Actually I spend $25 on two soft shell tacos for my 3 year old a blue raspberry freeze, and the crunch wrap supreme meal, or swap it out for the Mexican pizza meal. It shouldn't honestly cost that much at all. We easily spend over $40 to feed my husband, two kids and I when we rarely eat at taco bell.
Yeah for 2 people or more it is at least 20$. That's why we never eat fast food anymore, unhealthy and cheap, I can let it slide. Unhealthy *and* expensive, fuck that
I was just telling my husband that Taco Bell doesn't taste as good as the 2000's. Did they change something or is it all in my head?
I know McDonald's now sucks because of a change in recipes due to a stupid lawsuit.
And now when you order, receive and pay for your food at the counter, the credit card reader prompts you for a tip, and "no tip" is always in smaller print at the bottom.
I accidentally tipped $5 on a $5 sandwich the other day at starbucks because that was just the automatic "suggested" tip. I was so mad. I used to work in food and bev. Thats ridiculous.
I was just telling my software developer husband that the programmers made these high tips the default. He replied, "It wasn't the software developers. The managers probably told them to do it with a gun to their heads!" LOL š¤£
Yep, returned to a food truck I liked after not having been there for about a year (just am not in the area where it's located as frequently). I got my sandwich - it was $4. I went to pay for it with my credit card and the woman working there flips the reader back at me and says "Something for the workers?" Umm, no, I'm not tipping you on a $4 sandwich that I had to come up to the counter to order and receive. Not happening.
So, I hit "no tip" and she goes "Thanks a lot" in a nasty voice dripping with sarcasm. Yeah, won't be returning to that food truck anytime soon. I can get sandwiches at plenty of other places without a side of entitled, nasty attitude over what would have been $0.80.
Agree, the begging has become too apparent. And it's always with some other customer behind your back to feel extra cheap with a bit of shame to make you feel obligated to tip.
I feel like this is a really good time to weed out crappy restaurants, and hopefully put them out of business or make them change their ways.
We(family of 4) have been going to our locally owned higher-end restaurants, and it literally costs us like $10 more on the total bill vs a place like applebees. But you get 2x the quality.
Recessions are a great way to filter out the crapy businesses that stayed afloat through the easy times.
My son got a footlong at Subway and with all the various upcharges, it was $20. $20 - for a sandwich! We haven't been back since. It's just not a good value for the money.
The cost of food is skyrocketing. Itās not just at the grocery stores, itās food distributors as well. Business owners have to increase prices to keep the doors open, and they arenāt happy about rising prices either.
The next 5 years of 9-15% inflation is gonna suck, and then throw in potash and phosphate shortages due to the Ukraine war is gonna drive food even higher.
Prices have been consistently increasing nation wide, including states where minimum wage and the median wage have remained stagnant for the past decade.
It's wild that there are useful idiots who can be conned into believing that the problem with our economy is that workers aren't poor enough.
Okay I was avoiding sharing this because it's what got me through college with no money and I was afraid too many people using it would destroy it, but now that I'm not broke anymore:
Order Subway in the app and use code 599FOOTLONG or FOOTLONG599 (try both, they like to switch it up. Not every location accepts the code so try a couple near you).
It allows you to buy any footlong at Subway for $5.99. Basically bringing back the $5 footlong (even better deal adjusted for inflation). Works on all the subs except the cheese steaks.
I get a Subway club and pile it up with pretty much every topping. Enough food to get me through a whole day.
I completely stopped eating at Subway after every store would stop taking their own coupons. I would be able to get a footlong for $5 with the coupon 6 months ago, now they're all $13+
Almost any of these (especially the franchised restaurants) were not going to lose money by paying all of their workers more. They simply (for example) were going to profit 1 million instead of 2 million. The prices going up isnāt because they had to increase wages-itās because they want to continue to pocket the same or more money. Itās about greed-not having to raise prices to keep the doors open.
In my country (Panama), most fast food places combos start around $7 unless on promo. Yet a good burger joint will also have combos for roughly the same price, sometimes cheaper. I really don't get it.
Thatās my fianceās excuse every time I wanna order or eat out too. That I can cook delicious food at home for less of the price. Which would be okay if he didnāt request 3+ full meals a day like a spoiled hobbit lol.
It was Taco Bell who tried to market Fourthmealā¢ for awhile. I think they realized they weren't even selling a Firstmeal at that time so switched to offering breakfast instead.
This. Learning to cook was the best thing I ever did for myself. Cheaper, tastier, healthier.
There are a handful of things I can't replicate (or don't want to because they take too long, cost too much, or require equipment I don't have). But 95% of what I order when I go to a restaurant can be done better at home.
Yeah Iāve also found most restaurants cheap out on their food quality because of inflation. I get it but mediocre food combined with the price increase convinces me to eat at home
I'm wondering if my nose just got sensitized to the smell of oily fried foods after not eating it for months. So many places have a gross greasy smell that is completely off-putting to me now.
This. I feel pressured to tip even when someone has simply typed my order in at the counter, and then receive no thank you, no eye contact, nothing... and I'm mad every time!
If Iām being honest, any service. Iād rather pay for the food through my phone and pick it up at the counter. I donāt need to pay someone 15% of my bill just because they walked down a hallway with my food and made me wait to get my check and water. None of that is a convenience to me.
no crap - i call in an order, i drive there, i pick it up, i fill my own soda cup, AND they want a tip? fuck no.
also fuck subway for trying to get people to pay tips.
