EATS

Posted by Cathy @ 3:27 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

I've started taking my lunch to work more. It's not just about the money; there simply aren't that many good restaurants in this end of downtown. And one thing I really hate is spending money on food that's just OK.

Posted by Jerry @ 3:33 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

We went to Fearings for the first time a week ago Saturday night and when I called a week in advance, I was only able get reservations at 6:15 or 9. I took the 6:15 and the main dining was packed by 6:30. By 7:30, all the rooms were full. My only complaint was the staff was was really hoofing it for the first setting obviously so they could turn the tables again, at least one more time. They were polite and professional in all ways, but the pace was much quicker than I'm used to in nice places. So, at least on Saturday nights, they are packing them in at Fearings.

Posted by Bonnie @ 3:38 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

My husband and I love to eat out. We would gladly give up other luxuries in order to continue doing so. Therefore, we have decided to eat out about the same.

Posted by TSL @ 3:46 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

We've scaled way back on eating out--to once maybe every two or three weeks instead of at least twice a week. We've also stopped going out to eat at lunch. I'll splurge once in a while and go out with a friend at lunch, but I don't go out as much as I used to.

Posted by DM @ 4:03 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

Our habits have not changed.

Posted by NLG @ 4:34 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

I've cut eating out for lunch to once every other week on average. I had been going a couple of times a week. The biggest cutback has been dining out for dinner. I used to eat out 4 or 5 nights a week. Now I'm going 2 or 3 times a month. Besides trying to spend less, I find I'm eating a lot healthier. I also buy a lot less "junk" food at the grocery store.

Posted by JB @ 4:42 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

I take my lunch to work. I'll be a wife in a few months, so I've been hoaning my skills in the kitchen more often along with my future hubby. We've really enjoyed it. We still eat out a lot, and we've been splitting plates more often. We've foundt that it's a more intimate way to share a meal. And we still have leftovers on the plate! These little changes still allow us to afford to eat a nice restaurants

Posted by Laura Wilkinson @ 4:58 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

My friends have cut back on dining alot, both at lunchtime and dinner. We seek specials and reserve the pricey places for special occasions. Speaking of restaurant closings, Scene Dallas, which has not been open a year yet, just closed as well. www.scenedallas.com.

Posted by Meredith @ 5:06 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

I've actually taken the opposite approach. I've found that once I add in my time for shopping and cooking, it's less expensive for me to eat out and use that time for getting billable hours! So I'm eating out and doing take-out more than ever.

Posted by Chuck Bloom @ 5:14 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

We eat out a little less often and try to take advantage of coupon offerings (buy 1, get 1 free or substantial discounts off meals) in order to save as much as possible.

Posted by Martin @ 5:29 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

We've cut back a lot. We don't get take-out anymore and we don't go out to eat more than about once a month anymore. We still go to special occasions (Taste of Dallas, etc.), but that's it.
If we go out to eat, we try to find a coupon for the restaurant.

Posted by Steve W @ 9:00 PM Tue, Jul 08, 2008

I enjoy eating out, but I can't afford to do it often and certainly not at places like Fearing's. So when I do pull out the bucks to eat out it Better Be Good or I won't be back. Thus places like Frida's [on Throckmorton at Cedar Springs] are now CLOSED: bad the 1st time on a friend's dime, bad the 2nd time on mine. That cannot be blamed only on the economy; that can be blamed only on poor food, poor service and poor prices experienced by a lot more people than just me.

Posted by Marci @ 8:12 AM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

Being single...rather than buying groceries and cooking at home, I do tend to eat out...because in the end (if you add cost of ingredients, electricity for cooking, etc.) it does end up being cheaper.

Posted by Elizabeth @ 9:15 AM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

My husband and I went out for dinner every night last week. We both love to cook at home but it's so much easier to go out after working all day. We don't go crazy spending $$ dining out during the week - save it for a weekend splurge. We had a spectacular meal on Sat. night with friends at The Second Floor - new restaurant in the Westin Galleria. We were the only table, so we were able to enjoy a visit with one of the managers, Zach, who had great wine recommendations and Chef J. Chastain. Hubby and I joked about staying at the Westin so we can order from their breakfast menu the next morning - it was so yummy!

Posted by Monica @ 9:39 AM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

Of course, the people who read and comment on the food blog, are probably not representative of Dallas as a whole. If I couldn't afford to eat out, I wouldn't be reading this blog on a daily basis to see what I'm missing!

Posted by Oliver @ 9:53 AM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

We still eat out a couple times a week like we always have. The only difference is that we don't go to the higher end restaurants (i.e Bijoux, York St., Lola, etc.) as much. We only save those for special occasions.

Posted by Claire @ 10:08 AM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

What my husband and I have done to maximize our dining out funds is to split one entree and sometimes order a small appetizer to come with the entree. Portions are so big these days that two people can eat one entree and be full. That way, we are cutting our costs without sacrificing our dining out experience. To date, we have not been charged extra by restaurants for sharing a meal and appetizer.

Posted by DJ @ 10:21 AM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

We used experiment and try new places more, but now we find ourselves just returning to our favorite places where we know exactly what to expect for the price.

If we do experiment, we're trying small family owned ethnic restaurants that are always very affordable and also generally byob.

Posted by jeff @ 10:54 AM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

I couldn't comment on the 'best sushi in Dallas' a while back because my wife and I have given up sushi since these high gas prices kicked in.

