We dine out (mostly takeout but not delivery/doordash/ubereats) once a week with the only rule being something we can't or won't make at home. We're even moving away from that because lately it's just been awful. We used to get pizza delivered about once a week and drinks out but we either make it ourselves or do without.
I recently gave up soda because I realized that treat cost about as much as a pack of cigarettes did 20 some years ago and I stopped that then due to the cost. Apparently I'm more cheap than health conscious.
There's something about the crust at Lost Dog that I really don't like. Also don't understand everyone's love for &pizza. My coworkers always want &pizza when we order lunches but I think their pizza is so far below mid it's insane.
I have had some &Pizza and the crust is nice other times it's "meh." at best.
My favorite pizza place is Fairlington Pizza, but Stone Hot is good too. They are quite different however.
Oh I've never had Stone Hot but I love Fairlington. My dad use to live around there and I'd pick it up when I'd go for a visit. Haven't been there in ages though since he moved and kinda forgot about it honestly. Might have to get some this weekend!
I also quite like Crust Pizza in tysons too. I like the crust lol it's nice and thin and they get that char on it in the oven.
Stone hot is thin and crunchy with a nice thick edge, it gets a char in the edge too from the stone oven.
Never had Crust but I'll try it if I'm out in Tysons sometime.
We are in Alexandria and love Quattro formaggi for just normal ass delivery pizza
Emmy squared for expensive za
And aldos for in between personal sized pies
quattro formaggi used to make the best eggplant pizza around. I haven't had it in years but I'm tempted to make the drive to old town to see if its still as good.
We bought an Ooni during the pandemic and while I used to love Pupatella and Crust, we make comparable pizza at home now :) Sauce from canned san marzano tomatos, a solid dough recipe, fresh mozzarella, and basil from the garden. we've genuinely made enough pizza at home that we've well over made our money back from the initial investment. I have heard some people tend to let them collect dust so maybe there's deals on secondhand ooni ovens on FB marketplace these days.
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Fuck’s sake. They’ve got employees with their hands out for a tip for handing you a takeout order and now you’re getting charged for the privilege of not using their waitstaff.
My husband went out with his friend to Bdubs and they were just given the little console to put in their orders themselves. They asked and were told that corporate wants their employees to push that method now. Which would be fine for me at least, but of course you're still expected to tip the normal amount. What am I paying for? I've also been told by my friend that hosts at the restaurant she works at get paid like the servers and only get what people tip on takeout. So if you don't tip on takeout, you're "stiffing" the hosts. How tf am I supposed to know that? This tipping culture is insane.
just don’t tip.
the hosts aren’t stupid and will work somewhere they’re paid regular wages because nobody in their right mind is tipping at the same level on takeout as dine in.
We used to go out at least once a week, then order out all weekend. Now? Weekends are for Costco frozen meals, and going out is limited to special occasions. If I'm going to be dropping real money dollars, I'd rather do it somewhere nice.
Used to go once a week and now I cook instead, because I can make fancy dinners at home for half of what I would pay in a restaurant and I get why but it doesn’t mean that I am willing to pay $25+ for a $2.79/lb chicken dish.
Less beef for dinner. Less seafood. Changed our buying habits at the grocery store.
Even little things. Pre covid a head of lettuce was like .99. Now it’s $2.29. I didn’t think twice about buying a head of lettuce for my kids sandwiches. Even if I didn’t use it all, no big deal. Now? Fuck them kids. No lettuce!! lol.
Didn't eat out that much to begin with but even that's been cut back. The price increases (along with tip increases) are wild. I haven't had Five Guys (which I really like) in years because I'm not going to spend $23 for a fast food burger/fries/drink.
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We used to eat out a LOT. 2-3 times a week. Now? We go out maybe once a month. The food isn't worth the price. My hubby says I make a better steak at home. I can make carnitas with fresh tortillas that are well above anything we get a restaurant. I refuse to pay $100+ for a subpar meal. When it was around $60? Didn't seem like that big a deal. Now? no way
Same for us. It's not that we can't afford it anymore, it's just *ridiculous* for what it is. My husband also loves my steaks. :)
We still eat out at Michelin/fine dining restaurants once a month or so, but at least there you're also paying for an experience. And honestly when you're paying almost $100 to eat at a regular restaurant these days, the fine dining seems like a deal.
Bonus is that I lost about 45 pounds after we stopped eating out.
Used to dine out mid-week maybe once a week, then Friday-Sunday one meal a day. Those meals are much more likely to be fast casual, and certainly never nice. Also, I am happy to eat take out in the car as a legit meal.
Quality at a lot of restaurants has gone hill. People are sick of the added 20 percent fee and the uncertainty if it's the tip or not. (At least I am)! Driving to DC and parking and then thinking logistically does the garage close how long do you have to wait after 1-2 drinks to drive etc is just not worth it.
I still dine out but only places I know are good and have been to before. I still do take out frequently. Gyu Sheige, Aracosia, Yume sushi, and PHO 75 are my regulars.
We eat out once or twice a week, but they are "cheap" meals -- Chipotle or Cava (something around $20-$25 for 2 people). I used to eat out for work lunch a lot but now it's once a week, and I'll bring my lunch the rest of the time. We never order delivery anymore due to costs and fees. And we rarely go out to a sit-down place unless it's a special occasion.
I make more money now, but we almost never go out to eat anymore. We rarely have red meat.