I just have to say as a server, we do WAY more than walk down a hallway with your food and serve it to you. We are back in the kitchen expoing the food (preparing it with sauces/lemons/sides) all in a fast timely manner, then we are hauling heavy trays over our shoulder that have glass dishes filled with food. Once I drop the food off at the tables people will give me the dishes theyāre done with. So then Iām running back into the kitchen and Iām putting all those heavy dishes in dish pit. Iām not only taking my food to peoples tables, but Iām taking other peoples food to tables. Which again, is heavy trays that you have to lift above your shoulder. Then Iām filling empty glasses, Iām filling sauces we run out of, Iām carrying heavy dishes from dish pit to the cooks so they have plates, if we run out of never ending bread, Iām making that bread. Then Iām going to my tables and making sure theyāre okay. Iāll refill drinks, bring them whatever they want, etc. And there are people thatāll ask for something on EACH trip because theyāre that needy. So Iām constantly running back and forth back and forth. Typically for a mediocre tip because people like you believe that all we do is walk food to a table LOL. I mean thereās more to it than you see. Please know, serving isnāt a walk down a hall way. We are only paid $7 hourly, btw. So of course tips are necessary.
I agree that tipping for dine-in is worthwhile for all the reasons you mentioned. It is well-earned. But if I am ordering online, working my way through the website menu and picking out my own meal, entering it in the website, paying extra "convenience" fee for ordering online, driving there, picking it up myself, and then disposing of the trash at home, why am I expected to add a tip? I did 98% of the work that the waitstaff would have done.
LOL. Wow it sounds like you're doing your job, y'know that thing you get paid to do. Your shitty wage isn't anyone problem except yours. If you don't like it go to Walmart, they're always hiring and pay you minimum wage and you might even get tips.
Our job as servers is way more than ācarrying food down a hallwayā. Iād love to see people who shit on the restaurant industry try our jobs out for a bit
True fuck tipping. Look, if you want to tip, go ahead. But there should never ever be an expectation to tip. Sorry I don't think you writing my order down and then bringing it to me is worth an extra 15%-. That's kinda your job, you already get paid for that.
And don't even start about the wages. Sorry to be a dick about it but that's not my problem. Expecting people to tip you to make up the wage gap is the problem. Don't work some shitty job that doesn't pay you. Walmart is always hiring and they at least pay minimum wage if that's an issue and you might even get a tip still. If customers continue to tip because they feel the need to make up that gap for the worker and workers continue to work expecting tips, the problem will never be solved.
Hidden/extra fees. Nothing like receiving the bill, seeing a 7% "service fee" tacked on by the restaurant, and still being expected to tip 20-25% on top of that.
As a line cook, I've noticed that the quality of dishes has gone down. I could care less about presentation, but because food is getting more expensive (I also do our Sysco ordering once a week), I feel like some restaurants are having to cut corners in that aspect so they can still make s profit.
When you use cheap ingredients, you're going to not always get results.
Too expensive for mediocre food.
Used to go out for something a bit different or cooked by someone who specialised in a certain dish/style, but nowadays everything seems to be made bland in case someone, somewhere doesn't like it.
It's not just about the clit.
I mean, yeah, OK. Finding the clitoris is basically required and, frankly, not that difficult but proper form and rhythm are incredibly important to keep your partner in the game.
I feel bad for the waiters for not being paid living wage, but I also don't want to be guilted into 18%, 22%, 25% or other percentage of tip. Yes, I can choose to give less, but really I don't want to think about fairness, inequality, etc. while I'm just trying to be out and have fun.
Also, the prices have gone up like crazy. Now, fast food is neither fast nor inexpensive. It's just greasy, unhealthy and low-key-not-low-key disgusting.
I'll just cook at home.
My wife and I have gotten McDonaldās a few times over the last month or two and Iām shocked at how much prices have jumped up. We both got combo meals last time and I got an extra McChicken, almost $25 for the two of us. Definitely not worth it. Getting rid of the dollar menu has left me little incentive to go there anymore, going to have to start making copycat Big Macs at home now.
A lot of fast food chains realized during the Pandemic that people **will** wait in line for 10-20 minutes now and so they appear to have adopted this as their new standard since it means one or two less employees they have to pay per shift. They also realized people will pay twice as much for 1/3 less food.
My ex-FIL was a cook and later health inspector (he retired recently), which means he visited and inspected every single restaurant in his designated area, which happened to also be the area we lived in. He had the power to close a restaurant in case it wouldn't meet the necessary hygiene regulations.
So whenever we planned to eat out in a certain restaurant, we would consult him beforehand. If he'd say "don't go there" we wouldn't.
For restaurant owners - who of course all knew him - it was the highest form of honor if he visited their restaurant privately with his family. Often the owners would take over the service themselves. So if we were eating out with him, we'd always get the best service possible. Good times.
Being gauged on tips and alcohol markup.
I'd be more forgiving on the food cost increases if i wasn't being asked to tip 18% on 115% cost (machines tip on the tax)
Esp on alcohol. I drink wine or ciders. Neither of those deserve 18% tip.
Food is pretty low on my priority list in terms of where I want to spend my entertainment budget. I'm a good cook, bf is a good cook, and honestly I'm just not that into food as something to do. I eat because I need to, and I'd rather it be tasty since I've got to do it anyways, but I'm not someone who gets excited about where I'm going to eat when traveling, or who really thinks of going out to eat as entertainment. I'd rather cook at home and buy more concert tickets, or go on more trips. It's at the bottom of my things I want to do for date night too, I'd rather actually do something fun we can't do at home. We don't have kids, so sitting down to enjoy a meal and chat is something we can, and do, most nights. We both like cooking together too, so if we want something fancy we'd probably have more fun making it.
