Eating is one of the most basic need, and eat out is probably one of the most enjoyable things in life, especially for us who like to venture new food experience. Eating out is fun, exciting and great for building relationship and sharing experience with others. Seeing a well-known dish executed perfectly, discovering a previously unknown dish …etc are simply amazing.
On the other hand, eating out too often take time away from cooking and experimenting on your own, and frankly eat out too often isn’t the healthiest things to do.
So. Do you wish you can eat out more often? Or would you rather that you can eat out less?
I personally think I eat out just about right. If anything, I wish I could eat out just a little bit more. Eating out actually takes more time than cooking by myself, so I don’t always able to find time to eat out.
Not often enough. And I tend to go to the same places, so my adventurism isn’t as advanced as I would like it to be. I do enjoy cooking for myself, so I’ve become a bit complacent with not eating out. Cost is a factor, and sometimes the whole “I just want to eat in my comfy clothes vs. getting dressed up and going out and worrying about dripping something on myself in public” loner personality crops up.
There’s really only one place I’m totally comfortable eating by myself, and it’s about a 40 minute drive for me. I know - I need to get over eating by myself at a bar, but hey - I yam who I yam.
I may not be eating out enough, except for regular visits to our favorite place making Hakka style food. As I’ve gotten more into cooking and especially concerned about the provenance of what we buy and eat, we’ve eaten out less and less over the past few years.
Exceptions are things I don’t/can’t easily make at home.
Cost is a factor for me too, but time is even worse. I don’t live in a big city and a lot of the restaurants I like to eat out and to try are in the city, so I have to at least drive 45 min just to go there.
You dress up? I often just go with my work cloths (going to restaurants after work). I think that is good enough. Now, on the weekend, yes, then I need to put on something and not my pajamas If only there are pajamas accepted restaurants.
I live in a village with about 36 places to eat within walking distance, so a lot of redundancy. I do eat out as much as I want to, I just don’t want to as much as I used to.
I find myself eating out or wanting to eat out less and less. In my city, there is a constant stream of new restaurants opening up. All seem to be at a price point that one would expect a really well cooked meal. I’ve been disappointed too many times recently.
I would prefer not to pay $18 for a hamburger when I can make one better myself. It just seems so ridiculous to charge that. I do tend to go out for sushi a fair amount as I don’t have an excellent fish monger nearby and my skills at making maki are pathetic.
I used to eat out (or at least order delivery) 3-4 times a week. Now it’s maybe once a week at most. I work in a home office so have no need to go out for lunch unless I have a lunch meeting.
We have an 18month old at home and ever since she showed up I find we are eating out wayyyy too much. I work full time with a 3-4 hour round trip commute and at the end of the day I’m exhausted. Way too often I find us abandoning our carefully prepared dinner plans for take out. I actually really miss cooking but the whole process of getting dinner on the table is exhausting.
I think I eat out just about right, though it fluctuates based on what’s going on at the time. I probably have dinner out twice a week. And I have a group of friends who like to meet at least once a month for a weekend lunch or brunch. If this winter is anything like last winter, there won’t be much dining out from December through March
I think I probably eat take-out too much and actual sit-down eating out not enough. I used to eat out fairly often, but now it’s usually just when I travel.
I would like to eat out more but so many of the new and interesting restaurants seem to lack non-lame vegetarian options. I just can’t get excited about having hopefully maybe one entree choice (the dreaded vegetarian lasagna/pasta/portabello something/greasy plate of sad grilled vegetables) or making a meal of sides (story of my life). I still eat out with some frequency, but my preference now leans towards meeting friends for happy hour and sharing a few things which also keeps it more affordable. I end up grabbing a falafel sandwich, or stop into a good bagel shop, or seeking out smaller specialty shops or vendors more than i go for a proper wait service restaurant.
I also am single and live alone, so co-ordinating with friends who are married or have an SO, or have kids takes some planning now. I will go out by myself and eat at the bar once or twice a month but i would rather eat with friends.
That’s usually true for me as well. But last year it started snowing in November and just kept going until March. So there were lots of soups and stews enjoyed at home in front of the fireplace.
This month we’ve had a pretty pleasant and dry weather, so the local spots with nice outdoor dining have been targeted.
We don’t eat out often enough, sometimes just once a month. Most of the restaurants in our area just aren’t very good, even the pricey places that should be the best in town. Sysco has subverted the independent restaurant business unfortunately.
There are weeks when we have stuff scheduled every single night, and dinner seems to become a knee-jerk reaction and we end up going out. After too many nights of that, I am aching to cook and sit in my own chair and eat dinner.
Other weeks when everyone’s tired, including me, I give serious thought to at least getting takeout.
But yes – when I traveled for work, I got really really tired of eating out. It’s three times a day for a couple of weeks at a stretch, and it just gets old. I knew it was time to go home when I found myself stopping by a grocery on the way back to the hotel and buying a ham sandwich or some peanut butter and jelly, a pint of milk, and going back to the hotel to eat a sandwich and drink a glass of milk in my pajamas with the tv on.
If only there are pajamas accepted restaurants. 
So sad.