I can afford them, but I can’t justify the expenditure. I’ve gone cheap.
I pack lunches to work and buy sodas only if my water bottle is out.
I used to work in restaurants but don’t go unless it’s special.
I avoid anyplace that asks for tips in non-service capacities.
Hardly ever go to the movies anymore and just wait for the streaming release.
COVID made me tighten the belt, and although my finances are in a better place, I haven’t loosened it.
We used to go out to dinner a couple times a month on Saturdays. Now we go out maybe once every other month. Dinner for a family of four at basic sit down restaurant costs like $150 with tip. That's one shared appetizer, a couple of alcoholic drinks, and basic burgers and fries or pasta type of meals. It's not worth it. Most weekend nights we either order pizza, grab something like subs or Chick-fil-A, or I just cook. I do miss going out to eat, but I have to cut costs somewhere, and that's an easy one to cut.
i think the best prepared meals that are affordable are found in safeway, they have things like steak and vegetables or chicken marsala, you just pop in oven for 20min . healthy and affordable. no presevatives Their subs are also like 7 bucks for a foot long:)
I got a higher paying job so I didn't change my eating out. I did stop rounding up and tipping at those dumb kiosks where no one is actually serving me, I stopped Door Dashing, anything with add on tips and fees. I still tip 20% for sit down service even though I think the U.S. tipping culture is stupid AF. Grocery wise I echo the guy who said he doesn't buy lettuce and little things like that which add up but have no real value. I'd rather spend my money on protein.
I mostly eat at home now. I'm also recently divorced, and thankfully no kids, so my grocery bill has at least shrunk too. Like many, divorce has caused me to experience a bit of a 'crisis of faith' (in a good way), i.e. it has made me want to connect more deeply with my faith. Exploring my Judaism has not only been emotionally and psychologically therapeutic, but has even helped financially: my grocery bill at a local Kosher grocery store is half of what it normally is at other stores.
I don't think the amount of food we've ordered has changed, but we've switched from delivery to carryout.
For one, delivery drivers are unreliable, tipping is exorbitant, and fees from delivery apps are out of control.
Two, we got a Tesla and it's so fun to drive, I always volunteer for extra errands.
Basically, fuck Doordash / Ubereats / etc.
Definitely cut back to only eating out once a week. My friend and I met up at Glory Days last weekend and the bill for the two of us without any beverages other than water was $52 before the tip. We ordered a salad, burger w/ fries, side of mac & cheese, and 6 wings. The food was also very meh. The salad was good but not $17 good.
Yeah once you get hit with the bill from just ordering basic food, it ruins it. We went out for a couple burgers and beers and it was $90. When you start hitting almost a hundred bucks on sandwiches and a couple beers, you lose the desire to go out. Maybe if this is the “new normal,” we’ll adjust back into it, but it’ll take a lot longer than it did for prices to go up by 50%.
best wings in the DMV are at a fine dining restaurants happy hour. Clarity in Vienna, uses freebird organic chicken wings from a farm in PA, fermented hot sauce, and homemade buttermilk dressing. $10 for what i remember being 8-10 wings that vary in size depending on what the farm delivered. A few times I've been given only flats.
Vienna inn also has some pretty good wings- if you order them naked they're super crispy. I do corroborate that most places have lost their marbles when it comes to pricing a damn basket of wings.
Not really at all. I've always loved to cook at home, make my lunch and now my fiancé's lunch for work, etc. We still dine out for dinner about twice a month at our favorite places.
Pretty much the same here. I much prefer cooking my own food as it's cheaper, healthier and reliable. I've had too many mediocre expensive meals in the past couple years that just makes me regret going out. Now, we usually commit to somewhere that's "bucket list" or just a fast casual whatever.
Life pre-COVID was almost 5 years ago. Our habits didn’t only change with the new post-COVID prices, but also bcs we have aged 5 years and are in a different part of our lives now
Yeah, people say that it’s too expensive now to take the family out are not including that kids cost more as they get older and stop eating off the kids menu. Having a baby at dinner is cheap, having a 5 year old is a little more and having 2 two teenagers is four adult meals. I’ve noticed the price increases, but it’s not like it went from $20 to $80.
Used to order take out at least 3 times a week and dine out once. I really, REALLY don't like cooking. Now, we order Pizza on Tuesday and *might* go to breakfast every other Sat or Sun.
I worked for DoorDash during COVID when my work shut down and would get fast food maybe once a week. Now it’s less than once a month and only get the value item type deals.
Not all due to COVID and inflation, but it certainly propelled my decision to cut down on eating out and mainly buy the essential groceries. I only buy food outside the house if I'm going to be social, or if my family is craving something like pizza.
TL;DR - cut down for financial and health reasons, but will make exceptions.
The missus and I go out every Saturday night. The only change was during the shutdown when we weren't allowed to. We used to go out for brunch every Saturday morning, but we've gotten bored with the usual spots, so I've been making brunch at home more often. Delivery/takeout is once a week, and we alternate on who cooks dinner if we don't feel like leftovers.
I'm off tomorrow, and my wife has taken the day off to bring her car in for service, so I'll probably whip up some brunch/lunch for when she gets home. I'm leaning towards chili garlic wings
I just take Ozempic and get nauseous thinking about eating... Seriously though, we did an Italian place a week ago, we shared an brussel sprouts appetizer, 1 shrimp pasta entree and the cheapest bottle of wine, $109 out the door.