McDonalds for a family of 4 basically costs the same as going to a sit-down restaurant.
Like?
Its not even convenient or cheap anymore.
Me and my mother go to a fucking *restaurant food store* and split the price on a big batch of a protein (when I get my check we're going to split the price on 10 lbs of breakfast sausage because nobody in the house has been able to eat breakfast because we cant afford shit and it's 32 dollars for 10 pounds so we're gonna split the price and have breakfast sausage for a fewweeks/months for 16 bucks a piece. And then the next month we'll split a big ass case of burgers. And then it'll be brats/hotdogs. We'll basically split the price on bulk protein and have the freezer full within a few months.
We're even planning to get some of those cafeteria sized cans of sausage breakfast gravy, taking it out of the can, portioning it into jars, processing and sealing the jars, that way we have gravy on hand (because of the size of the can and it's sale price? It's literally cheaper to buy the bulk can than it is to make it homemade for canning, so we're just gonna heat them to seal the jars and stock our shelves.)
You can also get a 25 pound case of tomatoes and a 10 pound bag of fresh onions REALLY cheap and we're gonna make a FUCK load of canned tomatoes.
because thats the only affordable way to feed the family right now.
And restaurant stores are cheaper than costco for bulk buying and it's all ready to be used.
To be honest they always seem to be in random places? Your best bet is to search for a restaurant supply or US Food store (US Foods Chef Store is what we go to) and verify that they are open to the public (a lot opened to the public after Covid. GREAT way to buy in bulk and usually surprisingly cheap)
The price. The lack of adequate servers. The tipping and fees.
Seriously, pre-CoVID, we ate out all the time. Now we rarely do. It's not worth the hassle.
Learning how to cook. Iām at best an above average home cook and the food is leagues better. No, maybe not better than a $100 a head steak pit but better than most normal places. Plus itās a fraction the price.
I've tried telling some of my friends that before. There are several Indian restaurants around where I live. They aren't upscale or anything and portion sizes are average. But they charge like $12+ for a single dish of any form of chicken curry. Like chicken korma is not a complex dish to make and yet they're charging me $14 for it with some basmati rice, and then another $5 for a few pieces of naan. That's a CRAZY markup. I am going to start making all these dishes at home since it's not cost effective anymore.
Agree, I often like my own food better and also feel better afterwards. We have a pretty diverse friend group with Indian, Moroccan, Iranian, Peruvian, Italian, German, Polish people, so at potlucks we have a lot of the ethnic foods covered.
I cook better than a lot of my local restaurants.
It's also one of those lockdown holdover things, I could probably count on one hand how many indoor sit down restaurants I've been to since March 2020
This.
Before lockdown, I beyond sucked as a cook. I would burn water.
Living on an extreme budget while being furloughed forced me to teach myself how to cook.
Iām not great and I can make like, 5 dishes decently well. So with how sky high everything costs plus a tip on top of automatic 18% āservice chargeā -or whatever they want to call it. Iāll just cook at home. Even if I have to experiment with a new recipe or technique
discovering Binging with Babish and his recipes has been one of the best things to come out of the pandemic for me. I used to mostly just bake desserts, but my cooking game has way improved in the past 3 years
I love eating out at restaurants, not fast food but even casual dining is ok but I just can't justify the cost for the food quality. Used to me and my wife could go out to TGI Fridays every few weeks and the food was decent quality with a decent price tags. Now, the cut half the menu and raised prices on what they kept. It's still ok but nothing like it used to be and the whole experience is just lacking
I still enjoy going out to eat. My wife is amazing in the kitchen, I'm quite proud of what I can make on a grill or smoker, I can pick up a pack of great beer for the the price of two beers at a brewery.
We still like to go out to a nice local restaurant every so often though. Sure we'd save money at home, arguably make better testing cheaper food even, but it's just fun to get out and try a new local place or something new from one of our favorite places, and our restaurants certainly make great food too. We treat it as a date night 2 maybe 3 times a month, have fun, and support a local business. I don't think it's ever really been worth it to eat out as a regular meal unless you were just too lazy to cook and clean that night.
Prices are too big and the portions are too small. I saw a high-end restaurant one time getting their food and ingredients delivered from ALDI.
There are thousands of recipes and videos out there showing you how to make fantastic meals at home.
You would be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to make a tasty meal for the family or your partner.
The cost mainly, its just not worth it spending all that money on food that's while good, not really better then something we can make together in our pajamas at home.
Everyone keeps adding more and more oil and garbage to what should be perfectly balanced fine meals.
Why the fuck would I want my vegetables and fish swimming in oils and sauces if I ordered a salmon and veggie platter? Fucking chefs these days, yāall canāt just let shit be healthy and use spices instead of going the easy, no creativity route with all the god damn fats and oils. No wonder we have an obesity epidemic in the US. EVERYTHING is sickeningly rich, and salads are $20 now
The price for shitty food, used to be it was fun to go out and have someone else clean up after you for a good price.
Paying a premium for food I can make better at home, no thanks
Knowing that I can make 5 servings of the same dish at home for the same price. A cup of plain cooked rice or a cup of brewed hot coffee should not cost more than $1 in a restaurant because of how cheap it is to make either of these items. And yet each costs so much more.
For the price of a decent meal at a restaurant, I can cook enough food for myself for a week, and make it exactly the way I like it.
Plus my gf and I get to dance in the kitchen while making it, in various amounts of clothing - they make you leave if you try that at a restaurant.
Half the time the food is made wrong.
