On our last trip, we loved House Without a Key, so I’ll definitely be returning there. And the Pineapple Room, which is gone, but I made a reservation at a place run by two of its alums.
I also prefer a more rustic, laid back experience, but I will suffer through someone else paying for me to stay in Waikiki.
We really enjoyed Eleven & the sushi place we went to.
Nope, not even close.
But Costco hot dog (with a drink) for 1.50 is cheaper than making the same at home (not including the Costco membership of course, which at some Costcos you don’t need to buy food from the food court)
This was a bit entertaining – the guy is not the best youtuber but might be worth a look.
Had to look that one up, but none of the spices are exotic/expensive (e.g., nothing like saffron expensive). No idea what this dish costs in GTA, but with my current whole chickens going for $2/lb, and assuming a serving size of 1/2 of a 6 pound chicken, I think i could make that for under $8.
@ipsedixit - I just priced a hot dog on bun and 12 oz serving of Coke at $1.06, using Walmart prices for Oscar Mayer dogs and 2 litre Coke. None of the components appeared to be an on-sale item.
Does Costco still sell their $5 rotisserie chicken? That might be a good example of “cheaper than home”. OTOH it might also be an example of price dumping/loss leader.
Cool. We’ve only been once and really loved it. We were gifted a freebie week on Maui from my in-laws’ timeshare acct, and used it for our 25th anniversary present.
This is where Canadian and American pricing comes into play. Canadian meat costs more, even factoring in our 72 cent dollars. I pay $3.49-$4 CAD / lb per whole chicken. It does go on sale for less at some stores.
I pay around $15 CAD for a raw 1.5 lb to 2 lb chicken at the store.
Rotisserie chickens, cost between $8 CAD and $15 CAD depending on the store or take-out restaurant.
Going rate at Portuguese churrasco restaurants is usually $12-$15 for whole cooked chicken. It’s possible to buy the the whole chicken. A quarter chicken dinner might cost $10-$15, including potatoes . A half chicken dinner might cost $12-$18, including potatoes. The Portuguese chicken places are sometimes a little cheaper than chain restaurant fried or roasted chicken dinners.
I’m also not paying for the electricity or gas, or time, to cook it.
I don’t know what Costco chickens cost in Canada right now. I gave up my membership. Some grocery stores sell $8 rotisserie chickens. The ones I like more usually cost $12-$14.
That doesn’t include condiments, and the energy costs as well as the hardware to cook the hot dog.
And, more importantly, can you just buy one hot dog, and one bun?
Seems like you’re reaching here.
Okay I’ll go you about $1.12 after I amortize my microwave over a few thousand dogs, subtracting out from that cost all my thousands of uses of it that are not dogs (recall we’re talking about what it costs me at home, not what Costco’s equipment prices may be), toss on the cost of a squirt of mustard, and the 0.1 cents it costs me to nuke the dog for 40 seconds (my actual cost, near as I can tell).
“buy just one hot dog…”
And now you’re just gettin silly. 
I am not buying just one dog and one bun. I’m buying 8 and giving you my cost per dog. Just like you gave me Costco’s cost per dog.
Burgers ? They are quite easy to make very good at home and definitely much better than those horrible McD/Wendy/BK ones
IMHO, burgers at home are better than McDonald’s, Wendy’s, or Burger King, but not as good as our local diners’. YMMV.
You have better control of the beef/pork/lamb quality - large majority of diner use cafo meat
You’re probably a lot better at making burgers than I am!
Some butcher shops and some bakeries in Toronto.
I also should have added that I always ask for it to be sliced a certain thickness,like very thin but not shaved,or if by # then #1 thickness,etc then you get exactly what you want .
That would constitute eating out IMO.
And without getting into further rabbit hole, even if the cost of ingredients is cheaper to make at home (including the energy and facility costs added), we can’t forget the costs of labor.
Cold hot dog from butcher shop to cook at home on bun from a bakery?
Some butcher shops sell bacon or hot dogs by weight. Less waste. Lately, we have trouble using 12 hot dogs within a week, which the packaged hot dogs recommend .
Some fancy hot dogs have gotten slimy 4 days after opening.
My milage varies considerably. We have michelin-star burgers, we have what I call “high end” burgers (brewpubs with $15 burgers), we have diners, we have higher end faster food (in n out which I dislike, the habit which a family member likes, make mine 5 guys), then we have the bottom of the barrel with wendys / bk / mcd.
On a good day, my burger is as good as Village Pub, although I stock no truffle for the off menu additions. On an average day, my burger is easily as good as a $15 burger at a local brewpub, although some have better toppings, and I don’t source good rolls. The distance between my local good diner and a brewpub isn’t that large (most diners use a thinner patty than the brewpubs use and I use at home). I get ground beef fresh ground from the mexican butcher around the corner, it has higher fat content, and needs to be cooked accordingly.
The main difference between eating a restaurant burger and a home burger, besides the fact that someone makes it for me, is that I can send it back if it’s not well made.
