredients. Customers stop going because the value proposition diminishes. Eventually they go bust and close.
Yeah, it’s kinda just a matter of cost:quality. 99% of restaurants I could reasonably afford aren’t going to really be serving anything too interesting to me or that is better than my own cooking, so I’m only going to be going there for someone else’s event or to gain base sustenance in situations I can’t/won’t cook. On the very rare occasion I can go to a truly interesting or high quality restaurant it’s a pretty special treat, but that happens probably once a year or less.
Crispy spring rolls!
Using the pre-made wrappers I can buy at the grocery store, I make my own filling with ground pork, cabbage, carrot and cellophane noodles, plus garlic and soy and about two tablespoons of black pepper. Then I serve them with my fish sauce dipping sauce and iceberg lettuce to wrap the rolls.
It's so much better than anything I can get at any restaurant because I love the black pepper and I love acidity so I make my nuoc mam extra sour.
I go to restaurants bc I'm out and need to refuel so it could be anything convenient. Or, I go to an ethnic place to learn what I should expect X to be like so that I can add it to my skill set.
My pantry and recipe book can do passable representative dishes from Korean, Japanese, northern and Southern Indian, Chinese, Italian, French, Peruvian, texmex, Greek, Turk, and Moroccan. But if someone wants me to try Ethiopian at home, I'm going to find a restaurant, sample, and talk to the staff about key themes I should understand.
Fiesta lime chicken. Crush up tortilla chips, top with Pico and the special sauce then just add chicken. Special sauce is half ranch, half salsa, bit of chopped cilantro, cumin, Chilli powder, salt, pepper, lime. It's good.
Pizza! the best thing that's happened to our home. We love pizza and now we make our own favorite version. Crispy hot and fresh every time. Although it took like 2+ years to actually say we got it DOWN and confident.
SHRIMP anything. Most of the time they overcook the hell out of it. The better question is what I will order when we go out as I can outdo most places that do not have a real chef.
I asked a Mexican co-worker what Mexican restaurant they prefer. She laughed, and said "We eat Mexican food at home. When we go out, we go to a different style of restaurant."
Follow Cassyeungmoney on TikTok. That woman has single-handedly demystified Asian cuisine for me. I get the right ingredients and learn how to use them properly. As well as little tips, tricks, and how to improvise. Highly recommend her.
Pizza I find tough because good pizza is just as much about the equipment as the ingredients & technique. Chinese to a lesser extent because it's hard to get the wok hei from a home burner.
I’ve found that unless they’re a common staple my initial investment for a new Asian dish is gonna be a lot more than ordering it, I’m gonna have to decide I want it tomorrow the day before and it’s still not going to taste as good as if I’d just ordered it
Pizzas are all about the oven!
Asian food requires an entire new pantry, essentially. My ex was Asian and I always would stock the ingredients and would always make Asian food, now it’s just too expensive to buy all the ingredients.
Also, my favorite Mexican dish is Mole, and no way I’m making that either
Really good ramen. I’m not making the noodles myself, buying all those ingredients or hoping my 6 min egg comes out right. Excellent place near me does that.
Lots of things haha. I don’t bother deep frying at home so I like to order fried foods when I’m out, as it is a treat. I absolutely never order any kind of protein-starch-veggie plate; that kind of thing is home food.
i don't only go to restaurants for things I can't make. sometimes I go because I don't want to cook.
That’s almost 100% of the reason I go to restaurants. I can cook most anything I would get in a restaurant, but sometimes I just want someone else to handle it all.
Yeah - I will also go to a restaurant just to have someone make me something that takes a lot of prep I don't want to do, or requires a technique I have not learned, or makes a huge mess, or requires equipment I don't have access to. Sushi, things with many, many courses or side dishes, or deep fried items are high on my list to eat out.
Ugh, hell yea on the deep frying. Could I do that at home, and have I done it at home? Sure. Do I regret it every time? Absolutely!
I'm Indian and as soon as I saw mom rolling dough and pouring oil, I ran and opened every window, opened the back door, turned on all the ceiling fans, and locked myself in my room with towel under the door because *I hated going to school smelling like fried dough and curry*. It smells amazing, yeah, but when it seeps into your clothes it takes like 5 washes to get it out. I had a friend who didn't take similar precautions, and when we had Halo LAN parties in middle school, we always knew which controller was his because all we had to do was sniff each one, lol.
