MUST I like eating out? Is it a law or something?

RJM62

RJM62

Touchdown! Greaser!
Gone West
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Upstate New York
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Geek on the Hill
I don't like eating out.

It's not a major hatred sort of thing, mind you. It's not something that fills me with dread. I just don't care for it. I'll do it when I'm meeting a friend who's passing through town, or if some family member is silly enough to want to celebrate some major milestone in their life in a restaurant; but eating in restaurants is something I endure, rather than enjoy.

There are reasons for this.

One is that for all of my working life until recently, I had jobs in which I worked in the field and often had to meet with clients at restaurants, and somewhere along the line it stopped being fun. I'll do it when I have to, but I would never go to a full-service restaurant specifically for the experience of doing so.

Another reason is that I'm a pretty good cook and actually can cook most stuff I've eaten at restaurants better than they can. I also like spicy food, and it's a rare restaurant that can match my taste for Scoville units. And if you ask for a bottle of hot sauce at most places, all they have is wimpy stuff (if they have any at all).

The unwillingness of some restaurants to substitute is also annoying. I have diabetes and have to take it easy on the carbs, but most restaurants pile the plates with potatoes, pasta, rice, etc., and many don't like doing substitutions, or make you pay some ridiculous amount like $3.00 for a side of string beans instead of the twelve pounds of mashed potatoes that come with the meal.

I also hate waiting, and eating out is mainly about waiting. Wait to be seated. Wait for the server to bring you the menu. Wait again for the server to take your order. Wait for each of the courses. Wait for the check. Wait for the server to come back with the charge slip. I hate it.

And then there are dress codes. When I sold my consulting business, I donated my ties and all of my dress clothes to Goodwill, along with any pants that were made of anything except denim, any socks that weren't white, and any shirt that had an actual collar unless it was made of flannel. I wear blue jeans and pullover shirts, white socks, and the same model of comfortable black shoes that only Payless sells (I buy them two pairs at a time when they're on sale) that I've been wearing for about the past six years, everywhere I go.

shoe.jpg


If my wardrobe is not acceptable at some place, then I don't go. I have attended weddings, church services, court proceedings, and funerals dressed in my chosen style of attire, and I have never had a bride, groom, preacher, judge, or corpse complain about it. So why would I dress up to please some Maitre D? Not gonna happen.

Finally, I've had occasion to see the insides of a lot of restaurant kitchens. Nuff said about that.

So suffice it to say that I don't like eating out, and I have my reasons. I do, however, like eating at buffets more than at full-service restaurants because buffets dispense with enough of the things I hate about eating out that if the food is decent, I can actually enjoy the experience. In fact, a good buffet is about the only kind of eating out that I'll do for the sheer joy of doing so.

Is that a crime?

I mean, one would think that I have a right to not enjoy eating out, except at buffets. But nooooooooo. My whole family and most of my friends seem to be conspiring to force me to eat out at every restaurant they find -- except buffets, which they know I like, but which they can't accept. They seem determined to change this by dragging my sorry old assets to every new full-service restaurant they come across.

Don't get me wrong: I appreciate the fact that they still like me enough to want to share these great finds with me. And hey, as long as they're paying, at least I get a freebie meal out of it; so it's not all bad.

But why is it so difficult for them to accept that there are people like me who don't enjoy having to get dressed up and burn gas in order to wait repeatedly, and pay, to select from a limited menu, food that they can make better at home?

Am I the only one?

Is there some rule I am breaking?

Is it a law?

:rolleyes2:

Thanks. I feel better now.

-Rich
 
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I'm with you! And probably for one of your reasons that you left out.
I can cook better than any restaurant around these parts.
Why don't you invite those that encourage you to eat out to come to your place. Fix one of your specialties. And charge them appropriately.
 
P.S. I walk into restaurants wearing whatever I have on. If they don't like it, they don't get my money. Seems reasonable to me.
 
i must not be eating at fancy enough restaurants because i don't think i've ever been anywhere with more than a no shirts no shoes no service dress code
 
I like eating at home preferably with family. Doesn't have to be fancy. I think if more family's ate together at home there would be less stress.