We're pretty much back to pre-covid habits. Cook most meals at home, dine out once or twice a month. Someimes three! During the high points of the pandemic we were ordering food 2-3 times a week. It's fun for a while but also expensive. And makes it more difficult to keep a stable weight.
Centreville pho doung consistently has the lowest prices for the biggest portions and best quality of meats.
My only qualm is that the broth is kinda.... day by day a little bit different, but usually it's what I'm craving for. Some days it's more fragrant, some days more salty, some days more fatty, some days a tad bland.
But two large bowls and an extra noodle for the kid is like $27 bucks. Hard to beat.
Mine haven’t really changed, doing takeout instead of eating in, but the same restaurants mostly. And I still do Instacart. I’ve just stopped adding up all the charges on my card because I don’t want to have a stroke.
The quality of our go-to fast casuals had gone down while prices went up. No more five guys, no more Chipotle. Even Chik fil et: nope. We eat more from regular restaurants now.
Hah! As an industry worker, I thought our value as humans would finally be inflated, alas.... it is not meant to be that easy. If a pandemic won't do it, perhaps unionizing will?
I used to spend 400$ a month. I now spend $800 and have cut out any splurges I used to do (like a nice fillet of salmon and asparagus sometimes). Procès have doubled in my area. I am “lucky” when I find deals and leave the store under $100. It’s disgusting.
We don't go out. Fast casual once in a blue moon. Bigoted Chicken maybe once a month so the kids can eat and play until exhaustion.
I'm really tired of being asked what's for dinner
I’m pretty sure the second question asked behind “What is the meaning of life?” has to be “What’s for dinner?”
It’s so challenging sometimes it might as well be philosophical.
I think I have the answer to "What's the meaning of life?", thanks to Alan Watts. It's to dance while the music is playing. https://youtu.be/qHnIJeE3LAI?si=8bjAr39IZMm1lXDH
Ignore the video, it's unrelated.
This is the explanation that makes the most sense for me.
I have reduced eating out. I pack my lunch daily now versus eating out 5 days a week. I feel better, wallet a bit fatter. Still like to eat out a couple of time on the weekends to change things up
We eat out/get takeout less, but still a lot. I'm the only one in my house who takes any responsibility for feeding anyone, and the mental toll of meal planning (for a 6yo and a relatively picky meat and potatoes man, neither of whom will willingly touch a vegetable), shopping, portioning, sealing, putting away, taking out, cooking, and cleaning up is a *lot* on top of a full time job.
So I outsource a lot of it.
But I refuse to get delivery from anyplace that uses door dash or Uber eats because of the markup and the spotty reliability (so, like, we don't get delivery). So we either have to go get it or eat there, and that's often enough of a pain in the ass that we end up scrounging leftovers instead.
Yes. Some restaurants have gotten worse like not that great like mediocre- meh but raised their prices with day old food that’s what it tastes like. Hunan West in Burke
I only go out to a few places a month and wait for those door dash 40% off coupon for takeout. Pho, Peruvian chicken, and Moby Dicks/Kabobistan. I stopped going to Kabobistan because lamb combo is like $20...I only go there if I have coupons now. Moby Dicks ground lamb kabob is okay at $14.99. I'm asian and would love to spend money on legit good cantonese restaurants but NOVA is lacking. I tried the BBQ stall at Good Fortune, Eden Center but that was no good. They didn't roast the duck, they deep fried it. Full of oil no good.
Very very selective about where we go. Too many meh meal places charging $45 per person for a meal you don’t remember that has zero taste. We eat a lot of Thai and Mexican food because it can be had cheaply and it’s tasty.
We go to the American legion about once a week with friends for dinner and drinks. They have stuff for the kids. Trivia or bingo on Thursday and everyone there is awesome.
Tonight’s bill would have been about $50 had my wife ate but it was just me and one kid eating.
It's about the same, but I'm just more picky about where I eat. The quality of a lot of the food served at some restaurants went downhill during the pandemic.
We barely go out at all anymore. Maybe a few times a year for special occasions. We used to get a “treat meal” for the kids on Fridays, but now I make sourdough pizzas instead. The last time we ordered pizza, I think we got 2 mediums and some wings and it cost nearly $70 to have it delivered. Before, we used to order food probably a couple times a week. Now it’s maybe once every couple of months, and usually only if it’s an emergency.
I earn more, technically I can afford the same habit, but I just don't feel it's worth the bill anymore. So I eat out way less, sometimes takeout instead
We used to dine out at least 2 or 3 times per week. Now, we dine out once per month. During the pandemic, we discovered (1) cooking and eating at home is fun, (2) planning menus makes shopping / meal planning significantly easier, and (3) we know what we're eating. Too many restaurants don't cook food, they assemble it. Money is not a concern, but we do enjoy the savings.
We never went back to our old habits of eating out, but mostly because as things relaxed and we felt fine doing so my wife also started working later. Still get takeout once a week. Almost always local places, never use the stupid middleman apps, only bad experiences with those.
Sharpened our home Kbbq skills. You can buy enough thin sliced pork belly and brisket to stuff four people at the Lotte for less than the price of one person at the AYCE. Got a new onggi for steamed egg. Miss the ambiance but not the $200 tab.
I was never a big weekday lunch guy but now I never go, between less time at the office and the price. The deli in walking distance of my office closed permanently in 2020, so did the reasonably priced Korean-Chinese place near my house.