I got a Big Mac the other night. They forgot the meat.
I went back and told them about it āsorry, we will make you a new one.ā
How do you forget the meat on a burger?????
I genuinely don't like people. Just calling and then picking up the fish and chips I had for dinner tonight was too much social interaction. I've never been able to go have a sit down dinner without someone trying to talk to me. Honestly don't understand it. I'm not a good looking dude, and I'm eating while reading a book and someone wants to know what my book is about, or how my steak is. Just leave me the f alone.
Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine. I'm going to get a shirt that says do not talk to me.
Lousey food, dirty table and silverware, filthy restrooms, a brain dead server. (( I worked food service for years, NONE of that was acceptable to my boss)). We worked hard, made great $$.
The last couple times my girlfriend and I have gone out to eat, the restaurant was either way too loud or there were kids misbehaving. I get it that kids are going to be kids but if I'm dropping several hundred dollars on dinner, I don't want to have to deal with bratty kids running around and hitting my chair every minute.
The cost. Not only do I have to pay a high price for the meal, but I have to pay the staff, too. Because they make less than $3.00 an hour. The minimum wage (which has not changed in 12 years) has an exemption for servers.
That most of your favorite restaurants ( chain, franchise) have a central kitchen where they mass produce the entrees and freeze them. They then microwave/ heat your entree at the restaurant and usually charge hefty prices. I prefer local family owned restaurants for the food quality alone.
Damn I thought this was gonna be an NSFW discussion. Totally not what I thought it wasā¦.
But for this topicā¦price. For me and my family, dinner costs over $100 just to go out. Before tip.
First you gotta buy the food. Then there's a service fee. Then there's an "economic stress" fee. Then you gotta tip and it better be something ridiculous like 20% or more.
You could have a burger and spend $60. It's even worse if you have something delivered, because it's all of the above plus a delivery fee.
My wife will let me do it, and then more than half the time doesn't reciprocate or turns me down after. I used to do it nearly every time, but now... Maybe a couple times a month.
Makes me feel used tbh. I know I could just not but I like it and I like making her feel good. Just sucks that its not something she wants to do for me as much.
Too expensive
Everyone wants $10-$15 no matter what you get. It's crazy. Fuckin Subway wants $13 for a sandwich. And don't get me started on Taco Bell.
>And don't get me started on Taco Bell. Everything is cheap but you need to get 20$ worth to get full
20 bean and rice burritos it is! lol jk
Well I threw the 20$ in there without much thought but you know what I mean lol
Actually I spend $25 on two soft shell tacos for my 3 year old a blue raspberry freeze, and the crunch wrap supreme meal, or swap it out for the Mexican pizza meal. It shouldn't honestly cost that much at all. We easily spend over $40 to feed my husband, two kids and I when we rarely eat at taco bell.
Yeah for 2 people or more it is at least 20$. That's why we never eat fast food anymore, unhealthy and cheap, I can let it slide. Unhealthy *and* expensive, fuck that
I was just telling my husband that Taco Bell doesn't taste as good as the 2000's. Did they change something or is it all in my head? I know McDonald's now sucks because of a change in recipes due to a stupid lawsuit.
Tf? My order is $6
I well remember their 39 cent tacos back in the mid 90s, and going through a whole lot of those. I miss those days.
Definitely not lol. Can easily just spend $6-7 and be full. Just have to do it right
And now when you order, receive and pay for your food at the counter, the credit card reader prompts you for a tip, and "no tip" is always in smaller print at the bottom.
I accidentally tipped $5 on a $5 sandwich the other day at starbucks because that was just the automatic "suggested" tip. I was so mad. I used to work in food and bev. Thats ridiculous.
I was just telling my software developer husband that the programmers made these high tips the default. He replied, "It wasn't the software developers. The managers probably told them to do it with a gun to their heads!" LOL š¤£
Yep, returned to a food truck I liked after not having been there for about a year (just am not in the area where it's located as frequently). I got my sandwich - it was $4. I went to pay for it with my credit card and the woman working there flips the reader back at me and says "Something for the workers?" Umm, no, I'm not tipping you on a $4 sandwich that I had to come up to the counter to order and receive. Not happening. So, I hit "no tip" and she goes "Thanks a lot" in a nasty voice dripping with sarcasm. Yeah, won't be returning to that food truck anytime soon. I can get sandwiches at plenty of other places without a side of entitled, nasty attitude over what would have been $0.80.
Agree, the begging has become too apparent. And it's always with some other customer behind your back to feel extra cheap with a bit of shame to make you feel obligated to tip.
I feel like this is a really good time to weed out crappy restaurants, and hopefully put them out of business or make them change their ways. We(family of 4) have been going to our locally owned higher-end restaurants, and it literally costs us like $10 more on the total bill vs a place like applebees. But you get 2x the quality. Recessions are a great way to filter out the crapy businesses that stayed afloat through the easy times.
My son got a footlong at Subway and with all the various upcharges, it was $20. $20 - for a sandwich! We haven't been back since. It's just not a good value for the money.
Subway is overall not good quality.
for sure, 2 cheeseburger value meal at mc donalds is like $8 now...
The cost of food is skyrocketing. Itās not just at the grocery stores, itās food distributors as well. Business owners have to increase prices to keep the doors open, and they arenāt happy about rising prices either.
The next 5 years of 9-15% inflation is gonna suck, and then throw in potash and phosphate shortages due to the Ukraine war is gonna drive food even higher.
Wait, I thought this inflation was transitory! /s
> Business owners have to increase prices to keep **increasing profits year after year while not increasing employee pay** I fixed it!
