fast food versus eating out

[QuarterMillionMan]

$12.99 bbq chicken plate all mac salad (I know not the healthiest of choices). But this will make 3 meals for me and I add boiled broccoli or corn and/or rice or potatoes. Being that LAL is from Hawaii she must know L & L very well. Los Angeles has plenty L & L locations.

[ua_guy]

Our latest instance of eating out was a place out here in the desert called Jackalope Ranch. $67 for a steak, if I recall, and $35 for turkey dinner, plus two drinks, and an iced tea. Total with tax and before tip was $134 for two of us. The place is a notch above where most families are willing to bring their screaming kids, and that is usually worth every penny by itself.

[QuarterMillionMan]

The $12.99 BBQ chicken plate above from L & L, I stretched into 5 meals. Clockwise beginning at 1 o'clock mashed potatoes, mac salad w/Sriracha sauce, boiled cauliflower, BBQ chicken, and canned corn in the middle.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I should add that I'm not even trying to stretch it out but when adding my own healthy choices it just happens to come out that way.

[jenn_jenn]

Hmm I agree, I don’t think it is a slight difference either but I guess it depends on where you are and what you consider a restaurant vs. fast food. Anything you order at a counter, I’d group in the fast food category.

We’ve cut way back recently because it is just not worth it unless you’re going to a “nice place”. Just a normal casual dinner out for us two is around $120+ with tip. Quality and service have declined across the board so most times I’d rather eat at home.

We got Five Guys today and it was $30. Much cheaper than if we were to have gotten the same meal at a casual restaurant.

[disneysteve]

Anything you order at a counter, I’d group in the fast food category.

I would disagree with that as a generalization. Most bbq restaurants are counter service and the quality of the offerings is far above fast food. Everything is cooked from scratch. Meat is smoked for 8-12 hours. Nothing fast about it. And what about places where you order at the counter but then are served at your table.

I define fast food more by the low quality of the food.

[bjl584]

I don't eat out very often. The one place that we do frequent is a local bar and restaurant near my house. It is a sit down, order from a menu style restaurant.

[kork13]

Anything you order at a counter, I’d group in the fast food category.

I would disagree with that as a generalization.

I define fast food more by the low quality of the food.

Interesting to see the variations in perceived definition. I've just always viewed "fast food" as anything that you order & it shows up a handful of minutes later (because it was already par-cooked/pre-formed/frozen & just heated/fried up).

I also see fast food as being soaked in oil/grease, mostly cooked either on a flat top grill or deep fryer, and as Steve said, generally high-processed & low-quality food.

[Fishindude77]

When we do our road adventures, we usually have a cooler in back for snacks and drinks and just pull over somewhere nice for a little lunchtime snack.
Hard to beat ring bologna, cheese, crackers & pickles at a roadside park

Once we get a motel, we'll find a good place for a sit down supper meal.

[rob62521]

We live in a small town. Very small. But there are a few locally owned restaurants and the American Legion that offer more reasonable prices of meals than some of the fast food chains.

[disneysteve]

This kind of relates to eating out. A new place opened near us last week that sells fresh ready-made meals. These are "homemade" and not full of additives and chemicals and preservatives like TV dinners and much of what comes from the supermarkets. Just real ingredients. They are focused on healthier meals with a particular emphasis on high protein. Each meal is $9.25. While that is more costly than cooking from scratch at home, it's also a good deal cheaper than eating out. When my wife and I go out to lunch, the bill is rarely below $30 for counter service and a fair bit higher than that for table service. We figure if these meals are good and we use them a couple of times a week instead of going out, we will trim $20-40+/week off our spending. Plus the meals are portion and calorie controlled so we'll be eating better in the process.

We went there for the first time today and each bought 2 meals (4 different selections). They are good for about a week. We will try them and hopefully find at least a couple that we like and would buy again. They have 30 or so options in stock. They weren't all things we would choose but there were enough options that assuming we like them, I don't think we'd have trouble buying one or two a week.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Disneysteve that sounds similar to Asian markets where they sell bentos (boxed meals) to take and go. They reduce the price at the end of the day in order to try to sell out the bentos. Meals such as teriyaki chicken, salmon & rice, teriyaki beef bowl, etc. Prices seems high take the first pic top middle $18 chicken katsu bento.