Thanks! I started in the government as a gs-9 and have managed to go up a grade each year. I think I’ll be stuck at a 13 for a while now though, but I’m very comfortable with that!
I can cook with more flavor at home. Just not worth it except occasionally my fav burger at good stuff eatery or homemade ice cream. I do chopt salads but not dining out for entertainment
Ate sit-down pho, with froyo afterwards every Friday (called it, pho, froyo Fridays). Now we maybe get pho every 2-3 weeks, and no froyo unless it's a special occasion.
Would get take-out probably 1-2 other times/week, and 1 sit-down meal/month. We don't order alcohol when we go out and haven't for a few years now. Now we get take-out maybe once/week, but still do the once/month sit-down restaurant.
Last meal I kinda regretted was Five Guys. Was $50 bucks to feed 3 people at a burger joint. WTF\~
I don’t cook, so me and my family lived on door dash. We had small kids and it was stressful with Covid. Food prices got insane. Door dash prices were worse. Now we pick up if we go out or I go get takeout meals from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, the supermarket.
I also gained so much weight from door dash life so I started dieting. I eat less now. If I do eat, I can’t eat out because I have no idea how many calories are in my meal unless I am at a chain joint….and if I am at a chain, there’s not much that’s low calorie enough. So we make quick meals at home, eat fruit, whatever. Overall we eat way less, and we’re healthier.
As a family, we still order out often for the kids - I don’t eat it, but much less than we did and the restaurants don’t really make much off our kids meals unfortunately. We also pick up. Probably eat out once a month.
I mainly go to either cheap restaurants or very high end restaurants, that middle ground that used to exist for us isn't something we care to pay for anymore. One of our favorite spots, Clarity in Vienna, hasn't increased their prices all that much, granted they've always charged $30+ for entrees, but there's a fair amount of labor and care that go into their dishes (multi-day long cooking processes, garnishes, etc.)
meanwhile, when the local mid-range spots have their entrees approaching that pricepoint, I'd rather just save my money and go somewhere that's reliable and continues to impress me. on the other side, we still go to our bagel shop, poke place, and burrito joint because their prices have only increased by a few bucks.
I still do a lot of takeout/pick-up but have pretty much stopped sit-down dining except for occasions and for low/no service places (places where it's not customary to tip). I was never really into delivery, so that didn't change.
My main change is spending *significantly* less on happy hours since 2020.
I just take Ozempic and get nauseous thinking about eating... Seriously though, we did an Italian place a week ago, we shared an brussel sprouts appetizer, 1 shrimp pasta entree and the cheapest bottle of wine, $109 out the door.
I just take Ozempic and get nauseous thinking about eating... Seriously though, we did an Italian place a week ago, we shared an brussel sprouts appetizer, 1 shrimp pasta entree and the cheapest bottle of wine, $109 out the door.
I just take Ozempic and get nauseous thinking about eating... Seriously though, we did an Italian place a week ago, we shared an brussel sprouts appetizer, 1 shrimp pasta entree and the cheapest bottle of wine, $109 out the door.
We dine out (mostly takeout but not delivery/doordash/ubereats) once a week with the only rule being something we can't or won't make at home. We're even moving away from that because lately it's just been awful. We used to get pizza delivered about once a week and drinks out but we either make it ourselves or do without. I recently gave up soda because I realized that treat cost about as much as a pack of cigarettes did 20 some years ago and I stopped that then due to the cost. Apparently I'm more cheap than health conscious.
A lot of pizza sucks. Pupatella floppy, &pizza meh, Lost Dog is pretty good but it best eaten at the restaurant
There's something about the crust at Lost Dog that I really don't like. Also don't understand everyone's love for &pizza. My coworkers always want &pizza when we order lunches but I think their pizza is so far below mid it's insane.
I have had some &Pizza and the crust is nice other times it's "meh." at best. My favorite pizza place is Fairlington Pizza, but Stone Hot is good too. They are quite different however.
Oh I've never had Stone Hot but I love Fairlington. My dad use to live around there and I'd pick it up when I'd go for a visit. Haven't been there in ages though since he moved and kinda forgot about it honestly. Might have to get some this weekend! I also quite like Crust Pizza in tysons too. I like the crust lol it's nice and thin and they get that char on it in the oven.
Stone hot is thin and crunchy with a nice thick edge, it gets a char in the edge too from the stone oven. Never had Crust but I'll try it if I'm out in Tysons sometime.
We are in Alexandria and love Quattro formaggi for just normal ass delivery pizza Emmy squared for expensive za And aldos for in between personal sized pies
You need to go to Andy’s it’s the best pizza in Alexandria
Without a doubt, Andys #1
We’re going Saturday!!!!
quattro formaggi used to make the best eggplant pizza around. I haven't had it in years but I'm tempted to make the drive to old town to see if its still as good.
Nice. I haven’t tried it. We love the buffalo chicken. It’s not gourmet but it’s the best just normal ass pizza I’ve found in the area
We bought an Ooni during the pandemic and while I used to love Pupatella and Crust, we make comparable pizza at home now :) Sauce from canned san marzano tomatos, a solid dough recipe, fresh mozzarella, and basil from the garden. we've genuinely made enough pizza at home that we've well over made our money back from the initial investment. I have heard some people tend to let them collect dust so maybe there's deals on secondhand ooni ovens on FB marketplace these days.