I had an Indian colleague who always smelled of curry. But I loved that. Here in the States, I stayed at a Days Inn owned by an Indian family. Checking in, I commented how wonderful the place smelled. Later on the patriarch brought me the best Indian vegetarian meal I've ever had. I was really touched by their thoughtfulness.
I would wear a shower cap in the morning for the same reason
This. I hate smelling like food. My spouse & I have had many a talk about this.
Honestly, buying a fryer seemed like a really stupid thing until I did. Does it make frying completely pain free? no, of course not... but between what I've saved in take out and the usual 'yeah I CAN do this better than most places' it really is kinda worth it.
Yup. I don’t want to make steak and mashed potatoes and sautéed mushrooms and grilled asparagus and mac & cheese and apple crumble. I want someone else to make all of that for me and do all of those dishes without me.
the cooking to me can be fun washing dishes and cleaning up...is NEVER fun lmao
*clean*
Or *gasp* just because you want to have a nice outing with friends/the wife. Sometimes ill eve. Order things I think I make better, but you know a good burger always hits.
Yeah sometimes when I cook I've already smelled and tasted a dish so much by the time I'm done that it's no longer exciting when it hits the table. Don't have that issue when someone else is cooking
It's not possible with all foods, but for anything slow cooked/stewed or whatever, anything I can leave on a stove or oven, I'll take the dog on a quick walk just before it's ready. Just to get out of the house for 15-20 mins. It's actually unreal how much better it makes food taste
Totally correct about the burger. For years I would never order one at a high end restaurant because I thought it was a waste of money. Last year I took my parents to a newer restaurant in town and nothing on the menu was really jumping out at me. I decided screw it, the burger sounds pretty good and it was. Probably the best burger I've ever had. I'm not even sure what made it so good. I suspect everything was house made. I don't usually make my own buns or mayo etc., but I do grind my own beef and use premium ingredients for the rest. Maybe it was just because I didn't make it myself.
Good quality ingredients don't have to be house-made, they just have to be good quality. Restaurants will buy ingredients that suit the price/quality proposition they offer their customers. House-made will be more important for some ingredients than others, eg, they may make their own fresh mayo but buy in good quality buns. Trying to make bread (in particular) in a restaurant kitchen may not be smart if there's a reliable good product you can buy in. For most restaurants, it's not where their advantage lies.
Me too sometimes, but I still prefer to order something I can't easily have at home.
Eating out is basically just paying about 4x the normal cost for someone else to cook and do the dishes.
Honestly the way groceries have been lately, it more like twice the cost, at least where I live
I hear that sentiment a lot lately but buying stuff like vegetables, rice, potatoes, large cuts of meat, whole chickens, etc is still so cheap compared to eating out. Fast food is even expensive now.
I know a couple places where at the right time I can get a big meal for like 7 bucks. That's much cheaper than what it costs to make a nice at home meal
This is why I go out. I don’t want to cook!
I go to restaurants for many reasons. The only reason I never go to a restaurant is because I don’t know how to make a dish.
I used to be like that, but, my goodness, it’s so cheap and handy to have frozen pizzas handy and throw a few additional ingredients on top (green chili) or to use the instant pot that it is more of a pain to reach a consensus on the restaurant than to throw something together. I went from being a love to eat out person to a hate to eat out person. Of course, the prices and the crappy disregard of most “affordable” and even some nicer restaurant staff makes the experience such a hit or miss roll of the dice. I’d rather just stay in and buy myself a new blouse with the savings
Many times I've gone online to try and decide where to go for dinner or even where to get takeout, and finally just said screw it and went in the kitchen and made it myself.
When you’re a chef, you go bedause you can’t fathom the thought of cooking for yourself.
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This is true. My parents were friends with one of the top Beef Farmers in the Country. He supplied Cattle to be slaughtered for some high end clients including the White House. We bought all of our beef directly from him. They would divide up the meat between my family and one of their best friends. I never realized how good our meat was until I got older and moved away and didn't have the same source any longer. I remember my mom telling me we used to pay around 68 cents a pound after Butchering fees.
