I love to eat out at a nice restaurant from time to time. However it can be expensive and they give you so much food that I do not need to eat it all. We have found a frugal way to deal with eating out that really works for us.
My favorite place to eat is Olive Garden. We also enjoy eating at Longhorn Steak house. This is what we do:
Longhorn Steak House
First we order water with lemon. My husband does not like lemon in his so he gives it to me. I like a lot of lemon in mine so it works great.
Second we order a large meal. We ask for an empty plate for me. We share the meal. Longhorn Steak House has free mini loaves of bread brought to the table with the water so we eat on that while we are waiting. They bring another one when they bring our meal.
We usually get a nice steak, mashed potatoes, veggies and bread. Sometimes we split a salad as well
We usually end up paying less than $20.00 for both of us to eat. We both get full and we have a nice meal. I think it is romantic to share a meal. Sometimes we even share a desert. I love to feed him desert and he does me as well.
Olive Garden
Roger usually orders a coke and I order a glass of water with lemon.
We get all we can eat salad and bread sticks. Then we order one nice meal and an empty plate. We split the meal and we both get full. Total price is less than $20.00 for both of us to eat.
Romantic and Frugal
You can do this at any nice restaurant and I personally think it is romantic and we enjoy our meal. The waitress is away great about the plate. Once they even brought me a salad for no additional cost at Longhorn Steak House. It is so much better than getting the left over food in a box and smelling up the car or throwing it away.
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 52
Lately, in the paper, we have found coupons for Village Inn for $5.00 off when you purchase 2 entrees and 2 beverages.
After tip (20%) our meal, for both Ed and I, came to $8.42. A lot of food really cheap!!!
It does not embarrass me at all. I look at it as romantic. :)
If it embarrasses you, you are right, you should not do it because you would not enjoy it.
I have never heard of Village Inn before.
We don't eat out to often though.
Order a cup of soup. Scarf down the crackers, slurp a couple spoonfuls of soup and then send it back (too salty).
You might have to hit six or seven different places before you start feeling full, but the price is right.
We usually end up going to out to eat at places that serve unlimited breadsticks or rolls or something, and I have a bad habit of accidently filling up on those.
I always order water--I don't need the caffeine anyway. We rarely split a meal (except at the japanese place in the mall) because we don't have similar preferences when we go out. Plus, I LOVE having leftovers for work...beats a sandwich any day!
We have a ton or retirees who never cook:) there's a ton of places with full meals for $5.95 every day - some even include a coup of soup and a salad.
There is a place by the beach which has the most divine smoked fish spread - it comes with crackers but you can ask for bread at no charge and a bit of lettuce - for 4.95 then I get a margarita for six bucks and voila - a nice, cheap evening out.
Generally though I hate asking for a plate and ordering just one dinner, the nice restaurants around here do charge for an extra plate usually four bucks sometimes more or less and you may get the rolling eye ball from the waiter. I feel if I can't afford to go out and eat then I prefer to stay at home, it certainly doesn't feel romantic to me.
Instead we usually go out once a week to a nice restaurant, the bill is generally between $45 and $60 depending if we had coupons for a free entree or not. We order an appetizer and two dinners, he orders beer, I order a margarita or a mojito or whatever.
In the end - it still comes to $20 or less, because we eat at the restaurant and have enough leftovers for two more meals for the two of us. I may need to add a salad from the garden to our at home meals - but hey.
So you see Connie - Florida at present is still a good place to eat out on the cheap:)
Yeah, yeah, I know. "Don't order any alcohol"!