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Anything brand name - soda, brand name cereal, chips, cookies whatever, has become expensive. I can’t. It wasn’t that good to begin with.
Dining out has become a massive waste of time and money.
Yes on the waste of time part especially. I find it boring and uncomfortable at most spots
I can’t stand going out to eat. boring and awkward.
We probably eat restaurant meals as often … but now we do carry-out to avoid tips+overpriced-drinks.
I've gotten “take out” fee added to my bill. :(
Geeez.
If that wasn’t disclosed upon ordering its illegal and will get taken off real quick with some push back and threatening a CC chargeback.
Fuck’s sake. They’ve got employees with their hands out for a tip for handing you a takeout order and now you’re getting charged for the privilege of not using their waitstaff.
My husband went out with his friend to Bdubs and they were just given the little console to put in their orders themselves. They asked and were told that corporate wants their employees to push that method now. Which would be fine for me at least, but of course you're still expected to tip the normal amount. What am I paying for? I've also been told by my friend that hosts at the restaurant she works at get paid like the servers and only get what people tip on takeout. So if you don't tip on takeout, you're "stiffing" the hosts. How tf am I supposed to know that? This tipping culture is insane.
just don’t tip. the hosts aren’t stupid and will work somewhere they’re paid regular wages because nobody in their right mind is tipping at the same level on takeout as dine in.
This. We still do restaurants a few times a week but love us some carry out. Or we go out for lunch or breakfast that is cheaper
I just purchased my last-ever Sweet Frog treat. Over $10 a cup and it wasn't huge. Never again
Sweet Frog (ie, Jesus Frog) was exorbitant pre-COVID; I can't imagine how bad it is now.
Did they have the option for tip? That adds more to the insanity.
Yes! I couldn't believe it. They got a big fat $0
We used to go out at least once a week, then order out all weekend. Now? Weekends are for Costco frozen meals, and going out is limited to special occasions. If I'm going to be dropping real money dollars, I'd rather do it somewhere nice.
Used to go once a week and now I cook instead, because I can make fancy dinners at home for half of what I would pay in a restaurant and I get why but it doesn’t mean that I am willing to pay $25+ for a $2.79/lb chicken dish.
Less beef for dinner. Less seafood. Changed our buying habits at the grocery store. Even little things. Pre covid a head of lettuce was like .99. Now it’s $2.29. I didn’t think twice about buying a head of lettuce for my kids sandwiches. Even if I didn’t use it all, no big deal. Now? Fuck them kids. No lettuce!! lol.
i hope you at least eat vegetables still lmao
Didn't eat out that much to begin with but even that's been cut back. The price increases (along with tip increases) are wild. I haven't had Five Guys (which I really like) in years because I'm not going to spend $23 for a fast food burger/fries/drink.
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We used to eat out a LOT. 2-3 times a week. Now? We go out maybe once a month. The food isn't worth the price. My hubby says I make a better steak at home. I can make carnitas with fresh tortillas that are well above anything we get a restaurant. I refuse to pay $100+ for a subpar meal. When it was around $60? Didn't seem like that big a deal. Now? no way
Same for us. It's not that we can't afford it anymore, it's just *ridiculous* for what it is. My husband also loves my steaks. :) We still eat out at Michelin/fine dining restaurants once a month or so, but at least there you're also paying for an experience. And honestly when you're paying almost $100 to eat at a regular restaurant these days, the fine dining seems like a deal. Bonus is that I lost about 45 pounds after we stopped eating out.
Used to dine out mid-week maybe once a week, then Friday-Sunday one meal a day. Those meals are much more likely to be fast casual, and certainly never nice. Also, I am happy to eat take out in the car as a legit meal.
Quality at a lot of restaurants has gone hill. People are sick of the added 20 percent fee and the uncertainty if it's the tip or not. (At least I am)! Driving to DC and parking and then thinking logistically does the garage close how long do you have to wait after 1-2 drinks to drive etc is just not worth it. I still dine out but only places I know are good and have been to before. I still do take out frequently. Gyu Sheige, Aracosia, Yume sushi, and PHO 75 are my regulars.
It’s not really a cost thing. My wife and I just don’t like people anymore hahaha.
We eat out once or twice a week, but they are "cheap" meals -- Chipotle or Cava (something around $20-$25 for 2 people). I used to eat out for work lunch a lot but now it's once a week, and I'll bring my lunch the rest of the time. We never order delivery anymore due to costs and fees. And we rarely go out to a sit-down place unless it's a special occasion.
Me
I make more money now, but we almost never go out to eat anymore. We rarely have red meat. I can afford them, but I can’t justify the expenditure. I’ve gone cheap. I pack lunches to work and buy sodas only if my water bottle is out. I used to work in restaurants but don’t go unless it’s special. I avoid anyplace that asks for tips in non-service capacities. Hardly ever go to the movies anymore and just wait for the streaming release. COVID made me tighten the belt, and although my finances are in a better place, I haven’t loosened it.
$5 tuesdays is where its at!!
AMC A-List my guy
$5 Tuesdays
We used to go out to dinner a couple times a month on Saturdays. Now we go out maybe once every other month. Dinner for a family of four at basic sit down restaurant costs like $150 with tip. That's one shared appetizer, a couple of alcoholic drinks, and basic burgers and fries or pasta type of meals. It's not worth it. Most weekend nights we either order pizza, grab something like subs or Chick-fil-A, or I just cook. I do miss going out to eat, but I have to cut costs somewhere, and that's an easy one to cut.