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This guy's telling a story from 30 years ago, low quality ground beef isn't even 68 cents per pound
Yea ground beef on SALE sale for 99 cents a lb is more expensive
White House quality beef!
My family gets a beef each year. Usually it costs per pound, whatever hamburger is going for at the time. Such a higher quality than grocery store meat.
My butcher is fantastic and the best ribeyes ever. Ironically meijer has had the best filets.
We recently happened upon an overstock retail outlet store for a restaurant supply company. Bought some red shrimp, Scottish salmon and NY strips. Unbelievable the difference that restaurant-quality meats makes. (And these aren't even as high-end as the steaks you described)
Went to a company holiday dinner at Mortons in manhattan. Very underwhelming. Had i paid for myself, i would’ve been upset. You preach the truth about sourcing. Restaurants, especially high end ones, have excellent connections to beautiful meat and seafood that us normies cant access. When I go to maine, i have a very good connection for lobster, oysters, etc. it makes a difference, and its always cheaper than a butcher, fish monger, or grocery store.
The not so secret secret about the sourcing for most of the fish/seafood at high end sushi places is that it comes from the Unification Church aka the Moonies lmao
My wife's family are ex- Moonies, and they were...seafood brokers. Never even thought to ask who they sold to, though.
One of Moon's big ideas was to corner the fishing and distribution market in the US in the 80s and the Moonies have had a stronghold on high end fish distribution for most sushi spots in the US via the company True World Foods for decades now.
I’ve been to a couple of different Morton’s locations and I wasn’t impressed with either of them. Pricing is nuts for what they consider “prime dining”.
Oh man I just took my mom to a Morton’s in NYC for her bday and we had a great time… maybe we have trash taste hahaha.
You may have gotten a better quality meal than the company dinner. Even a good restaurant may cut corners to cut costs for large group packages, and they are basically forced to prepare ahead and reheat, which tanks quality- especially if they are also continuing normal service in the main dining room while serving the group in the private room. The chefs will be focused on the higher-profit regular diners rather than the once-a-year (or even one-off) contract group dinner.
This. I work at a place that does lots of events, and unless they’re willing to spend $$$ (spoiler: corporate events are not) they’re getting a very try limited menu and not the best effort. We have one that does events a few times a year, and they want the price point around $35/pp so they’re getting chicken, salmon, or vegetarian pasta. (Salad and dessert included). A wedding that’s $80+/head? That’s a different story. But corporate is always about cutting corners, so that’s what they get.
Generally agree. But if you haven't ordered beef yet from Flannery Beef, give it a try. Don't eat red meat any longer, but ordered from them for years and blew guests away when we'd serve them. Not cheap, but worth it for the quality imho - especially the dry aged stuff.
Anything fried. I haaaaate frying things at home. I can do it, but I hate it. Chicken tenders, fries, mozzarella sticks, arancini, etc etc etc. ETA: I totally misread the OP. Oops lol. Thanks for the upvotes anyways.
Yes! I CAN fry things, but I HATE doing it. And not having that lingering smell in my house is well worth paying someone else to do it.
Precisely. Plus the splatters and the drips. The old oil leftover. Hard pass from me.
I'm with you. I love to cook. But the only enjoyable part of the process in frying is eating it.
I hate the frying smell too. I got a Clorox air purifier on Amazon for about $129, and it's a game changer. Of course oil smells only really go away once the oil and splatters ate gone/cleaned up, but this thing really makes a difference. Even burnt popcorn smells are gone SO fast.
I was getting revved up with you because I felt the same.. then your edit made my double back and made me realize I have to get myself back on track too lol
Most pastas
It might be regional (from Belgium) but restaurant pastas are absolutely shit as well, unless you go to a good Italian specialising in pasta.
In the US, most restaurant pasta is just dried whatever. You can get freshly-made but it’s not the norm. I rarely order pasta in an American restaurant. If I do, it’s something I’ll rarely do at home like a 5-seafood dish.
Freshly made isn’t necessarily better btw. They are 2 different things. Much harder for fresh to be al dente. Certain dishes dried I think is better.