Not that mine does mind you, but I think it would be best.
 
tonycondon said:
i must not be eating at fancy enough restaurants because i don't think i've ever been anywhere with more than a no shirts no shoes no service dress code
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I've been a couple of places that wouldn't even enforce those... :)
 
JOhnH said:
I'm with you! And probably for one of your reasons that you left out.
I can cook better than any restaurant around these parts.
Why don't you invite those that encourage you to eat out to come to your place. Fix one of your specialties. And charge them appropriately.
Click to expand...

Oh, I do -- except for the charging them part. I enjoy cooking for guests.

-Rich
 
You are doing it wrong. Bring a smartphone next time and take a picture of your food and social media spam it out there. It isn't about eating out, it is about showing the internet you are eating out. <-sarcasm
 
ClimbnSink said:
You are doing it wrong. Bring a smartphone next time and take a picture of your food and social media spam it out there. It isn't about eating out, it is about showing the internet you are eating out. <-sarcasm
Click to expand...

Nothing else useful to do with a smartphone on the ground. It certainly doesn't make phone calls of any quality level. LOL...
 
RJM62 said:
But why is it so difficult for them to accept that there are people like me who don't enjoy having to get dressed up and burn gas in order to wait repeatedly, and pay, to select from a limited menu, food that they can make better at home?

1.) Am I the only one?

2.) Is there some rule I am breaking?

3.) Is it a law?

:rolleyes2:

4.) Thanks. I feel better now.


-Rich
Click to expand...

1.) No
2.) No
3.) No
4.) Good!

:D When can the wife and I come over for dinner? We are fine with jeans and flannel shirts.:D

Gary
 
I generally don't like eating out either, nor do I like eating at home. But... I like eating. What a quandary.

I like fast food. Or semi fast food, you know, where you order things a-la-cart, pay for it, eat, then get the hell out of there. I generally don't like buffets BUT with proper discipline and restraint, it can be an enjoyable experience.

The thing about eating at home is, if you want to eat enjoyably, you have to plan. And that can be difficult. It means you have to have to procure the perishables (veggies, meat, whatever) and prep them, and you usually have leftover stock that may or may not get used, and it goes bad in a hurry if you don't use it. Basically, you can't just do it on a whim.

Case in point. I had these yummy lettuce wrapped burgers for lunch today. If I wanted the same thing at home, I'd have to make a store run for lettuce, onion, tomato and hamburger, then I have to cut the veggies, disembowel a head of lettuce for the parts that can be used to make the burger-wrap, cut up and caramelize the onions, cook the burgers (did I mention they were flame broiled? My option is to either fry them or drag out the BBQ, which is not happening for a single serving). Then I have leftover lettuce, tomatoes, hamburger (probably some odd quantity) and if this stuff doesn't get used, it goes bad. Then there is the cleanup aspect. There is something to be said about eating at a place that has a lot of food turnover. That usually (not always, but usually) means fresher than at home.

Hmm, that's a thought. Howabout making some sort of "you cook it yourself" restaurant? Basically, it would be like one of those rental garages where you pay by the hour, and you get to use all their tools, many of which you wouldn't have at home. But here, you would pay a flat fee, get assigned a kitchen space with sink and range, and you just pay for the quantities of food you use to cook.

Don't nobody steal my idea.
 
They have one of those in FL. You buy the pancake batter and there is a griddle in the center of your table. you cook your own. Our youngest asked for two eggs. He got them alright. Two raw uncracked eggs in a small bowl. The look was priceless.
 
tmyers said:
They have one of those in FL. You buy the pancake batter and there is a griddle in the center of your table. you cook your own. Our youngest asked for two eggs. He got them alright. Two raw uncracked eggs in a small bowl. The look was priceless.
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Old Spanish Sugarmill inside DeLeon Springs State park, DeLeon Springs, FL. They used to let you cook meat on the griddle as well until the fire marshal threatened to make them put in fume hoods at each table.

