What is your favorite place to eat out?

[PrincessFiona]

In the local area where we live there is just applebees, tgi fridays, and olive garden and a handful of other fastfood and chain places. We usually eat at TGIF on Monday nights because kids eat free (we're so cheap)! Really, to us chain food all tastes the same no matter where you go. For New Years we tried out a new restaurant opened that is not a chain...they served normal portion sizes (I admit my inital reaction was "that's it?" but I felt satisfied and not overfilled when I left!) They served the meal in courses...first the bread, then the soup, then the salad, then the main course and then the dessert....and it didn't cost anymore than going out to Fridays!

I have to say that since things have been going better for us financially, we do eat out sometimes once a week. :!

kris

[SueC]

We allow ourselves to eat out once per week also. We usually go to Friday's as well (and by the way I had no idea kids ate free on Monday!!!), since dh loves their coconut chicken fingers and there is enough on the menu that I can usually find something that sounds good. Chain restaurants are just easier with kids.
There are plenty of "non-chain" restaurants around here that we love to go to, and sometimes we even take the kids, since they are getting old enough to act somewhat civilized. We actually have been finding that price-wise, it isn't that much more expensive to go to a regular restaurant, as long as you don't go nuts ordering appetizers and drinks.

[PrincessFiona]

Sue...call your Fridays and find out...they occasionally advertise it, but it's a year round thing (at least here). We went last night :yum: and my dh wouldn't tip our waitress as if we were paying for the meals...you are supposed to use the total with the kids meals to tip but they take off the total for the kids meals...I ended up running back to the table because I "forgot something" and threw a few bucks in on top of the credit card receipt.

[mommax3]

Our favorite places aren't found where we live. I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing! We don't have a Friday's here, but we like it pretty well. We recently got a Johnny Carino's (italian) and we like it pretty well, but we still like Olive Garden, too. Probably our favorite places are lunch places....I meet DH once a week or once every other week for lunch while Nathan is at preschool....and there is a place called "The Renaissance Pear" that we really like. It is just soups, salads, sandwiches, and baked potatoes, but it is nice. There is also a really nice place called "Pasqual's" that I love. It is also only open for lunch, but the menu changes every week and everything is really good. It is expensive, though.

I agree that the chains are easier with kids. We don't eat out nearly as often as we used to......maybe once a week, and it is more likely to be something like Fazolis or Pizza Hut than a nicer place.

Sally

[DCJenn]

My favorite place to eat is at home with something that I've cooked. Because let me tell you, with travelling weekly, if I never ate at a Fridays/Bennigans/Olive Garden/Ruby Tuesday/Texas Roadhouse/Dennys/IHOP/Chili's/Macaroni Grill/Subway/any fast food place/and any hotel breakfast EVER again....it would be ok with me.

I have the menus memorized- well, that's not hard because they're basically all the same. The homogenization of America.

Anyway, when I go out when at home I go to 1) Phillip's on the DC waterfront- my sushi lady hooks me up, 2) Liliana's- a tiny hole in the wall Italian place that gets as close to what we ate in Florence as anything I've ever had or 3) Cantina Marina, again on the DC waterfront (guess where I live?) to get fish tacos and Shiner Bock- a left over urge from San Antonio.

Jenn

BF and I eat out far too often... A lot of times it's something fast like sandwiches or Chipotle. There are also quite a few Thai places around here that are healthy, inexpensive, and tasty.

Jenn, DC has so many great restaurants and cafes. I can't wait to get out there again.

[migirl]

We also only eat out once per week, so we try to make it really count. We try to stay away from chain restaurants, partly just on principle (to support local businesses) and partly just because we like the food at local places better (I totally agree that the menus at chain restaurants all seem to be the same!). I can see how those types of places would be easier if you have kids, and I'm sure we'll be changing our ways soon... Anyway, our favorite places are mostly our old favorites from college (great pizza, sandwich, bar/grill-type places) with a few 'adult' additions sprinkled in. Although we have our fair share of great restaurants, I do miss living in the big city where you could eat somewhere different every day of the week!

[Cumberland]

I am not a big fan of the chains either although around here local places arent that common. We go to one place that is a grungy seafood place that has really good specials and a great outside seating area. We usually eat and drink ( beer) for 15.00 or so. We also get burritos alot. I love any kind of soup and asian food and DH does not like soup. So i go by myself to a Vietnamese place ( the only one in town) and get a bowl of Pho. They know me by now since I always get the exact same thing.

....and Shiner Bock

Mmm....beer, good beer......mmmm....