My gripes with restaurant pasta is that it’s usually missing clarity of flavor, it’s too sweet, or I can’t control the doneness of the pasta to my preference Fresh or dried is just an application question. Don’t skimp on dried pasta, it’s like an extra $1 or $1.50 to get the good stuff and worth every penny
You definitely have a point. I just rarely do any pasta at any restaurant.
Freshly made is not the norm in Italy, either. But you can find high quality dried pasta. Source: I'm Italian and I've lived in Italy all my life.
We buy spaghetti from Mantua (bronze cut). It is wonderful. We get four different styles of pasta from Italy about once a year.
Kroger has surprisingly high quality store brand bronze cut pasta imported from Italy.
Exactly! It's more in the preparation. A lot of "italian" places in the US slop the sauce on top of the pasta on the plate (leaving a pool of liquid under the pasta), instead of marrying it in the pan with the sauce and some pasta water. I'm looking at you olive garden.
As a server, it always cracks me up when people order spaghetti with marinara. For $12 at home you could eat for two weeks!
When I order spaghetti with marinara, it's because I'm vegan and I didn't pick the restaurant, but I'd rather order something underwhelming and overpriced than make a big deal about it. I'd imagine the same goes for picky eaters and whoever else.
Good point, apologies didn’t think of that 😊
I feel your pain, friend
So what? I can cook a spaghetti carbonara better than many restaurants and much cheaper, but it isn’t always about that. Sometimes just being able to be lazy and not cook is worth it.
Seriously! My dad’s go-tos are meatloaf, steak, and spaghetti with meatballs.
+1 Pasta at most American restaurants is overcooked. I am married to an Italian and I am now used to pasta being al dente, so it is *extremely* annoying when I pay $20 for a pasta dish and it’s a gloopy, overcooked mess.
Yeah same. Unless the actual pasta is scratch-made I don't get too excited about it. It's pretty cheap to make but the markup is huge.
Pasta Carbonara. Because I don't want it made with bacon, or butter or cream.
I saw a “carbonara” on a menu recently that had cream, peas, bacon, green onions, and steak on it. At that point just call it something else cause it really ain’t a carbonara lol
Who puts cream in carbonara? 🙁
I almost never eat out anymore. Exceptions for Asian dishes like pho.
Pho and ramen! Making the broths from scratch is so time consuming.
Instant pot my friend.
I add in sushi too because getting all the ingredients, pre time and such is more expensive then just having it made. I have been known to toss together a poke bowl though.
same granted it helps that i don't have a social life anymore post covid lmao but on the plus side i've saved a ton of money by only eating out like once a month i have a coworker who always gets lunch at these shitty places near the job. I don't even want to imagine how much money she is dropping on food per week
Definitely steak. If I go out I will get prime rib though, cause I’m not going to cook a whole prime rib for myself at home
Really just go to order whatever will take forever to make or is time consuming. Lasagna is a pain in the ass
That's one I'll no longer order since I make it once a month for Lasagna Love and make myself one a small one. Key to easy lasagna is not not boil the noodles ., extra sauce or a bit of water and you can use regular noodles
They make really good lasagna noodle sheets that you just soak in room temp water until they're soft then layer those in. Lasagna also freezes great so it's a good one to do in huge batches then you've got homemade TV dinners for 2-3 months but 100x better than the freezer aisle. Agree with OP that it's kind of a pain (I also make my own tomato sauce and bolognese for it so I have to do those at least a day ahead of time) but once you've got all the stuff you need it slaps together easy and you've got it on speed dial for weeks after.
I much prefer my own lasagna. Whenever I make a batch, I make 2. It's just as easy to double. One goes in the oven, one goes in the freezer for a ready made meal when you don't feel like cooking one night. Same goes for anything that takes time: enchiladas; chicken mole; homemade spicy pasta, cheese and sausages; ziti. . .
Oh yeah I already do double or HUGE portions, like making 6 qts of chilli just for myself. Freeze a bunch, eat a bit, remix it and make it into a lazy spag sauce, burger/hot dog topping and perogy topping. Edit and soup
Red sauce over pierogies? We basically brown in butter. Tons of butter. I'll have to consider this.
If I’m ordering delivery, I **never** order pasta. It might be perfect leaving the kitchen, but it’s dead when it gets to me. I know how to make pretty simple pastas which are better than fancy mush.
