# How To Eat Out?



## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

Where what is the best food or foods to order that give you the best deal eating out?

I was looking at the Yahoo page and it said pasta is not really the best deal for you but it is good for the restaurant to serve. I suppose carbs in general is the most filling but also the cheapest to make.


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

My local Italian restaurant charges $15 for their pasta entres. I imagine it's pretty lucrative.

I would say that pizza is the best deal. Unfortunately, it's usually unheathly; nutritious pizza tends to be much more expensive.

Chinese food also tends to be cheap and plentiful (rice and noodles are cheap to prepare).


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

The best deal is food you enjoy but have a hard time preparing yourself. That will vary from person to person. I don't have a barbeque, so it's hard for me to make a good steak at home.


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

I had a buddy in the food industry and he told me once that most restaurants make the most profit off of pasta entrees, so when I eat out I avoid ordering pasta.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

If you enjoy eating pasta, go for it.

Booze seems to be where the very high margins are. I occasionally have a beer with dinner, but I usually just have water.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

dogcom said:


> Where what is the best food or foods to order that give you the best deal eating out?
> 
> I was looking at the Yahoo page and it said pasta is not really the best deal for you but it is good for the restaurant to serve. I suppose carbs in general is the most filling but also the cheapest to make.


I'm not exactly sure what you are asking, but if you are asking about bang (caloric and nutrient input) for buck (lowest price for consumer), then it must be something like Daal. Lentils are among the most nutritious food stuffs on the planet, and are often at extremely low prices.


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## hboy43 (May 10, 2009)

dogcom said:


> Where what is the best food or foods to order that give you the best deal eating out?


Chinese Buffet. One of the few economic breaks we large guys get. I used to be good for 3-4 plates, but my recent difficulties have likely put an end to that.

As someone above mentioned, Chinese is also a food style I currently can't cook at home (lack of knowledge, too many exotic ingredients). Burgers, steaks, pasta, pizza I can do.

I was once at a place where they prepared stir frys for you (Mongolian Village?) and charge by weight. I referred to it as an anti-buffet.

hboy43


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

It really depends on what you're looking for. I base good value on things that are either time consumer or things I can't do at home. My first choice is sushi because if you do it wrong at home, you can get quite sick, and it's also hard to find the good sushi grade fish. My second thing I don't do at home is Indian food because of all the spices, and I have tried it, and have problems getting the same results.

In terms of value for money, I guess it would be buffets, and places that are family friendly that can drown out the noise of two little ones. Not having to clean up after is priceless for me.


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## Max (Apr 4, 2009)

Vietnamese. You get a noodle soup (or rice vermicelli dish) literally as big as your head for $5-10, relatively healthy, and great tasting.

Greek is usually pretty reasonably priced considering the massive portions, you can almost always make 2 meals out of one.

If you stay away from drinks, appetizers, and deserts, the price of eating out is really not that bad.


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## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

Sushi and Japanese food is good as plugging along mentions and it is usually reasonably priced. Living in Richmond BC and being close to the fresh seafood gives restaurants the ability to give you quality seafood at a reasonable price. Thanks for mentioning the Vietnamese food Max I haven't had that in a long time and I think will get that the next time I go out.

Also mentioned going out to get what you can't cook or cook good enough at home or it is far to time consuming to do it yourself. A buffet is great value as hboy43 said as long as it has quality food that is cooked right and is clean. The only thing with a buffet is I hate it if anyone wastes their food, to me don't put on your plate what you can't eat.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Max said:


> Vietnamese. You get a noodle soup (or rice vermicelli dish) literally as big as your head for $5-10, relatively healthy, and great tasting.
> 
> Greek is usually pretty reasonably priced considering the massive portions, you can almost always make 2 meals out of one.
> 
> If you stay away from drinks, appetizers, and deserts, the price of eating out is really not that bad.


Isn't Pho just a big bowl of MSG and noodles?


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

For me it's chinese food & sushi, wings night, and fine dining. Everything else is cut. I've been to montanas,boston pizza/local sports bars one too many times and every time I go I feel ripped off.

Chinese food and sushi I can't make myself
Wing nights are cheap
Fine dining is excellent food at only ~75-100% more than boston pizza or whatever. Going to a fancy restaurant 6-8 times a year instead of boston pizza 12 times is a no brainer to me.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I was in some sort of class or something, and they went over the things that had the biggest mark ups aka biggest rip offs.

