How often do you dine out?

[scotrace]

lol lol lol lol lol

Who's the gamekeeper these days?

bk

The Burgermeister Meisterburger.

No TOYS!

(I was served boar, venison and... saddle of hare? Was gut!)

 

[Caledonia]

[QUOTE="Doc" Devereux]I have to agree with my fellow (single) Europeans here. The process of cooking is an absolute joy, and for me the best is when you can share the process with someone. I've had a couple of guests join me in the kitchen for part of the preparation, and it can be quite entertaining to chat with a glass of wine as you're chopping herbs and mixing sauces. [/QUOTE]

I note that you don't appear to involve them in the chopping bit. Quite right. The genius while geniusing must keep the guests to washing lettuce. I adore when people want to help, but the master must be allowed space to work. So I give them oodles of wine and tell them to sit on the windowsill and keep me entertained. They can do the washing up.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

people always wanna take the easiest and quickest way

Every restaurant is owned by somebody else! And they are all unique! Its always interesting to go to a new restaurant!

Exactly the kinds of places we eat in here, not chains.

And just because we enjoy eating out doen't mean we are lazy.

 

[KAT]

Exactly the kinds of places we eat in here, not chains.

And just because we enjoy eating out doen't mean we are lazy.

i didnt mean to say that[huh] I enjoy eating out...but with time..everybody is different

 

[KAT]

The Bergermeister Meisterberger.

No TOYS!

(I was served boar, venison and... saddle of hare? Was gut!)

oh maaaaaaaaan:eusa_doh: lol

 

[VintageJess]

Yes it is. I re-read my other post, and it sounded as if I don't like to eat out. Indeed we do, and we live in a very dining friendly town, New Orleans metropolitan area. I try as hard as I can to NOT patronize national chains as we have too many good homegrown places.

Same for fast food. I'd prefer not to have it, but it's a fact of life some times. When we get out of a ball game at 8:30 in the evening, you can't well go out to a nice restaurant.....most places are still VERY short of employees in this post-Katrina era that they close quite early.....especially with dirty kids, or go home and cook. We both, very much want to be with the boys at the ball park, so staying home to cook while they're away isn't an option.

Oh yes, RedPop!

I'm thinking Commander's Palace, Court of Two Sisters, Galatoire's, Brennan's, Delmonico, Central Grocery...

Sadly, I've heard that one of my favorites (Brunings) was wiped out by Katrina.

Jessica
(Married a born and raised third-generation Nawlins Native (Brother Martin and UNO graduate to boot...the Marine Corps was the only thing that could pull him away! )

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Indeed we do, and we live in a very dining friendly town, New Orleans metropolitan area.

You don't say! Cajun food is the one truly american masterpiece food. Amazing. Must get some more before i head off ...

bk

 

[J. M. Stovall]

i didnt mean to say that[huh] I enjoy eating out...but with time..everybody is different

That's ok, I'm getting a little too defensive I think I'll leave and let this thread develop into an appreciation of cooking instead of a defense of eating out. Bye

 

[MelissaAnne]

I eat out entirely too much. I blame my loathing of cooking. I really do not enjoy it. I used to enjoy baking much more, but since I can't eat sweets much, I don't bake. I don't cook because I'm lazy - it's because I'd much rather spend my time doing something else other than cooking. It's not a priority for me.

OTOH, my husband loves to cook and he's good at it. I'd rather eat one of his meals than go out and eat. We compliment each other well.

 

["Doc" Devereux]

I note that you don't appear to involve them in the chopping bit. Quite right. The genius while geniusing must keep the guests to washing lettuce. I adore when people want to help, but the master must be allowed space to work. So I give them oodles of wine and tell them to sit on the windowsill and keep me entertained. They can do the washing up.

I like to know where all the sharp things are, and be sure that I have a safe amount of room to work in. I doubt that anyone here will disagree with me about the importance of sharp knives, and I personally think accidental amputation's a bit of a mood-killer, so I tend to keep a reasonable clear space around the chopping board. That said, having an extra pair of hands to whom one can say "Stand here, hold the spoon at this angle, relax your wrist and stir slowly." is quite a boon when you want absolutely fresh-cut onion to kick up a sauce in its final stages.

Washing up can wait for the morning.

 

[photobyalan]

4. Less than once a month.

I end up disappointed at least half the time when I eat at a restaurant.

If I'm going to pay four or five times as much, plus tip, as what it would cost to make the same meal at home, then I expect it to be at least as good as what I can make myself. Too often it isn't. It never ceases to amaze me how restaurants can screw up the little things, like putting grainy pink tomatoes in a salad in the middle of August.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Well, if grabbing a quick bite at a lunch room or a slice of pizza on the run counts as "eating out," I probably eat out as much as in. But if "eating out" means sitting down in a tablecloth restaurant with a friend or two, well, less often, maybe once a month or so.

I enjoy cooking, but I'm also rushed and a bit lazy -- so gulping something down at the local greasy-spoon tends to be a lot easier than going thru the process of shopping for ingredients, cooking the meal, and then cleaning up. I was much better about these things when I was married, alas...

 

[Caledonia]

4. Less than once a month.

I end up disappointed at least half the time when I eat at a restaurant.

If I'm going to pay four or five times as much, plus tip, as what it would cost to make the same meal at home, then I expect it to be at least as good as what I can make myself. Too often it isn't. It never ceases to amaze me how restaurants can screw up the little things, like putting grainy pink tomatoes in a salad in the middle of August.

At least half? Let's go the full haggis and make it 90%! Eating out is not worth it, unless you what you're really after is the metro/cosmopolitan experience, which I admit I like, but not as often as the fire at twilight in front of the house, with friends trying to hook the potatotes out of the embers without calling the emergency services

 

[scotrace]

Back in a bit

Going out for Mexican now.

 

[MK]

.

Make sure you vote in the poll. Thanks.

 

[KAT]

Going out for Mexican now.

you sillylol

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I'm guessing you mean dining out at a restaurant, rather than hitting the drive through on my lunch break. The former I don't do nearly enough, the latter far too many times.

 

[Pilgrim]

Fact is - I have little to no interest in cooking. It just does nothing for me, never has. Breakfast is cold cereal 9 days out of 10, and for lunch I eat near where I work...plenty of sandwich shops and other small restaurants nearby.

If I weren't married, I'd be a regular at a nearby family restaurant for dinner. When my family is out of town (like tonight) if I fix myself anything at home, it will be a tuna sandwich or a bean & cheese burrito. Anything I can fix in 10 minutes or less is fair game, but 5 minutes is better.

For that matter, I'm thinking about where to grab something on the way home so I can work on the car, check in on the online course I'm teaching and post responses to students, clean up the house a bit, pack for a trip that starts tomorrow, and still get to bed at a reasonable time. No time to cook, that's for sure.

 

[colleency]

I eat out more often than I would like, at places that I don't enjoy.

In the past several months I had to decide whether cooking or sewing was more of a priority. Unfortunately for our health, sewing won out. I get home from work around 7:30 and DH gets home around 8 or later. If I do cook, it has to be something quick.

I used to enjoy meal planning, shopping, cooking, eating.

 

[ITG]

Finding the time to plan, shop, and cook EVERYday while working is stressful. I usually just nuke some hot dogs in the microwave, fix spaghetti, a salad, a tv dinner, or something easy like that. When I cook I have to be in the mood. I probably eat out 2-3x a week (that's including drive up window stuff). But when I cook, I do get enjoyment out of it when I am cooking for others. If it's just me by myself, there's no reason to go all out. Give me 2 tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa and a microwave, and I'm good to go for a quesadilla.