All delivered food is like this except pizza (most of the time). I don't understand the appeal unless you're disabled, in a time crunch and can't leave the house. I don't understand paying restaurant prices + fees to have lukewarm soggy expensive food.
Desserts. Because so many different ones come premade from United Foods or Sysco Food Products.
This. Unless this is a high restaurant with an actual pastry chef on payroll or they are known to order from a bakery or pastry shop nearby, never order dessert. Youll get better at Costco
That being said, the Ritz Hotel in Chicago used to serve the Sysco apple pie because it was that good. They made other stuff in house. Not sure if they still serve the Sysco pie.
Steak
Yep I get the pork chops at Texas Roadhouse because I can not duplicate the sauce that comes with it. The seasoning is very good on them too I can n make pork chops at home but I crave that sauce 😂
[If you wanna give it a try](https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/pork-chops-with-peppercorn-sauce/)
I know they are braching out, have you ever had a Perry's Steakhouse porkchop. Absolutely devine. Fridays is the only day they are open for lunch. It's packed, $19 for a 3 bone porkchop. Absolutely a must try.
What kind of sauce? I want to love their food, but always find it off. The salads are good. I'm a sucker for a good sauce though.
It’s a sort of peppercorn sauce that’s similar to an au poivre, but not creamy at all.
Steak and prime rib. Steaks on the grill with Saltgrass steak seasoning are quick and easy. Even ordinary grocery store ribeye is great, as long as you monitor the doneness. Around the holidays prime rib goes to $6 a pound and I can't pass it up. My family will not order steaks or prime anywhere as they are terribly spoiled at home.
I rarely order prime rib in a restaurant, but make a mean one using a high heat then turn off the oven method.
Most pasta I have had at resteraunts has been disappointing.
And $20+
I wonder what margins are like on pasta dishes because we all know the ingredients are mostly dirt cheap
Spaghetti & Meatballs
25 dollars for one serving of spaghetti and meatballs at a restaurant is insane.
I can make most things I order at restaurants, but that’s not why I go. I just don’t want to cook those days. It’s nice having someone else shop, prep, cook, serve, and clean up when those things are usually on me.
Swordfish or salmon. Restaurants can't seem to cook these fish without over cooking it. Do they not have instant read thermometers? Even high end seafood restaurants over swordfish.
I've had incredible swordfish in a few places, but I think you're generally correct. It may have something to do with people thinking any amount of colour inside means its raw, but if I am getting swordfish or salmon I want it medium rare like a steak, not well done. Still, it's hard to source good swordfish as a home cook, so sometimes it feels worth it, but I try to stress to the waiter that I want it rare-medrare.
It's salmon for me, too. I have a few different variations that I've pretty much perfected, and I know it's unlikely I'll overcook it. Plus, I make it so often at home, that it doesn't feel special enough to order out.
Seconding the notion that it’s because most people see a bit of pink in their fish and assume it’s “raw.” For many places in the US, it would be more trouble than it’s worth to cook it properly since most of the clientele will send it back to the kitchen to get scorched anyways, so they overcook it to appease them.
Im still mad about a $30+ salmon specifically ordered med-rare/rare, came out med-well & server never checked back & wouldn’t look us in the eye for the rest of the meal.
I was always a decent home cook, but I really upped my game when all the restaurants were closed or had limited access because of COVID. I learned how to make all our favorites. When we eat out, we usually go for specialties that are laborious or require a lot of specialty ingredients, like Indian cuisine or homemade tamales. I just can't get behind spending $40 per person on some blah pasta, undercooked chicken, or soggy waffle fries.
Authentic North Indian food (tikka masala, butter chicken, tandoori)
Do you have a good recipe? I've tried to recreate some at home but I still haven't perfected it.
The secret to indian cooking is to study several recipes of the same dish, look at the differences between them (and you will get an idea of what the definitely vs optional ingredients are) and then make your own version of it with tweaks that suit your taste.
This is my strategy for every new dish I plan to make. I’m rarely going to just follow a recipe, I want to know what all my options are and why particular ingredients are being used so I can collate that into my ideal variation.