Some of the items I remember were:
Champaign - highest mark up, as usually people who are ordering it want to celebrate and will blow money on it for the sake of it
Alcohol - in general the hard alcohol/cocktails has the highest mark up, then wine, beer wasn't too bad
Desserts - they are really expensive for what you get, but I still get them every time
Sodas/drinks - but depending on how many refills you get... if you have 15 of them, then it might not be a bad deal


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

Im a wings guy also(perfect to unwind with a bs)GET KILLED with liquor in estalblishments but.....Has anyone ever tried buffalo wild wings?Im curious about the place,sounds like a typical sports bar....stock is hottt last few yrs


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## Max (Apr 4, 2009)

Part of my relocation package for a recent move was a budget of about $5-6k for one month to spend on food (shared between myself and my girlfriend). We ate sparingly during the day, and went out to a different expensive restaurant every night.

I never really got into sushi or oysters or wine, but you can if thats your thing, can get really expensive. I thought Moroccan was a nice moderately expensive meal that was also a fun experience.

The biggest continual dissapointment was italian restaurants (mostly pasta). They always have high ratings on online reviews, but it is often the same overly acidic sauce, and chewy pasta that tastes like leftovers. I started watching Gordon Ramsey's shows, especially Kitchen Nightmares, and suddenly it all makes sense.

After the meal allowance dried up, I started looking for cheaper places, and I liked Boston Pizza (Rustic Italian pizza), East Side Mario's (all you can east caeser salad and garlic bread), Tony Roma's (sometimes steak) and Montana's (ribs) the best out of the chains.

You can waste a lot of money trying new places. If you find a good one, I recommend to stick with it.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Places like East Side Mario's, Boston Pizza, Montana, etc. are blegh. Overpriced mediocre food.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

I have a really bad habit when I eat out.

I can't just have the deal of the day, or get a sandwich without the "meal" or "combo"..

I always figure "Whats another $3? I wanna get what I wanna get"

I spent $12.47 for a "Gourmet" Chicken Bacon Ranch 12" Sub at Subway the other day with chips and pop.

Was it good? Fantastic.
Did it kill my wallet? Yep... I felt guilty.

Same thing when I got to MCD.

Gotta get a 1/4 pounder with cheese, large fries and a large chocolate milkshake..... its over $10.

Do i love it? Yes
Guilty? Yes.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

Holy **** Max,you got 5-6k for a food allowance a mth?What do you do for a living?I know "above average" sales guys that only get 35 dollar a day out of town.They sweeten the pot for relocating....did you have to spend it in full?


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

I went thru mcdonalds today-quater pounder with cheese no onions combo.
evertime i go thru mcd the drive thru operator has the exact same scrip....They even say there name and end it with sir.Is it just me or was that always like that?robotic like...hello welcome to mcd pause how can i help you....meet shelly at the window ....thank you sir and have a nice day.I swear a couple yrs ago it was...ya what can i get ya smaking on gum.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Max said:


> You can waste a lot of money trying new places. If you find a good one, I recommend to stick with it.


How boring is that, if you stick to the same places, you'll never find that faboulous gem. That's just me though, I love new places, and do like going out to eat. If there is something that I really like, and doesn't seem too crazy in terms of ingredients or difficulty, I'll usually try to make it at home afterwards. 

I find the chanins are okay food for something familiar, but I wouldn't consider any of them a culinary experience.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

KaeJS said:


> I have a really bad habit when I eat out.
> 
> I can't just have the deal of the day, or get a sandwich without the "meal" or "combo"..
> 
> ...


I don't like fast food, but have it way too often because I'm always on the go. I have to admit that I can't justify buying a soda, that now I always have my water bottle with me, or a case of pop in the trunck of my vehicle.


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## Max (Apr 4, 2009)

andrewf said:


> Places like East Side Mario's, Boston Pizza, Montana, etc. are blegh. Overpriced mediocre food.


Overpriced mediocre food? Sure, but relative to what? I am a terrible cook, and I am definitely too cheap/value conscious to go to dozens of expensive and disapointing experiences searching for something better.



donald said:


> Holy **** Max,you got 5-6k for a food allowance a mth?What do you do for a living?I know "above average" sales guys that only get 35 dollar a day out of town.They sweeten the pot for relocating....did you have to spend it in full?


Nothing that glamorous, I am in a low level treasury job in oil industry. $5-6k was for two people, which is approx $100 per day for each person. I agree it is pretty high, but $100 per day is standard for all our employees depending on what country/city they move to (I moved to Calgary). I know a couple of other companies that pay a similar amount.



