Call me cheap, but since when did a basic breakfast for 2 cost $30?

[disneysteve]

Of course.
Please share your expertise on pizza as well.

Unless we are in the Philadelphia/New Jersey/NYC region, we pretty much won't ever order pizza anywhere else.

https://x.com/TerribleMaps/status/1662918249196011521

[ua_guy]

Of course.
Please share your expertise on pizza as well.

Glad you asked. Anyone can make pizza, but few make great pizza.

Dough prep is everything. Timing and temperature control are important for the rise, and texture. You don't want to use dough that's been sitting around, it makes for crappy pizza. Restaurants that know their dough make great pizza.

The sauce is the second item that makes/breaks a good pizza. Everyone has their secret recipe, else they're using Food Service pizza sauce from a can. As you guessed, it tastes like it came from a can and was purchased cheaply. Sugar is sometimes used to balance the acidity of tomatoes or mute bad tomato flavor, and most commercial sauces are full of sugar. Good sauces use the best tomatoes and don't need sugar as a preservative--because it's fresh.

After that, it's all preference for what you like on your pizza, but good pizza uses good ingredients. High quality meats, fresh vegetables, freshly chopped garlic. Not stuff that's delivered in a bag.

Cheese? Good pizza uses real cheese, and blends of real cheese. None of this commercially available white cheese that's been sitting shredded in a bag. Loses its flavor. You buy it in blocks and shred/grate it for that day's pizzas.

Cooking is the last big variable...anyone can warm up a pizza. Commercial conveyor ovens do well enough, but for better taste, I prefer wood-fired on stone.

Most tavern pizza tastes like it came out of a box, and some of it actually does. Maybe you find a tavern that makes its own pizza, and it's really good. I kind of doubt they're selling a large pie that isn't a food-service special, for $12. Maybe. But probably not.

[disneysteve]

None of this commercially available white cheese that's been sitting shredded in a bag. Loses its flavor. .

Not only is it less flavorful but it contains an anti-caking ingredient to keep it from all sticking together. However, that also keeps it from melting the way fresh cheese does. If you're ever cooking anything, like mac and cheese for example, you never want to use pre-shredded cheese if you expect it to melt and be smooth and creamy.

[ua_guy]

Not only is it less flavorful but it contains an anti-caking ingredient to keep it from all sticking together. However, that also keeps it from melting the way fresh cheese does. If you're ever cooking anything, like mac and cheese for example, you never want to use pre-shredded cheese if you expect it to melt and be smooth and creamy.

Exactly. Just like GOOD Mexican food, pizza is pretty simple. Stablizers and preservatives and things added so it can be made quickly/conveniently take away from its intended flavors. That kills tortillas, it kills dough, cheese, sauce, salsas, etc.

[EasyMoney00]

Sure, but you can't compare going out for a couple of slices of pizza with sitting down to a full meal.

Who's comparing anything? I'm simply stating you can absolutely go out to eat with a family of 4 and not break the bank.

[EasyMoney00]

We have a little country tavern nearby that runs a pizza special on Monday nights, $12 for any large pizza and $2 domestic beers.

That's cheap enough. Our pizza joints are around $16/large cheese. We're snagging one for takeout for 3 adults this weekend. Add on a $4 bag of chips and it'll come in under $25.

[ua_guy]

Sounds like great pizza. And a bag of chips! Mmmmmm, there's a winning combo.

[disneysteve]

Who's comparing anything? I'm simply stating you can absolutely go out to eat with a family of 4 and not break the bank.

Definitely. I agree with that. You can take the family to McDonald's too without spending $100, but I certainly don't recommend it.

We almost never go out for pizza because I make very good pizza at home and it's just not worth the price when going out for it. There are one or two shops that I like and will stop there now and then for a slice when I'm in the mood for that but we never go out for pizza as a family. When we go out, which we do often, it's usually for stuff we don't make at home.

[myrdale]

Breakfast this morning was two cups of vanilla yogurt. About $1.15

For lunch today I had two cans of sardines, a small bag of chips, and a bottle of sprite. $10.92

One can was skin and boned, the other was whole. About a dollar difference between them. Both in olive oil. I did enjoy the deboned ones more, but there wasn't much of a difference in taste.

Dinner tonight will be half of a large Chick-Salad-Chick Quick Chick (about $12) but I one a raffle for one free one a month, so free! (not including a handful of crackers.

[ua_guy]

I've been eating Factor meals for lunches for portion/calorie control and to add nutritional variety. It's about $12/meal delivered. It's taken the variability and stress out of trying to eat healthy for lunches, and it's curbed the "I'm too tired to cook" excuses when work chews me up. I don't know how long I'll stick with it, but it's helping reset some unhealthier habits and the benefits have been numerous.

[myrdale]

I've been eating Factor meals for lunches for portion/calorie control and to add nutritional variety. It's about $12/meal delivered. It's taken the variability and stress out of trying to eat healthy for lunches, and it's curbed the "I'm too tired to cook" excuses when work chews me up. I don't know how long I'll stick with it, but it's helping reset some unhealthier habits and the benefits have been numerous.

I have tried a local meal prep service. Roughly $8 to $12 per meal. It wasn't bad other than the pickup times were Sundays at 4pm which meant after I did all my running around Sunday morning, I still had to make an extra trip to town that afternoon.