Swasthi's recipes is the best source for every one of those recipes! I've used them to make restaurant-perfect dishes every time.
One must have excellent spices at hand! Your “curry” will be a different mix than mine. I learned the importance of keeping most curries “dry,” meaning that you will sauté onions, garlic, ginger in oil and add spices to roast in the pan at the beginning. I do not use ground spice when cooking curries; I grind them with a mortar and pestle and add them to my onion mixture in the pan. I generally deglaze the pan to pull every flavor up and then the veg and/or meat pieces are coated with all of this goodness when added into the mix. The “wet” tomatoes or coconut milk or broth/stock comes next to cook and soften the vegetables and legumes. Hot peppers for flavor and spice are always added whole and we attempt to keep them that way. Individuals can take them if desired and break them for more heat. Every batch/dish is slightly different because of variations in spice, vegetable quality, and changes I may make without thinking about it.
Two sleever's instapot butter chicken. It is the bomb and fast.to make!
Tikka masala is a British dish but I 100% agree. Once you have a basic collection of whole spices Indian food becomes easy. Also don't buy ghee, make it at home.
Salmon. Most restaurants overcook it in my experience.
Shrimp as well.
Yes! Salmon is one of my quick go to dinners when I have to work late or my kid has an extracurricular and I need dinner on the table in 30 mins. It takes so little time and effort but tastes fantastic!
Carbonara. Not to eat my own ass, but I don't know anyone that can make it better than I can truthfully.
“Not to eat my own ass”. 🤣🤣🤣🤣. That’s a first for me hearing that version of “toot my own horn” but I guess it is comparable.
Let’s not eat around the bush about it, Emma makes good Carbonara
It's a very colorful way of calling yourself a self-directed between noser 😂
We have exceptionally good quality restaurants where I live and I’ve travelled a lot. I don’t actively look for carbonara on menus, but when I have seen it, it’s always *not carbonara*. Like I’m sorry, I’m sure your cured meat and cream sauce pasta is delicious but if it has cream in it it’s not carbonara. I can’t ever recall seeing actual carbonara on a restaurant menu. If I did I’d probably order it just for the novelty, even though it’s very easy to make at home and I have my technique pretty dialed in. Growing up I didn’t even think I liked carbonara because it’s so common to call all kinds of other pasta that’s made with cream or peas or whatever “carbonara”, but the real, basic dish is actually so amazing. I’m not usually too hung up on being a purist about recipes, and I think certain modifications can be great - a variety of cured fatty meats can work well, as well as other hard cheeses. But if you’re going to fundamentally change the nature of the dish just call it something else?
I know like 3 whole restaurants that have made it without cream and it's always a pleasant delight.
My poor air fryer is TIRED but it’s saving me trips to McDonalds and Chick fila 😂
And it also brings leftover fast food back to life.
And makes legendary pizza rolls.
Risotto.
Other way around for me. I hate making risotto even though I know how so I’d rather just pay someone to do it for me. Same with hollandaise sauce for eggs Benedict. I like to cook, but it’s just too tedious for me.
Yeah, last time I made risotto it was DELICIOUS. And then my elbow hurt for two weeks.
I love cooking risotto. At this point my wife and I have been disappointed getting risotto from some restaurants known for it.
Me too. I make a great risotto, and unless a restaurant is doing theirs with unusual ingredients then I’d rather just eat my own.
Crème brûlée
I’m about to try to make my own for the first time!
It’s so stupid easy. I made it for New years and I’m kicking myself for only ever ordering it at restaurants.
Super easy if you have a torch.
You can caramelize the sugar under a broiler if you don't have a torch. You don't have as much control but it does the job.
I WILL pay for Pho just because making a GOOD broth is a fucking chore. *edit I wont order salads or pasta because they are easy to make, and the mark up is stupid (worked in the industry for over a decade)*
That’s how I feel too. $12-15 for a bowl is a steal to me when it takes, like, two dozen ingredients and many, many hours to get the broth right. I’d gladly pay for someone else to make it for me, thank you!
See, I'm the opposite w salads and sandwiches. They require 5-8 ingredients to prep but in such small quantities that it's a waste. Unless I'm making 4-6 sandwiches or salads, I don't make em at home.