Plugging Along said:


> How boring is that, if you stick to the same places, you'll never find that faboulous gem. That's just me though, I love new places, and do like going out to eat. If there is something that I really like, and doesn't seem too crazy in terms of ingredients or difficulty, I'll usually try to make it at home afterwards.
> 
> I find the chanins are okay food for something familiar, but I wouldn't consider any of them a culinary experience.


The goal of finding that "Gem" is what gets people into trouble in my opinion. If you can afford it, great. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend paying a lot of money for a high probability of disappointment. Or maybe I just need more trustworthy reviews by friends and online.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I tend to stick with ethnic restaurants. If you're going to get a pasta dish at ESM or BP, I'd rather go to an italian place that has a better chance of making something decent.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Max said:


> Overpriced mediocre food? Sure, but relative to what? I am a terrible cook, and I am definitely too cheap/value conscious to go to dozens of expensive and disapointing experiences searching for something better.
> 
> 
> The goal of finding that "Gem" is what gets people into trouble in my opinion. If you can afford it, great. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend paying a lot of money for a high probability of disappointment. Or maybe I just need more trustworthy reviews by friends and online.


If you're a terrible cook, then most things will taste okay to you, and you are trying different places, chances are none of them will be as bad as your own cooking... so a win win in my mind. I'm not sure what you mean by a high probability of dissappointment. I find that I generally find more good restaurants than bad, especially if I'm going by online reviews. At the end of the day, you're still filled up with either a standard okay chain restaurant, a little gem, or something a little dissappointing.

Back to the OP - I said sushi, and then I thought about best value would sushi buffet! This thread has made me think of a sushi buffet that I haven't been to in a long time, that was actually pretty decent, so I'll be off next week to the place. Thanks for the reminder.


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## jagger (Jan 12, 2011)

Just go to costco and pickup a hot dog or polish + drink for $1.50. That's the best bang for the buck!


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## Dmoney (Apr 28, 2011)

Or IKEA for 99cent meatballs or pasta.


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## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

Went to the water slides with a bunch of kids for about 3 hours then went to IKEA and filled them up with hot dogs and drinks for 5 bucks. At the water park you might get one hot dog and maybe a small drink for 5 dollars.

When I go to a rip off Canucks game I eat nothing then just go out to Wendy's after to eat. I only go to Canucks games when someone buys me a ticket for free or if I pay I will go see the Giants major junior team because they look like they try harder, skate faster and it is a lot cheaper.


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## financialnoob (Feb 26, 2011)

KaeJS: What about if you went to certain places on certain days to get your favs? For example, I go to Burger King on Wednesdays since that's the Whopper deal day. 

I don't think Subway ever has your sub on the deal of the day. But as for the quarter-pounder with cheese, have you tried the McDouble? You can get two of them for $1.39 each and it's pretty much the same thing, but for less. 

I'd say drinks/appetizers/desserts have to be the least value when eating out. Two alcoholic drinks per person can easily tack on an extra $30 to the bill including tax and tip. 

Some of the portion sizes are ridiculous so my wife and I will end up splitting an entree rather than ordering two and taking some home.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

financialnoob said:


> KaeJS: What about if you went to certain places on certain days to get your favs? For example, I go to Burger King on Wednesdays since that's the Whopper deal day.


Yeah, I could do that if I kept tabs on the deals of the day.

The thing is that I don't eat out unless somebody else asks me to go out. I refuse to spend money on food and usually only go because someone else is going. This means I never usually choose the day or the place. Then, once I am there, I just figure I might as well go big or go home and get what I want.

I think a better idea is to just go on a healthy diet and scrap it altogether. Save my body and my money.


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## canadianbanks (Jun 5, 2009)

You can get a very good meal at a decent price in most greek restaurants, but not everybody likes their cuisine...


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

mmmm gyros.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Maybe we can get Greek food on sale, now that their country is going bankrupt!


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

I love Oysters and $48 dollars for 2 dozen is usually the cheapest we can find here.When we go to Florida we pay $9.99 for 24.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I like oysters too, but I don't know if I could 2 dozen in one sitting. My spouse entered an oyster eating contest one time, he cleaned them out, and it was free, and then he was really sick. Last time he ate oysters in a pub, where they came out of a bucket.