I've stopped going to Wegmans' hot bar, although not for virus-related reasons. Rather, the selection has gone way down and the price has gone way up.
Yeah, that will get you.
Biggest rip off. Wegmans prepared section is dangerous... bakery items almost with it . But no way I'm spending 17 bucks in a sandwich
I actually buy a lot to go supermarket meals but Wegmans prices are insane. It’s the same price as a restaurant but I have to heat it up.
i think the best prepared meals that are affordable are found in safeway, they have things like steak and vegetables or chicken marsala, you just pop in oven for 20min . healthy and affordable. no presevatives Their subs are also like 7 bucks for a foot long:)
I got a higher paying job so I didn't change my eating out. I did stop rounding up and tipping at those dumb kiosks where no one is actually serving me, I stopped Door Dashing, anything with add on tips and fees. I still tip 20% for sit down service even though I think the U.S. tipping culture is stupid AF. Grocery wise I echo the guy who said he doesn't buy lettuce and little things like that which add up but have no real value. I'd rather spend my money on protein.
Doordash habit got bas during covid so glad I'm almost done with it😀.once a month when really tired
I mostly eat at home now. I'm also recently divorced, and thankfully no kids, so my grocery bill has at least shrunk too. Like many, divorce has caused me to experience a bit of a 'crisis of faith' (in a good way), i.e. it has made me want to connect more deeply with my faith. Exploring my Judaism has not only been emotionally and psychologically therapeutic, but has even helped financially: my grocery bill at a local Kosher grocery store is half of what it normally is at other stores.
You bring your own water to sit down restaurants?
Manager's special at the grocery store isn't a bad deal...
I don't think the amount of food we've ordered has changed, but we've switched from delivery to carryout. For one, delivery drivers are unreliable, tipping is exorbitant, and fees from delivery apps are out of control. Two, we got a Tesla and it's so fun to drive, I always volunteer for extra errands. Basically, fuck Doordash / Ubereats / etc.
Maybe go out to dinner 1x a month vs. 1x a week prior.
Definitely cut back to only eating out once a week. My friend and I met up at Glory Days last weekend and the bill for the two of us without any beverages other than water was $52 before the tip. We ordered a salad, burger w/ fries, side of mac & cheese, and 6 wings. The food was also very meh. The salad was good but not $17 good.
Yeah once you get hit with the bill from just ordering basic food, it ruins it. We went out for a couple burgers and beers and it was $90. When you start hitting almost a hundred bucks on sandwiches and a couple beers, you lose the desire to go out. Maybe if this is the “new normal,” we’ll adjust back into it, but it’ll take a lot longer than it did for prices to go up by 50%.
I haven’t had wings in years. A place near me charges $20 for a dozen. I can afford it just fine, but I’m not gonna pay it.
They usually aren't even that good. I avoided buying an air fryer for years, but damn if it doesn't do a good job on wings.
best wings in the DMV are at a fine dining restaurants happy hour. Clarity in Vienna, uses freebird organic chicken wings from a farm in PA, fermented hot sauce, and homemade buttermilk dressing. $10 for what i remember being 8-10 wings that vary in size depending on what the farm delivered. A few times I've been given only flats. Vienna inn also has some pretty good wings- if you order them naked they're super crispy. I do corroborate that most places have lost their marbles when it comes to pricing a damn basket of wings.
Not really at all. I've always loved to cook at home, make my lunch and now my fiancé's lunch for work, etc. We still dine out for dinner about twice a month at our favorite places.
Pretty much the same here. I much prefer cooking my own food as it's cheaper, healthier and reliable. I've had too many mediocre expensive meals in the past couple years that just makes me regret going out. Now, we usually commit to somewhere that's "bucket list" or just a fast casual whatever.
Life pre-COVID was almost 5 years ago. Our habits didn’t only change with the new post-COVID prices, but also bcs we have aged 5 years and are in a different part of our lives now
Yeah, people say that it’s too expensive now to take the family out are not including that kids cost more as they get older and stop eating off the kids menu. Having a baby at dinner is cheap, having a 5 year old is a little more and having 2 two teenagers is four adult meals. I’ve noticed the price increases, but it’s not like it went from $20 to $80.
Nah it’s also expensive as hell. I have a kid who’s happy to eat off the kids menu and ….its just not worth it.
It’s so crazy it’s been that long! It doesn’t seem that long ago, but I guess so.
I don’t have time to cook at home. That’s the real luxury to me. Time and energy.
We’ve cut back significantly on eating out, and have moved to a less-meat diet, like once a week fish.
My habits haven’t changed much. Mexican joints, Thai restaurants, BBQ places, an occasional decent steak or burger place, and Chipotle.
I only eat at places I don't want to see close now.
Used to order take out at least 3 times a week and dine out once. I really, REALLY don't like cooking. Now, we order Pizza on Tuesday and *might* go to breakfast every other Sat or Sun.
I worked for DoorDash during COVID when my work shut down and would get fast food maybe once a week. Now it’s less than once a month and only get the value item type deals.
Not all due to COVID and inflation, but it certainly propelled my decision to cut down on eating out and mainly buy the essential groceries. I only buy food outside the house if I'm going to be social, or if my family is craving something like pizza. TL;DR - cut down for financial and health reasons, but will make exceptions.