Posted by Roger @ 12:23 PM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

Restaurants as horrid as Bice's Dallas site should have shuttered long ago. My sense is that there are not more closings in the past few months than in many similar periods over the last several years. It will be interesting to track, for example, DMN three stars and above places that close this year compared to 2007, or 1991. When I first moved to Dallas a quarter century ago, there was not more than a handful of good restaurants. Now there are scores. Attrition among those ranks is to be expected as novelty fades and other choices burn more brightly in our fickle hearts.

Posted by Tricia in Plano @ 12:31 PM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

I still eat out only once per week on average - more if I have company in town. But, I'm more inclined to let coupons dictate where I eat. A pizza coupon or Thai coupon will help make the decision on where.

Posted by RC DALLAS @ 12:49 PM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

Places like Bice, Il Mulino (gad!), and a few others will wilt in this current economy if they haven't already. This sifting out process is actually necessary and ultimately good for Dallas dining. Restaurant money gougers beware!

Posted by Cynthia @ 3:17 PM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

My family (Husband, wife, 8 yr-old son) eats out at least 3-4 times a week. We haven't scaled back the amount of days we are eating out, but we have scaled back on the types of eateries we visit. Gone are the 4-star slurges. We eat more casually (Snuffers shout-out!) and often split entrees. A plate of 3-4 cheese enchiladas is more than enough for me and my son.

I agree with some of the comments above, that I think it's just as expensive to cook.

Posted by Robin @ 4:17 PM Wed, Jul 09, 2008

We've scaled back a great deal. We used to go out to casual places a couple times a week and went to one nice place for our weekend date night. Now, we hardly ever eat out during the week, and we've changed fancy dinner date night to once a month. I honestly can't explain where our previous amount of expendable income went - I just know it's gone.

Posted by DSR @ 7:29 AM Thu, Jul 10, 2008

We continue to eat out at the same rate as in the past. However, we have started being very judicious about our alcohol purchases when dining out. The markup on wine, etc. seem to be more excessive than ever and when we note this we tend to not patronize these establishments in the future no matter how good the food is.

Posted by Gina @ 8:22 AM Thu, Jul 10, 2008

We have cut our bill in half or more by not ordering cocktails, or at the very least, having just one. Another way is to split an appetizer and dessert.

We still eat out, but look for specials and dining coupons. However, now I only eat lunch out every other week. I'd rather put the money saved towards a nice evening out.

It might help restaurants during these times, to offer specials more, or to initiate "clubs or dining cards," especially the newbies.

Posted by Margie @ 10:38 AM Thu, Jul 10, 2008

We're still doing things just like we always do. We have never gone to high end restaurants on a weekly basis, though. We spend a lot at the grocery store and go out to moderately priced restaurants two or three times a week, usually. If we cut back because of this economy, it won't be on food.

Posted by AC @ 12:01 AM Fri, Jul 11, 2008

I feel it would be disingenuous for a restaurant to tout a new local menu with lower pricing without revisiting their beverage pricing menu. That goes for cocktails, wine and water. So you can get a three course lunch for $20 but you can’t find a wine for less than $50. That’s a mixed message.

How about the practice of charging $12 for a glass of wine that you can find in the stores for $9? Do they think we’re all fools?

Pricing on cocktails, wine and water do not reflect the new economic reality we all are facing. These details do not go unnoticed.

Posted by Karen @ 12:42 PM Fri, Jul 11, 2008

My husband and I live in a part of Dallas-Fort Worth that doesn't have very many restaurants other than fast food - it's a 20- to 30-minute drive to go out to someplace with nice atmosphere.
Even before the high gas prices hit, we were going out to dinner maybe once a week on the weekend, and sometimes out to breakfast on Saturdays. We're still eating out only a small amount on weekends, primarily at inexpensive ethnic places, and bring lunches to work most days of the week.

So we go out to eat a lot less than many couples like us, who both work full time and have no children. But that's primarily because we both really like to cook and are both pretty good at it. I'm no gourmet and haven't had formal training, but I know to not oversalt and overseason the food and to not cook vegetables until they're mushy - and some restaurant meals we've had were this way. They were overpriced for the quality.

In the past year, we've also been cooking primarily at home because my husband has experienced health problems. I feel we can eat much less healthy if we cook most of our meals ourselves and make our own muffins, breads, etc., instead of buying packaged and convenience foods. It's really not that hard for me to toss some vegetables and salmon, chicken or meat on a grill after seasoning them appropriately or marinating them overnight, and create a good meal. I've also become great at stir-fry and creating my own stir-fry sauces, and cooking Tex Mex. And my spouse and I probably save lots of money each month by not going out to eat very often.

Posted by Kim @ 5:15 PM Fri, Jul 11, 2008

I'm eating out less on impulse - stopping by Chipotle or Pei Wei after working out - and I'm choosing places more carefully to make sure I'm getting a value, even on the high end. I'm also taking pains not to waste so much food, whether it's doggy-bag leftovers or something I cook and get tired of before it's finished. We (Americans) throw out way too much food.

Posted by AC @ 11:16 AM Sat, Jul 12, 2008

I was talking to a chef the other day and got this idea. When I asked him why didn’t he just downsize the portions (in response to higher costs and pushback from diners) he said folks were still looking for full plates. Really?

If there are restaurant owners reading maybe they could respond to this idea. Let's say you have a salmon entree. Why not offer it in a small (4 oz) and large (8 oz) portion and charge accordingly. Wine bars do it all the time (3 oz and 6 oz pours of wine) and folks seem to like it.

That might be a way to get some diners in the empty seats.

Thoughts, comments?