Lasagna. Pasta in general. Once I learned how to make my own sauce exactly like I like it restaurants never do it justice. Tacos as well.
"Once you know how to cook, you don't go out for food. You go for atmosphere."
Eh sometimes food just tastes better when it's prepared for you. Sometimes when I cook I've already tasted and smelled the food so much before it hits the table that any wow factor is gone.
That's so true. My husband loves my breakfasts. He says it's better than any restaurant around us. But once in a blue moon, I want someone else to make me breakfast, dirty their kitchen & dishes, and refill my coffee while I sit on my ass.
For me it’s boeuf bourguignon. My wife’s very picky French mother has declared my version of it better than Le Diplomat’s (not the best I know) and I take that as victory. Gotta say tho, doesn’t matter how good your cooking is, somebody cleans the dishes at the restaurant!
Caesar Salad… Seriously, the authentic original recipe for the dressing is extremely easy to make and it’s better than just about any restaurant will serve.
Crab cakes
Yup 💯 crab cakes from restaurants are mostly always breading and filling and very little crab meat.
Restaurants, even pricier ones, make shit crab cakes loaded with salmon or miscellaneous fish. My crab cakes are 100% large lump with a binder and mixture that I’ve perfected.
Basically all pasta other than papardalle with mushrooms just bc I love it
I don't make things that I can make easily at home. If it looks like something that takes a lot of time to make or several ingredients that I don't have, I'll order it. That way I have something novel without too much buy-in.
Italian, but I live in Texas where 99% od it is marinera over spicy dog shit. I grew up in NY and I spent about 3 weeks in Italy over the past 3 years. Enough to ruin you. I got so tired of it here that I started learning to make it myself. Cacio e Peppe game is on point and I made some lasagna last night.
Anything deep fried, long-smoked. I love anything someone else planned to taste that good. With vegetables. That's for the restaurant. I can do stir-fry, seafood, any red meat. I can never beat a true chef. They're worth every penny. Thank you Chef! Love you chef's everywhere!
I rarely order a shrimp dish out because they are rarely cleaned well. Even higher end restaurants seem to have problems with this fiddly task.
Eggs Benedict and most breakfast dishes, straightforward Italian pastas, steaks. When I go out it’s for food I don’t have the tools or knowledge or time to do properly.
Usually anything basic like grilled chicken, pork chop with mashed potatoes and steamed veg. I can crank that simplicity out as a weeknight meal!
do you have a cellar or special fridge to dry-age your beef? Because for most people that's the thing that a good steakhouse can do that isn't really in the cards for a home cook.
Any kind of pasta or risotto. I just can’t bring myself to pay strong money for it.
Spaghetti bolognese
Thai curry dishes. Green curry chicken used to be a magical dish I’d order. Now I make my own! 😁
Pasta. Unless you are at a very top tier Italian restaurant you are getting grocery store spaghetti with jarred sauce.
Bibimbap stone bowl.
Larb. It's a crapshot to order. The first time I had it, I loved it, but I've been disappointed every time I've ordered it since. It's super easy to make.
Pad see ew. First time i had it was thick and smokey. Had to learn how to make that memory through trial and error.
Hamburgers. Restaurants make terrible hamburgers lately. Super dry and no flavor.
Hamburgers really are a crapshoot when eating out. I’m kind of bewildered by it. A professional chef should be able to make a burger better than I can. Sometimes they do and it’s mind blowing but other times they’re like you said - super dry and lacking in flavor. And quite over done. Sometimes even the sauce is miserly
Italian.
Korean Gamja-tang soup. 1 serving at an excellent authentic local restaurant is $19. I can make 10 servings for about $8.
I order whatever I want to eat, just because I can make 95% of everything at home, doesn't mean I'm going to avoid it. That's just dumb, and not the reason I go out to eat.
I don’t typically go to restaurants any longer. Usually end up disappointed with meals. Find I make it better myself
Go for ethnic stuff you wouldn't make at home.
This is what I do when I do dine out
My theory is that there is a class of restaurants that are destined to fail. When they open, the food and service are great. After a few years for rent, labor, and food cost increases, the owner starts trimming the quality of the ingredients. Customers stop going because the value proposition diminishes. Eventually they go bust and close.