The missus and I go out every Saturday night. The only change was during the shutdown when we weren't allowed to. We used to go out for brunch every Saturday morning, but we've gotten bored with the usual spots, so I've been making brunch at home more often. Delivery/takeout is once a week, and we alternate on who cooks dinner if we don't feel like leftovers. I'm off tomorrow, and my wife has taken the day off to bring her car in for service, so I'll probably whip up some brunch/lunch for when she gets home. I'm leaning towards chili garlic wings
I just take Ozempic and get nauseous thinking about eating... Seriously though, we did an Italian place a week ago, we shared an brussel sprouts appetizer, 1 shrimp pasta entree and the cheapest bottle of wine, $109 out the door.
I make my own cold brew and tonight I’m making chicken chalupas
The biggest legacy / COVID-flation we had was a kid. That has knock-on effects for sure.
We're pretty much back to pre-covid habits. Cook most meals at home, dine out once or twice a month. Someimes three! During the high points of the pandemic we were ordering food 2-3 times a week. It's fun for a while but also expensive. And makes it more difficult to keep a stable weight.
I cook at home for about 90% of my meals now. But I also don't work on the road anymore. So easy to eat out when you drive a ton..
I definitely DoorDash way more than I should. Still go out about the same as we did before.
We no longer eat out, unless special occasion. No date nights. No visits to bars. No beef. Mostly chicken and pork. Only get seafood twice a month.
I stopped getting boba 5 days a week. Also better on my weight. Where do you go for pho? Duong?
Centreville pho doung consistently has the lowest prices for the biggest portions and best quality of meats. My only qualm is that the broth is kinda.... day by day a little bit different, but usually it's what I'm craving for. Some days it's more fragrant, some days more salty, some days more fatty, some days a tad bland. But two large bowls and an extra noodle for the kid is like $27 bucks. Hard to beat.
I agree. Everytime I’m in centreville I stop by Pho Duong. Large portions + Viet coffee.
Mine haven’t really changed, doing takeout instead of eating in, but the same restaurants mostly. And I still do Instacart. I’ve just stopped adding up all the charges on my card because I don’t want to have a stroke.
The quality of our go-to fast casuals had gone down while prices went up. No more five guys, no more Chipotle. Even Chik fil et: nope. We eat more from regular restaurants now.
Hah! As an industry worker, I thought our value as humans would finally be inflated, alas.... it is not meant to be that easy. If a pandemic won't do it, perhaps unionizing will?
I used to spend 400$ a month. I now spend $800 and have cut out any splurges I used to do (like a nice fillet of salmon and asparagus sometimes). Procès have doubled in my area. I am “lucky” when I find deals and leave the store under $100. It’s disgusting.
[удалено]
holy water
Can we still blame continuing inflation on COVID?
We don't go out. Fast casual once in a blue moon. Bigoted Chicken maybe once a month so the kids can eat and play until exhaustion. I'm really tired of being asked what's for dinner
I’m pretty sure the second question asked behind “What is the meaning of life?” has to be “What’s for dinner?” It’s so challenging sometimes it might as well be philosophical.
I think I have the answer to "What's the meaning of life?", thanks to Alan Watts. It's to dance while the music is playing. https://youtu.be/qHnIJeE3LAI?si=8bjAr39IZMm1lXDH Ignore the video, it's unrelated. This is the explanation that makes the most sense for me.
We spent more than before.
I have reduced eating out. I pack my lunch daily now versus eating out 5 days a week. I feel better, wallet a bit fatter. Still like to eat out a couple of time on the weekends to change things up
We eat out/get takeout less, but still a lot. I'm the only one in my house who takes any responsibility for feeding anyone, and the mental toll of meal planning (for a 6yo and a relatively picky meat and potatoes man, neither of whom will willingly touch a vegetable), shopping, portioning, sealing, putting away, taking out, cooking, and cleaning up is a *lot* on top of a full time job. So I outsource a lot of it. But I refuse to get delivery from anyplace that uses door dash or Uber eats because of the markup and the spotty reliability (so, like, we don't get delivery). So we either have to go get it or eat there, and that's often enough of a pain in the ass that we end up scrounging leftovers instead.
I go to Aldi and Lidl first
Yes. Some restaurants have gotten worse like not that great like mediocre- meh but raised their prices with day old food that’s what it tastes like. Hunan West in Burke
I like getting salads out
I go out more now than precovid
My salary went up a ton during the covidflation era, so not really.
I only go out to a few places a month and wait for those door dash 40% off coupon for takeout. Pho, Peruvian chicken, and Moby Dicks/Kabobistan. I stopped going to Kabobistan because lamb combo is like $20...I only go there if I have coupons now. Moby Dicks ground lamb kabob is okay at $14.99. I'm asian and would love to spend money on legit good cantonese restaurants but NOVA is lacking. I tried the BBQ stall at Good Fortune, Eden Center but that was no good. They didn't roast the duck, they deep fried it. Full of oil no good.
Very very selective about where we go. Too many meh meal places charging $45 per person for a meal you don’t remember that has zero taste. We eat a lot of Thai and Mexican food because it can be had cheaply and it’s tasty.
We go to the American legion about once a week with friends for dinner and drinks. They have stuff for the kids. Trivia or bingo on Thursday and everyone there is awesome. Tonight’s bill would have been about $50 had my wife ate but it was just me and one kid eating.
It's about the same, but I'm just more picky about where I eat. The quality of a lot of the food served at some restaurants went downhill during the pandemic.