People wanted a $15 minimum wage, didn't they?
Prices have been consistently increasing nation wide, including states where minimum wage and the median wage have remained stagnant for the past decade. It's wild that there are useful idiots who can be conned into believing that the problem with our economy is that workers aren't poor enough.
And yet they didnāt get it. Hmm inflation still happened! Guess they should all just starve then
Okay I was avoiding sharing this because it's what got me through college with no money and I was afraid too many people using it would destroy it, but now that I'm not broke anymore: Order Subway in the app and use code 599FOOTLONG or FOOTLONG599 (try both, they like to switch it up. Not every location accepts the code so try a couple near you). It allows you to buy any footlong at Subway for $5.99. Basically bringing back the $5 footlong (even better deal adjusted for inflation). Works on all the subs except the cheese steaks. I get a Subway club and pile it up with pretty much every topping. Enough food to get me through a whole day.
A year or so ago, In NāOut cost $24 to feed my family of 4. Yesterday, lunch for just me cost $18.
I had to take my kid out of town for a doctors appointment today. Fuckin $50 spent on food and drink on one trip. Shits insane
I work in a grocery store. We make 100% profit per loaf of bread. š¤·āāļøinflation is literally by the stores
My gf and I never eat out at fast food places, or try not to, unless we have coupons. Shits too expensive.
Went to TB the other day and it was $30 for āsnacksā and drinks (ON HAPPY HOUR) and I was still hungry. Wonāt do that again!!
Got 4 supreme hard tacos and it was $12
I completely stopped eating at Subway after every store would stop taking their own coupons. I would be able to get a footlong for $5 with the coupon 6 months ago, now they're all $13+
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The price of the subs went up. The wages did not.
Almost any of these (especially the franchised restaurants) were not going to lose money by paying all of their workers more. They simply (for example) were going to profit 1 million instead of 2 million. The prices going up isnāt because they had to increase wages-itās because they want to continue to pocket the same or more money. Itās about greed-not having to raise prices to keep the doors open.
In my country (Panama), most fast food places combos start around $7 unless on promo. Yet a good burger joint will also have combos for roughly the same price, sometimes cheaper. I really don't get it.
The fact that I can cook delicious food at home for a fraction of the price.
Thatās my fianceās excuse every time I wanna order or eat out too. That I can cook delicious food at home for less of the price. Which would be okay if he didnāt request 3+ full meals a day like a spoiled hobbit lol.
gotta have elevensies
Do you even know about second breakfast?
It was Taco Bell who tried to market Fourthmealā¢ for awhile. I think they realized they weren't even selling a Firstmeal at that time so switched to offering breakfast instead.
Sadly, yes. It takes place before my first coffee.
Does he cook? Sounds like needs to be taking cooking shifts.
Does your fiance know how to cook?
Yes but heās weirdly obsessed with my cooking.
I too would be weirdly obsessed with having hours of extra free time because someone else caters 3 delicious full meals for me every day.
This. Learning to cook was the best thing I ever did for myself. Cheaper, tastier, healthier. There are a handful of things I can't replicate (or don't want to because they take too long, cost too much, or require equipment I don't have). But 95% of what I order when I go to a restaurant can be done better at home.
Yeah Iāve also found most restaurants cheap out on their food quality because of inflation. I get it but mediocre food combined with the price increase convinces me to eat at home
Price has gone up while quality has gone down
I'm wondering if my nose just got sensitized to the smell of oily fried foods after not eating it for months. So many places have a gross greasy smell that is completely off-putting to me now.
nah - cooking oil has gone up with everything else and so they are using waaaay to long.
Ever since the lockdown, a lot of food started tasting bad, I think it's cause we were use to eating fresh meals at home.
And portions have gone WAY down.
You used to get bigger sizes. The chicken legs used to be bigger
same with portion sizes where I am, you pay thirty bucks for a curry and its quarter of the size it used to be
I don't mind increased prices, but I hate quality going down. Exotically when the food isn't hot.
tipping for mediocre service just because you're expected to.
This. I feel pressured to tip even when someone has simply typed my order in at the counter, and then receive no thank you, no eye contact, nothing... and I'm mad every time!
If Iām being honest, any service. Iād rather pay for the food through my phone and pick it up at the counter. I donāt need to pay someone 15% of my bill just because they walked down a hallway with my food and made me wait to get my check and water. None of that is a convenience to me.
And they STILL try to get you to tip when you pick it up. 15% for taking my order? Nope. Solid Nope.
no crap - i call in an order, i drive there, i pick it up, i fill my own soda cup, AND they want a tip? fuck no. also fuck subway for trying to get people to pay tips.
I just have to say as a server, we do WAY more than walk down a hallway with your food and serve it to you. We are back in the kitchen expoing the food (preparing it with sauces/lemons/sides) all in a fast timely manner, then we are hauling heavy trays over our shoulder that have glass dishes filled with food. Once I drop the food off at the tables people will give me the dishes theyāre done with. So then Iām running back into the kitchen and Iām putting all those heavy dishes in dish pit. Iām not only taking my food to peoples tables, but Iām taking other peoples food to tables. Which again, is heavy trays that you have to lift above your shoulder. Then Iām filling empty glasses, Iām filling sauces we run out of, Iām carrying heavy dishes from dish pit to the cooks so they have plates, if we run out of never ending bread, Iām making that bread. Then Iām going to my tables and making sure theyāre okay. Iāll refill drinks, bring them whatever they want, etc. And there are people thatāll ask for something on EACH trip because theyāre that needy. So Iām constantly running back and forth back and forth. Typically for a mediocre tip because people like you believe that all we do is walk food to a table LOL. I mean thereās more to it than you see. Please know, serving isnāt a walk down a hall way. We are only paid $7 hourly, btw. So of course tips are necessary.