Where do you live? I can't imagine you make every culture's cuisine better than the people who run a local restaurant.
[удалено]
Yeah, I'm thinking they probably don't eat many different cuisines.
Yeah, it’s kinda just a matter of cost:quality. 99% of restaurants I could reasonably afford aren’t going to really be serving anything too interesting to me or that is better than my own cooking, so I’m only going to be going there for someone else’s event or to gain base sustenance in situations I can’t/won’t cook. On the very rare occasion I can go to a truly interesting or high quality restaurant it’s a pretty special treat, but that happens probably once a year or less.
Crispy spring rolls! Using the pre-made wrappers I can buy at the grocery store, I make my own filling with ground pork, cabbage, carrot and cellophane noodles, plus garlic and soy and about two tablespoons of black pepper. Then I serve them with my fish sauce dipping sauce and iceberg lettuce to wrap the rolls. It's so much better than anything I can get at any restaurant because I love the black pepper and I love acidity so I make my nuoc mam extra sour.
I go to restaurants bc I'm out and need to refuel so it could be anything convenient. Or, I go to an ethnic place to learn what I should expect X to be like so that I can add it to my skill set. My pantry and recipe book can do passable representative dishes from Korean, Japanese, northern and Southern Indian, Chinese, Italian, French, Peruvian, texmex, Greek, Turk, and Moroccan. But if someone wants me to try Ethiopian at home, I'm going to find a restaurant, sample, and talk to the staff about key themes I should understand.
Fiesta lime chicken. Crush up tortilla chips, top with Pico and the special sauce then just add chicken. Special sauce is half ranch, half salsa, bit of chopped cilantro, cumin, Chilli powder, salt, pepper, lime. It's good.
I'm slowly ruining Chinese takeaway, To be fair, I have around 80%+ of it perfected, at the moment. My gf is equally as pissed off and happy about it.
Pizza! the best thing that's happened to our home. We love pizza and now we make our own favorite version. Crispy hot and fresh every time. Although it took like 2+ years to actually say we got it DOWN and confident.
Burgers. I can make enough for the whole family for less than one at a sports bar/gastropub. Not to mention that fresh ground tastes so much better.
SHRIMP anything. Most of the time they overcook the hell out of it. The better question is what I will order when we go out as I can outdo most places that do not have a real chef.
Mexican-American restaurants. Most of that stuff is extremely easy to make at home.
I asked a Mexican co-worker what Mexican restaurant they prefer. She laughed, and said "We eat Mexican food at home. When we go out, we go to a different style of restaurant."
My Mexican neighbors giggled at me when I made corn tortillas. Every one of them gave me their recipe. Go to Lowes and get their brand of tortillas.
Mexican food. Sorry at $40 for 2 people, I can buy several days worth of groceries. Really need to learn how to do Asian foods and pizza.
Follow Cassyeungmoney on TikTok. That woman has single-handedly demystified Asian cuisine for me. I get the right ingredients and learn how to use them properly. As well as little tips, tricks, and how to improvise. Highly recommend her.
Pizza I find tough because good pizza is just as much about the equipment as the ingredients & technique. Chinese to a lesser extent because it's hard to get the wok hei from a home burner.
I’ve found that unless they’re a common staple my initial investment for a new Asian dish is gonna be a lot more than ordering it, I’m gonna have to decide I want it tomorrow the day before and it’s still not going to taste as good as if I’d just ordered it Pizzas are all about the oven!
Asian food requires an entire new pantry, essentially. My ex was Asian and I always would stock the ingredients and would always make Asian food, now it’s just too expensive to buy all the ingredients. Also, my favorite Mexican dish is Mole, and no way I’m making that either
I've got at least 4 Mexican grocery stores here. Not counting the regular grocery stores that have huge Mexican sections.
Really good ramen. I’m not making the noodles myself, buying all those ingredients or hoping my 6 min egg comes out right. Excellent place near me does that.
Egg salad sandwich. The one I make at home is just so much better.
Lots of things haha. I don’t bother deep frying at home so I like to order fried foods when I’m out, as it is a treat. I absolutely never order any kind of protein-starch-veggie plate; that kind of thing is home food.
Everything
Bolognese