Great place!
John
 
tonycondon said:
i must not be eating at fancy enough restaurants because i don't think i've ever been anywhere with more than a no shirts no shoes no service dress code
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I can find them if I look. But not in my county. I can drive up to San Francisco for that.

The nicest restaurants in the county know we're a tourist resort, and may prohibit wet swimsuits, but tolerate just about anything else.

I also don't have ANY trouble finding real hot sauce (several different types), and getting away from meat and potatoes. Getting away from sprouts in another story.... living in the northeast may be the issue here.
 
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We avoid eating out with some vigor. Restaurant food is nowhere near as healthy as that prepared in the kitchens of Steinholme, and portions are always far too large for our diminutive frames.
 
denverpilot said:
This place...

http://www.omalleys.biz/OMalleys_Pub_-_Palmer_Lake,_Colorado/Home.html

Lets you grill your own steaks at a centrally located grill...

http://www.omalleys.biz/OMalleys_Pub_-_Palmer_Lake,_Colorado/Our_Menu.html

You can't complain the thing came out under or over done that way, either... :)
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There used to be a Chinese place sort of like that by where I used to work in central New Jersey, somewhere around Rahway.

The patrons would walk down a line and pick out the ingredients they wanted. Then they'd hand the bowl to the cook, who would cook it up while you watched, in what may well have been the world's biggest wok.

That was another place I kind of liked, both because of the quirkiness and the fact that I got to choose exactly what I wanted to eat. I forget the name offhand... maybe "Chinatown Express" or something along those lines. But alas, the last time I looked for it, I couldn't find it.

-Rich
 
Agree that it is difficult to eat out and find actual food. So, I've come to prefer eating at home - where I know (as well as I can) what I'm eating.

So sad that even food that doesn't come in packages requires a bunch of research or scrutiny to discern nutritional value (or, rather, danger).

That said, I'm about to tuck in to some CAFO prime rib (to wash down my martini) at a fine dining institution
 
The Butcher Shop in Memphis lets you cook your own, or they charge you do it. I usually pay. Going out to eat is rarely about eating when I go out. It's to have a beer and tell some lies.
 
I tend to prefer local places with good food and good service. I don't mind a good buffet, but there are many people who look over their noses at buffets--not "classy" enough, I suppose.

The biggest problem with eating out is the expense, which I've watched grow both largely and steadily over the past several years. Even at drive-through fast food restaurants, $8-10 for a sandwich and fries is way, way too much money for what is supplied in return. The biggest rip-off has to be beverages, which are $2.50-$3.00 each (non-alcoholic) at most establishments, so I usually end up just asking for water.


JKG
 
No. And no.

I've had enough eating out while TDY.

otoh - my mother loved to eat out.

I wish I had taken her out to eat more often.
 
There is one place here in Daytona where I don't mind the dress code:

Men: No shirt, shoes, no service,
Women: No shirt, free beer!
 
Different strokes fer different folks, Rich.

I can't say I've ever eaten anywhere that jeans and t-shirt aren't perfectly acceptable.
 
I am generally with you on this one, although there are a few spots that are worth the effort to dress up and go. Like you I like to cook and know how to make my dishes just like I like them, (Generally, if the top of my head doesn't break out in sweat I was too light on the heat), but when we do go out it is usually with friends or a special spot while on vacation. For example, few things on Earth can compare to dinner at Le Jules Verne, and the food and view is worth the cost. (IMHO)
 
RJM62 said:
except buffets, which they know I like,
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Too bad you live far from Nevada, probably the best buffets are in casinos here, for example Friday's seafood buffet at Atlantis in Reno is probably the best buffet I know - for $30 all you can eat crab legs, jumbo shrimps, oyster rockefeller, salads, mongolian grill, etc. It is a true feast, I usually get a whole bottle of white wine to accompany the dinner. And there is a noticeable difference - just 40 miles away next to the Lake Tahoe, just stone's from California there are also casinos but food is no longer so good, I guess if you have one attraction (a spectacular mountain lake) restaurant operators don't feel like they have to work hard to get you to come but in Reno where it is hard to think of other attractions the food is outstanding.
 