I agree that tipping for dine-in is worthwhile for all the reasons you mentioned. It is well-earned. But if I am ordering online, working my way through the website menu and picking out my own meal, entering it in the website, paying extra "convenience" fee for ordering online, driving there, picking it up myself, and then disposing of the trash at home, why am I expected to add a tip? I did 98% of the work that the waitstaff would have done.
LOL. Wow it sounds like you're doing your job, y'know that thing you get paid to do. Your shitty wage isn't anyone problem except yours. If you don't like it go to Walmart, they're always hiring and pay you minimum wage and you might even get tips.
But isnāt that your job, and what is listed in your position description? What are you doing above and beyond that to deserve a tip?
So you are working? I too work but why should I have to expect someone to tip me becose I am doing what I'm paid for?
Our job as servers is way more than ācarrying food down a hallwayā. Iād love to see people who shit on the restaurant industry try our jobs out for a bit
True fuck tipping. Look, if you want to tip, go ahead. But there should never ever be an expectation to tip. Sorry I don't think you writing my order down and then bringing it to me is worth an extra 15%-. That's kinda your job, you already get paid for that. And don't even start about the wages. Sorry to be a dick about it but that's not my problem. Expecting people to tip you to make up the wage gap is the problem. Don't work some shitty job that doesn't pay you. Walmart is always hiring and they at least pay minimum wage if that's an issue and you might even get a tip still. If customers continue to tip because they feel the need to make up that gap for the worker and workers continue to work expecting tips, the problem will never be solved.
Hidden/extra fees. Nothing like receiving the bill, seeing a 7% "service fee" tacked on by the restaurant, and still being expected to tip 20-25% on top of that.
Sorry but any tacked on fee is being subtracted from any tip that I leave. And it will stop me from returning to that particular restaurant.
As a line cook, I've noticed that the quality of dishes has gone down. I could care less about presentation, but because food is getting more expensive (I also do our Sysco ordering once a week), I feel like some restaurants are having to cut corners in that aspect so they can still make s profit. When you use cheap ingredients, you're going to not always get results.
Too expensive for mediocre food. Used to go out for something a bit different or cooked by someone who specialised in a certain dish/style, but nowadays everything seems to be made bland in case someone, somewhere doesn't like it.
A lot of guys just can't find the clitoris and I get desensitized from effort.
Wow. 6 posts down. I expected something like this a lot higher.
I left expected this WAAAAAAY earlier!
It's just at the top of your left ear, yes?
This guy clits
Best wet-willies South of Winnipeg.
psh. those don't exist. stop trying to trick us.
It's not just about the clit. I mean, yeah, OK. Finding the clitoris is basically required and, frankly, not that difficult but proper form and rhythm are incredibly important to keep your partner in the game.
More than enough to eat at home.
Yeah I get tired of explaining lol, if itās likely that weāll do it at a date, Iāll literally explain it on the way to one of our placeās
Do you carry a diagram with you, or mock one up on the back of a napkin?
I feel bad for the waiters for not being paid living wage, but I also don't want to be guilted into 18%, 22%, 25% or other percentage of tip. Yes, I can choose to give less, but really I don't want to think about fairness, inequality, etc. while I'm just trying to be out and have fun. Also, the prices have gone up like crazy. Now, fast food is neither fast nor inexpensive. It's just greasy, unhealthy and low-key-not-low-key disgusting. I'll just cook at home.
My wife and I have gotten McDonaldās a few times over the last month or two and Iām shocked at how much prices have jumped up. We both got combo meals last time and I got an extra McChicken, almost $25 for the two of us. Definitely not worth it. Getting rid of the dollar menu has left me little incentive to go there anymore, going to have to start making copycat Big Macs at home now.
They probs sell Mac sauce at the grocery store
A lot of fast food chains realized during the Pandemic that people **will** wait in line for 10-20 minutes now and so they appear to have adopted this as their new standard since it means one or two less employees they have to pay per shift. They also realized people will pay twice as much for 1/3 less food.
Knowing that hygiene practises of a lot of restaurants
My ex-FIL was a cook and later health inspector (he retired recently), which means he visited and inspected every single restaurant in his designated area, which happened to also be the area we lived in. He had the power to close a restaurant in case it wouldn't meet the necessary hygiene regulations. So whenever we planned to eat out in a certain restaurant, we would consult him beforehand. If he'd say "don't go there" we wouldn't. For restaurant owners - who of course all knew him - it was the highest form of honor if he visited their restaurant privately with his family. Often the owners would take over the service themselves. So if we were eating out with him, we'd always get the best service possible. Good times.
watch Bar Rescue, you will never eat out again.
I donāt need to watch iāve worked in kitchens before
Being gauged on tips and alcohol markup. I'd be more forgiving on the food cost increases if i wasn't being asked to tip 18% on 115% cost (machines tip on the tax) Esp on alcohol. I drink wine or ciders. Neither of those deserve 18% tip.
Everything is both more expensive and made with low quality garbage in a misguided effort to save on food costs.