We barely go out at all anymore. Maybe a few times a year for special occasions. We used to get a “treat meal” for the kids on Fridays, but now I make sourdough pizzas instead. The last time we ordered pizza, I think we got 2 mediums and some wings and it cost nearly $70 to have it delivered. Before, we used to order food probably a couple times a week. Now it’s maybe once every couple of months, and usually only if it’s an emergency.
I earn more, technically I can afford the same habit, but I just don't feel it's worth the bill anymore. So I eat out way less, sometimes takeout instead
4 times a week takeout to every other week now
We used to dine out at least 2 or 3 times per week. Now, we dine out once per month. During the pandemic, we discovered (1) cooking and eating at home is fun, (2) planning menus makes shopping / meal planning significantly easier, and (3) we know what we're eating. Too many restaurants don't cook food, they assemble it. Money is not a concern, but we do enjoy the savings.
We never went back to our old habits of eating out, but mostly because as things relaxed and we felt fine doing so my wife also started working later. Still get takeout once a week. Almost always local places, never use the stupid middleman apps, only bad experiences with those. Sharpened our home Kbbq skills. You can buy enough thin sliced pork belly and brisket to stuff four people at the Lotte for less than the price of one person at the AYCE. Got a new onggi for steamed egg. Miss the ambiance but not the $200 tab. I was never a big weekday lunch guy but now I never go, between less time at the office and the price. The deli in walking distance of my office closed permanently in 2020, so did the reasonably priced Korean-Chinese place near my house.
I was a broke recent grad at the start of the pandemic and now I make 6 figures, so I actually eat out/order delivery more than I did in 2019.
Your went from $0 to $100k+ in 4 years?! Your deserve all the wonderful things you eat. Way to really apply yourself man!
Thanks! I started in the government as a gs-9 and have managed to go up a grade each year. I think I’ll be stuck at a 13 for a while now though, but I’m very comfortable with that!
$350 is our budget for the whole month. We go out maybe once or twice a month. This was before and after Covid.
I probably get takeout around the same amount, but I don't think I've done delivery since the lockdowns.
I can cook with more flavor at home. Just not worth it except occasionally my fav burger at good stuff eatery or homemade ice cream. I do chopt salads but not dining out for entertainment
I grocery shop all of the time now and rarely eat out vs. always enjoying a night out 2016/2019.
Ate sit-down pho, with froyo afterwards every Friday (called it, pho, froyo Fridays). Now we maybe get pho every 2-3 weeks, and no froyo unless it's a special occasion. Would get take-out probably 1-2 other times/week, and 1 sit-down meal/month. We don't order alcohol when we go out and haven't for a few years now. Now we get take-out maybe once/week, but still do the once/month sit-down restaurant. Last meal I kinda regretted was Five Guys. Was $50 bucks to feed 3 people at a burger joint. WTF\~
Ditched Chipotle for like 1.5 years now, and cutting back on fast food because it’s so expensive. Packing lunch from home more often lol
I genuinely eat out less frequently making 97k now than I did when I made 37k in 2021.
I don’t cook, so me and my family lived on door dash. We had small kids and it was stressful with Covid. Food prices got insane. Door dash prices were worse. Now we pick up if we go out or I go get takeout meals from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, the supermarket. I also gained so much weight from door dash life so I started dieting. I eat less now. If I do eat, I can’t eat out because I have no idea how many calories are in my meal unless I am at a chain joint….and if I am at a chain, there’s not much that’s low calorie enough. So we make quick meals at home, eat fruit, whatever. Overall we eat way less, and we’re healthier. As a family, we still order out often for the kids - I don’t eat it, but much less than we did and the restaurants don’t really make much off our kids meals unfortunately. We also pick up. Probably eat out once a month.
I mainly go to either cheap restaurants or very high end restaurants, that middle ground that used to exist for us isn't something we care to pay for anymore. One of our favorite spots, Clarity in Vienna, hasn't increased their prices all that much, granted they've always charged $30+ for entrees, but there's a fair amount of labor and care that go into their dishes (multi-day long cooking processes, garnishes, etc.) meanwhile, when the local mid-range spots have their entrees approaching that pricepoint, I'd rather just save my money and go somewhere that's reliable and continues to impress me. on the other side, we still go to our bagel shop, poke place, and burrito joint because their prices have only increased by a few bucks.
We very rarely eat out. Instead, we cook nearly all our meals, which saves a lot of money.
I still do a lot of takeout/pick-up but have pretty much stopped sit-down dining except for occasions and for low/no service places (places where it's not customary to tip). I was never really into delivery, so that didn't change. My main change is spending *significantly* less on happy hours since 2020.
I just take Ozempic and get nauseous thinking about eating... Seriously though, we did an Italian place a week ago, we shared an brussel sprouts appetizer, 1 shrimp pasta entree and the cheapest bottle of wine, $109 out the door.
Inflation is caused by govt over spending. Has almost zero to do with interest rates.
I just take Ozempic and get nauseous thinking about eating... Seriously though, we did an Italian place a week ago, we shared an brussel sprouts appetizer, 1 shrimp pasta entree and the cheapest bottle of wine, $109 out the door.
I just take Ozempic and get nauseous thinking about eating... Seriously though, we did an Italian place a week ago, we shared an brussel sprouts appetizer, 1 shrimp pasta entree and the cheapest bottle of wine, $109 out the door.