Ooh, I like those. It's amazing how those guys can keep from losing their fingers.
 
I can hear the conversations much better at home, don't have to walk so far to the mens' room and can choose the music (and volume level) that I prefer. I can also buy a case of wine for the price of the two bottles the group will drink during a normal dinner.

Costco's really good steaks cost about $6 each vs $36 at the steak joint. I'll happily foot the restaurant bill if there's some reason it's necessary or will help land a big deal, but otherwise prefer home cooking.
 
olasek said:
Too bad you live far from Nevada, probably the best buffets are in casinos here, for example Friday's seafood buffet at Atlantis in Reno is probably the best buffet I know - for $30 all you can eat crab legs, jumbo shrimps, oyster rockefeller, salads, mongolian grill, etc. It is a true feast, I usually get a whole bottle of white wine to accompany the dinner. And there is a noticeable difference - just 40 miles away next to the Lake Tahoe, just stone's from California there are also casinos but food is no longer so good, I guess if you have one attraction (a spectacular mountain lake) restaurant operators don't feel like they have to work hard to get you to come but in Reno where it is hard to think of other attractions the food is outstanding.
Click to expand...

Buffets in Nevada are hit or miss, and they have improved in recent years. Reno used to be a huge dump, but got fixed up downtown when the Silver Club was built. Sparks is still barely OK. Fallon and Carson City suck.

I had a really bad buffet once at the Cal-Neva. And in the old days in Vegas, the Sahara used to have a "$7.77 lobster buffet," but the food bore a distinct resemblance to those elementary school pink pencil erasers.
 
If I eat out, I don't have to do dishes.
 
Neither do I. It usually comes in a paper wrapper with a small cardboard box, both stuffed inside a big sack with napkins and ketchup tossed in on top.

EdFred said:
If I eat out, I don't have to do dishes.
Click to expand...
 
steingar said:
Neither do I. We have this cool robot called a dishwasher.
Click to expand...

Someone still has to load and unload it. Last I checked there were no double x chromosomes wandering around my house.
 
They're easy to trap. What are you using for bait?

EdFred said:
Someone still has to load and unload it. Last I checked there were no double x chromosomes wandering around my house.
Click to expand...
 
MAKG1 said:
Buffets in Nevada are hit or miss, and they have improved in recent years. Reno used to be a huge dump, but got fixed up downtown when the Silver Club was built. Sparks is still barely OK. Fallon and Carson City suck.

I had a really bad buffet once at the Cal-Neva. And in the old days in Vegas, the Sahara used to have a "$7.77 lobster buffet," but the food bore a distinct resemblance to those elementary school pink pencil erasers.
Click to expand...

I haven't been to Cal-Neva in YEARS. Still in business?
 
RJM62 said:
I don't like eating out.


I mean, one would think that I have a right to not enjoy eating out, except at buffets. But nooooooooo. My whole family and most of my friends seem to be conspiring to force me to eat out at every restaurant they find -- except buffets, which they know I like, but which they can't accept. They seem determined to change this by dragging my sorry old assets to every new full-service restaurant they come across.

Don't get me wrong: I appreciate the fact that they still like me enough to want to share these great finds with me. And hey, as long as they're paying, at least I get a freebie meal out of it; so it's not all bad.

But why is it so difficult for them to accept that there are people like me who don't enjoy having to get dressed up and burn gas in order to wait repeatedly, and pay, to select from a limited menu, food that they can make better at home?

Am I the only one?

Is there some rule I am breaking?

Is it a law?

:rolleyes2:

Thanks. I feel better now.

-Rich
Click to expand...
I'm glad you feel better now. I know tons of people just like that. They find it incredible that everyone isn't just like them. Whenever I go on vacation there has to be at least one person who has been there and they have to tell me all the places I have to go and all the things I have to see, and of course, all the "best" places to eat. Just smile and do your own thing Rich. Don't let other people tell you how to live.
 
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