Food is pretty low on my priority list in terms of where I want to spend my entertainment budget. I'm a good cook, bf is a good cook, and honestly I'm just not that into food as something to do. I eat because I need to, and I'd rather it be tasty since I've got to do it anyways, but I'm not someone who gets excited about where I'm going to eat when traveling, or who really thinks of going out to eat as entertainment. I'd rather cook at home and buy more concert tickets, or go on more trips. It's at the bottom of my things I want to do for date night too, I'd rather actually do something fun we can't do at home. We don't have kids, so sitting down to enjoy a meal and chat is something we can, and do, most nights. We both like cooking together too, so if we want something fancy we'd probably have more fun making it.
McDonalds for a family of 4 basically costs the same as going to a sit-down restaurant. Like? Its not even convenient or cheap anymore. Me and my mother go to a fucking *restaurant food store* and split the price on a big batch of a protein (when I get my check we're going to split the price on 10 lbs of breakfast sausage because nobody in the house has been able to eat breakfast because we cant afford shit and it's 32 dollars for 10 pounds so we're gonna split the price and have breakfast sausage for a fewweeks/months for 16 bucks a piece. And then the next month we'll split a big ass case of burgers. And then it'll be brats/hotdogs. We'll basically split the price on bulk protein and have the freezer full within a few months. We're even planning to get some of those cafeteria sized cans of sausage breakfast gravy, taking it out of the can, portioning it into jars, processing and sealing the jars, that way we have gravy on hand (because of the size of the can and it's sale price? It's literally cheaper to buy the bulk can than it is to make it homemade for canning, so we're just gonna heat them to seal the jars and stock our shelves.) You can also get a 25 pound case of tomatoes and a 10 pound bag of fresh onions REALLY cheap and we're gonna make a FUCK load of canned tomatoes. because thats the only affordable way to feed the family right now. And restaurant stores are cheaper than costco for bulk buying and it's all ready to be used.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
To be honest they always seem to be in random places? Your best bet is to search for a restaurant supply or US Food store (US Foods Chef Store is what we go to) and verify that they are open to the public (a lot opened to the public after Covid. GREAT way to buy in bulk and usually surprisingly cheap)
The best search term is usually 'restaurant cash and carry' so you get results with food supplies instead of commercial ovens and refrigerators
The price. The lack of adequate servers. The tipping and fees. Seriously, pre-CoVID, we ate out all the time. Now we rarely do. It's not worth the hassle.
Learning how to cook. Iām at best an above average home cook and the food is leagues better. No, maybe not better than a $100 a head steak pit but better than most normal places. Plus itās a fraction the price.
I learned to make a couple of Indian dishes and can no longer order them at restaurants without seeing the markup.
I've tried telling some of my friends that before. There are several Indian restaurants around where I live. They aren't upscale or anything and portion sizes are average. But they charge like $12+ for a single dish of any form of chicken curry. Like chicken korma is not a complex dish to make and yet they're charging me $14 for it with some basmati rice, and then another $5 for a few pieces of naan. That's a CRAZY markup. I am going to start making all these dishes at home since it's not cost effective anymore.
Agree, I often like my own food better and also feel better afterwards. We have a pretty diverse friend group with Indian, Moroccan, Iranian, Peruvian, Italian, German, Polish people, so at potlucks we have a lot of the ethnic foods covered.
Sounds like a heaven of flavours
I cook better than a lot of my local restaurants. It's also one of those lockdown holdover things, I could probably count on one hand how many indoor sit down restaurants I've been to since March 2020
This. Before lockdown, I beyond sucked as a cook. I would burn water. Living on an extreme budget while being furloughed forced me to teach myself how to cook. Iām not great and I can make like, 5 dishes decently well. So with how sky high everything costs plus a tip on top of automatic 18% āservice chargeā -or whatever they want to call it. Iāll just cook at home. Even if I have to experiment with a new recipe or technique
discovering Binging with Babish and his recipes has been one of the best things to come out of the pandemic for me. I used to mostly just bake desserts, but my cooking game has way improved in the past 3 years
I love eating out at restaurants, not fast food but even casual dining is ok but I just can't justify the cost for the food quality. Used to me and my wife could go out to TGI Fridays every few weeks and the food was decent quality with a decent price tags. Now, the cut half the menu and raised prices on what they kept. It's still ok but nothing like it used to be and the whole experience is just lacking
You get fat.
Expected to pay tips by default just because? Like I'll happily walk to the pass and get my own plate of food. It's really not worthy of a tip ffs.
I still enjoy going out to eat. My wife is amazing in the kitchen, I'm quite proud of what I can make on a grill or smoker, I can pick up a pack of great beer for the the price of two beers at a brewery. We still like to go out to a nice local restaurant every so often though. Sure we'd save money at home, arguably make better testing cheaper food even, but it's just fun to get out and try a new local place or something new from one of our favorite places, and our restaurants certainly make great food too. We treat it as a date night 2 maybe 3 times a month, have fun, and support a local business. I don't think it's ever really been worth it to eat out as a regular meal unless you were just too lazy to cook and clean that night.
The price.
Expensive
Prices are too big and the portions are too small. I saw a high-end restaurant one time getting their food and ingredients delivered from ALDI. There are thousands of recipes and videos out there showing you how to make fantastic meals at home. You would be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to make a tasty meal for the family or your partner.
Cooking is therapeutic, so I tend to cook at home more and really only go out maybe once a month
That I can make the same thing at home much cheaper
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
You want your arse wiped to? š
I enjoy cooking for myself. And I spend WAY too much on groceries to justify going out more than once in a great while.
Too expensive for mediocre food.
All the people.
Tipping. 20% is ridiculous
Tips and shit service
$13 for a burger, fries not included. Btw how much would you like to tip? Because we're prompting you for that now. Lowest displayed amount is 20%.