I would have said that was a good deal, but he did get sick. It could have been the drinks too though


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Dogcom and Marina , I just wanted to tell you that I thought of both of you tonight. I went to an all you can eat Asian/sushi buffet. We ate way too much sushi, and they had oysters on the half shell. Normally, I would have just had one oyster, then I thought of Marina. 6 was my limit. Forget about 24.

I think it was good deal. My spouse sat there coaching me how I could eat more. Right now, can't move except to type.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

Plugging Along said:


> Last time he ate oysters in a pub, where they came out of a bucket.


There in lies the problem, the only way to eat oysters is out of the ocean.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

We went to Florida in July for the Daytona 400 and we went to a great sea food place .My friend from South Africa was with us and we finished off 2 dozen each and probably went through a litre of the homemade sauce they served .That was our appetizer and our dinner ,going back next month for a week and I will be going back for more.Looks like I will need to hit the sushi bar tomorrow this is killing me lol


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## hboy43 (May 10, 2009)

Plugging Along said:


> I went to an all you can eat Asian/sushi buffet.


Sigh. Seems I will have to live vicariously when it comes to buffets. After 4 or 5 episodes, it is my growing belief that eating to over about 1/2 full puts me into agony and ... well you don't need the details. After things didn't seem to be clearing Tuesday I went the emergency dept. just in case some after effect of my problems this past year. After blood, urine, xrays, exmanination by the Doctor, other than I get sick as a dog for 12 hours ... there is nothing wrong with me. Maybe time will fix this, who knows.

You know, the heart and lungs get all the organ attention. But a dodgy GI system, while it might not kill you any time soon, it can destroy your quality of life. Not that I am the stage of having a destroyed quality of life, but I'd say it is permanently degraded at this point, and I can certainly envision how it could get worse as I age. My assumption of health and youth is I suspect gone forever.

My whole family is a good size (that is tall) and can eat. About 20 years ago I began teasing my Dad that he isn't a "competitor" any more. Looks like I am not either.

I will cherish forever my last good feed at a Chinese Buffet. On forward with my life as a grazer I guess.

Thanks for listening. A sucky week in a sucky year. I know others have it worse. I even know specific people who have it worse, like a specific 18 year old with cancer. I just wish I could get somewhat back to normal so I could get on with things.

I leave you with a final thought: "ummm donuts".

hboy43


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

KaeJS said:


> The thing is that I don't eat out unless somebody else asks me to go out.
> 
> Then, once I am there, I just figure I might as well go big or go home and get what I want.


I think you're completely fine with doing that KaeJS. Forgive me for playing therapist here, but, along with your other threads recently, I get the feeling that you are guilting yourself unnecessary into being a saver, at the expense of your sanity. You seem to be asking yourself "should I spend the money on this hamburger?" when you should be asking yourself "Do I actually _want_ to eat this hamburger?" If the answer is yes, proceed, unworried that your financial future is at stake.

I'm a early 20s guy like yourself - I find that when I get guilty feelings about spending money, the root cause always stems from the fact that I didn't really _want_ to do the activity, and not that the spending was interfering with my investment goals.

Today, I went paintballing. This guy in my class had a group coupon (ohh groupon - I get it now!) and invited me; It was the first time I've ever done such a thing. It turned out to be amazingly fun. Afterward we went to my favorite bbq restaurant, and ate pounds of delicious meat. I passed on the beer because we have lots at home. Whole day cost $50. I entirely do not regret it because it is what I truly wanted.

It sounds to me like perhaps you get the best sandwich or hamburger or more drinks at the bar because you're trying to salvage the best of a situation that you don't _really_ want to be in in the first place. Perhaps if you reflected upon what you actually enjoy, instead of what you think you are expected to enjoy, then you could be a bit more at peace with spending money.


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## Karen (Jul 24, 2010)

hboy, have you been tested for celiac disease or some other form of gluten intolerance? For many years I had the symptoms you have described; I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and told by the gastroenterologist to "watch what you eat" which wasn't exactly very helpful. It was my late husband who thought it sounded like celiac; I was tested for that, and that's what it turned out to be. I am completely symptom free and what a difference that makes to my life, as I'm sure you don't have any trouble believing.


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## calrest (Apr 13, 2011)

Basic rules: slowly and inconspicuously!


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

KaeJS said:


> I think a better idea is to *just go on a healthy diet and scrap it altogether. Save my body and my money*.


Sorry, just had to point out what you said earlier, to remind you after this week's food poisoning incident at Taco Hell.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

LOL.

Thanks carver. I need the reinforcement.


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