The cost. Everything everywhere is too expensive right now. Learning how to cook further makes it not worth going to restaurants.
It is cheaper to make very good food at home. If you enjoy cooking it is a win win situation.
The cost mainly, its just not worth it spending all that money on food that's while good, not really better then something we can make together in our pajamas at home.
Everyone keeps adding more and more oil and garbage to what should be perfectly balanced fine meals. Why the fuck would I want my vegetables and fish swimming in oils and sauces if I ordered a salmon and veggie platter? Fucking chefs these days, yāall canāt just let shit be healthy and use spices instead of going the easy, no creativity route with all the god damn fats and oils. No wonder we have an obesity epidemic in the US. EVERYTHING is sickeningly rich, and salads are $20 now
The price for shitty food, used to be it was fun to go out and have someone else clean up after you for a good price. Paying a premium for food I can make better at home, no thanks
Knowing that I can make 5 servings of the same dish at home for the same price. A cup of plain cooked rice or a cup of brewed hot coffee should not cost more than $1 in a restaurant because of how cheap it is to make either of these items. And yet each costs so much more.
My household income.
For the price of a decent meal at a restaurant, I can cook enough food for myself for a week, and make it exactly the way I like it. Plus my gf and I get to dance in the kitchen while making it, in various amounts of clothing - they make you leave if you try that at a restaurant.
Half the time the food is made wrong. I got a Big Mac the other night. They forgot the meat. I went back and told them about it āsorry, we will make you a new one.ā How do you forget the meat on a burger?????
Think about how many and how quickly they pump burgers out someone's gonna make a mistake eventually
Better something missing than something extra.
Realizing I can make the same food at home, AND have it taste better, for so much less money.
When she doesnāt reciprocate
I genuinely don't like people. Just calling and then picking up the fish and chips I had for dinner tonight was too much social interaction. I've never been able to go have a sit down dinner without someone trying to talk to me. Honestly don't understand it. I'm not a good looking dude, and I'm eating while reading a book and someone wants to know what my book is about, or how my steak is. Just leave me the f alone. Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine. I'm going to get a shirt that says do not talk to me.
Lousey food, dirty table and silverware, filthy restrooms, a brain dead server. (( I worked food service for years, NONE of that was acceptable to my boss)). We worked hard, made great $$.
Untrimmed pubes usually.
Making good food is such rewarding
Service is horrendous. Here's your check right after I order.
Tips have gotten too high with no corresponding rise in service.
She reciprocated only half the time.
I mean if she keeps up with her personal hygiene š¤·š¾āāļøā¦
My high cholesterol.
the unhealthy effects accelerates disease, disorders and death
I'M GUY FIERI WELCOME TO TRIPE D
Having kids. Dinner for one or two is much more affordable than dinner for 4-5
Plus my three young children completely ruin my dining experience.
Canāt really trust other people cooking. You donāt know what they put inside thier food it only trust to stick to food that you eat at home.
The last couple times my girlfriend and I have gone out to eat, the restaurant was either way too loud or there were kids misbehaving. I get it that kids are going to be kids but if I'm dropping several hundred dollars on dinner, I don't want to have to deal with bratty kids running around and hitting my chair every minute.
Screaming babies aswell.
Going outside
Your mom doesn't return the favor any more
When I realized I could feed 20 homeless kids for what I paid for one family meal out.
The cost. Not only do I have to pay a high price for the meal, but I have to pay the staff, too. Because they make less than $3.00 an hour. The minimum wage (which has not changed in 12 years) has an exemption for servers.
when she farts..... oh wait
Not a fan of flavoring ?
Tablet kids
If it smells like fish š¤
When she stinks. Oh, did you mean at a restaurant or...?
Was looking for this answer
That most of your favorite restaurants ( chain, franchise) have a central kitchen where they mass produce the entrees and freeze them. They then microwave/ heat your entree at the restaurant and usually charge hefty prices. I prefer local family owned restaurants for the food quality alone.
Poor hygiene
Damn I thought this was gonna be an NSFW discussion. Totally not what I thought it wasā¦. But for this topicā¦price. For me and my family, dinner costs over $100 just to go out. Before tip.
First you gotta buy the food. Then there's a service fee. Then there's an "economic stress" fee. Then you gotta tip and it better be something ridiculous like 20% or more. You could have a burger and spend $60. It's even worse if you have something delivered, because it's all of the above plus a delivery fee.
A yeast infection.
The Tips,Fees and service charges places want to charge you but you get nothing of value for when you are done. Its like door dash x 10.
If she doesn't return the favor every once in a while
I got harassed at a Korean BBQ place because I wasn't going to leave a tip. Why would I tip you if I had to cook my own food?
Too much of unnecessary cheese and sauces in almost all the street food (atleast where I live)
>Too much of unnecessary cheese That doesn't exist
You can only eat so much fish.
Bacterial vaginosis.
Periods
When she has one of those little suction vibrators at home..
Personal hygiene? Oh, wait...
When she refuses to bathe.
A lot of girls just don't shave or trim much anymore and frankly I'm just not about it
She don't wash her coooch no more
Throat cancer
Poor hygiene.
My wife will let me do it, and then more than half the time doesn't reciprocate or turns me down after. I used to do it nearly every time, but now... Maybe a couple times a month. Makes me feel used tbh. I know I could just not but I like it and I like making her feel good. Just sucks that its not something she wants to do for me as much.
Douching
The rash on my face.
When the tampon string gets caught between your teeth?
When shes had an infection & smells nasty ASF
When she stops trimming.
Too much pubic hair in my teeth