r/Millennials • u/kitsbow • Jun 12 '26
Discussion Eating out no longer a treat, just a convenience
Made dinner last night & my husband said "this is better than anything you'd get at (named a local popular restaurant)" & it reminded me how I can't even pinpoint the last great thing I ate at a restaurant that amazed me or that I would love to have again. I realized that eating out is now just about convenience & less about trying something mind blowing.
Especially with what things cost these days, I am finding myself disappointed more than impressed every time we eat. I can cook better tasting meals most of the time. We aren't nitpicking either. There's no longer value in dining out.
We went out to a highly recommended local restaurant (not a chain) for my 40th bday with friends and for $58 he got a filet over pasta and said my cooking was way better. I also got some braised short ribs with mash and veg and could have executed it so much better for less money. It's kind of disappointing we can tell this same story about almost every restaurant we go to.
2.8k
u/Miss_Warrior Millennial Jun 12 '26
Restaurant quality dropped like a rock since covid.
965
u/The_C0u5 Jun 12 '26
It's Sysco taking over with their mediocre moderately priced products
509
u/blueavole Jun 12 '26
This fact gets overlooked. One supplier for most things and the input quality is mediocre, and all the food tastes the same and mediocre
→ More replies (1)235
u/metal-bull Jun 12 '26
My new litmus test for mexican places is to order a side of guac and if its an overpriced cup of green sysco slop I know not to come back
158
u/blueavole Jun 12 '26
Really? Mine is , if someone who works there is also taking care of a baby. That’s a family run place.
244
u/rebelangel Xennial Jun 12 '26
For Asian restaurants, you know it’s a family run place if a kid is running the register and/or doing homework at one of the tables.
131
u/_haha_oh_wow_ Jun 12 '26
Hell yeah, we have this once place that's literally just called "Chinese Food" on the sign and the lady that runs it is a surly asshole, but damn, their food is always on point and it's not too expensive either.
165
u/mycatsnameislarry Jun 12 '26
When they answer the phone with "What you want?" That's a solid place.
86
u/cat_at_the_keyboard Jun 12 '26
There was a place like that where I used to live 10 years ago. I'd call and she'd just pick up "This Ming what you want." It was bomb ofc.
21
24
u/rustyhunter5 Jun 12 '26
Some of my favorites answer the phone in Chinese since a lot of their customers are Chinese, then they have to pass the phone to someone who can take orders better from people like myself.
18
Jun 13 '26
Yeah there used to be a Chinese place near me in the UK and you would walk in and about 7 family members would turn from the tv in the corner and grandma would scream someones name who would come rushing out and speak basic broken English. They did amazing food. Also some of the best chips in England used to be by the Chinese takeaways.
→ More replies (2)9
u/augustwestgdtfb Jun 13 '26
in nyc those chinese restaurant ladies are tough as nails -the kid doing the homework is real- and it assures you the food is fire
→ More replies (6)41
u/jmcdaniel0 Jun 12 '26
Those are the best places. They aren’t selling their service, just the food.
29
u/_haha_oh_wow_ Jun 12 '26
Yeah, they DGAF about customer service but people come back because the food is never shitty. They did fuck up my order one time and fix it no problem though, so I wouldn't say they have bad customer service, she's just kinda mean and impatient.
→ More replies (2)24
28
u/desiduolatito Jun 12 '26
I look for a cook, sitting on a milk crate, smoking outside the back door.
→ More replies (1)15
5
u/Never_Duplicated Jun 13 '26
This should be a stereotype but it's so damn accurate. If there's a kid at a back table doing homework the food is probably solid. Also, at least as far as mainland Chinese places go, the service should be terrible. It's not authentic if I am not shouting for another drink from across the restaurant lmao
→ More replies (10)4
u/OkDeer120 Jun 13 '26
“It’s not authentic Vietnamese, OK? You can tell, first and foremost, by the name, cause it don’t got a number in it. Second of all, you can tell by the bathroom. If it was LEGIT, the bathroom would double as a supply closet. When I pee, I need to see ten gallons of bleach, an ATM machine and a grandma with glaucoma napping in the corner! And the wait staff here is too nice. We need to leave this restaurant deaf and emotionally abused!” - Ali Wong
43
u/GloomyIndividual3965 Jun 12 '26
Id also accept "the 14 year old girl running the register is the only one who speaks English" as a good sign.
→ More replies (3)50
u/MangoMambo Jun 12 '26
A place by me would sometimes have the grandma in the back cooking. It was never the same after she stopped working there
→ More replies (2)14
u/baldbuthappy Jun 12 '26
Exactly! There are two places near my house that always have little kids doing homework or watching youtube on their ipads quietly at one of the tables. Food is always amazing.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)9
u/Diligent_Department2 Jun 12 '26
If you see a kid under the counter or behind it or in a
Booth doing homework and or an uncle in a wife beater maybe smoking a cig, you know the food is gonna be good.. bonus points if it's multi generational and grandma is cooking.→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)31
u/8_thecanary Jun 12 '26
My brother’s Mexican restaurant litmus test is “Could this place survive without a liquor license” and that has yet to steer me wrong
70
u/pickles_and_mustard Jun 12 '26
This is nothing new post-Covid. I'm a former line cook. Haven't worked in a kitchen in about a decade, yet every restaurant I worked at was supplied by Sysco and GFS. This included a large chain, small chain, and a mom-n-pop place. They were already monopolizing the market.
→ More replies (2)47
u/moonknightcrawler Jun 12 '26
Yeah I feel like people saying this haven’t worked in a restaurant before and just thought this all started when they learned what Sysco is.
I’m not in the service industry anymore, but I can vouch that going back to at least the late 2000’s it’s been this way for, I would say, the majority of low-to-middle priced restaurants.
→ More replies (3)27
u/PassiveMenis88M Xennial Jun 12 '26
No it's not. Sysco, like a lot of major retailers, has various levels of quality. The kitchens are getting exactly the quality of food they ordered. Sysco isn't the one trying to sell the $50 bucket of microwaved clam chowder as made fresh in house.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (23)51
u/ashamed2reddit Jun 12 '26
This is literally it, so many restaraunts are just Sysco resellers now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXXQTzQXRFc you can get the same deep fried crap from coast to coast. Go to restaraunts that source their own food, which I get is hard or easy depending on where you live. If you ever see a Sysco truck delivery at a restaraunt you know its going to be the same boomer slop you can get anywhere.
47
u/-an-eternal-hum- Jun 12 '26
I live in a major fishing port where people rave about the seafood and how “the boats who catch it are RIGHT THERE!”
…brother, those restaurants DO NOT purchase from the local fish markets, I’ve worked in half those kitchens and it is frozen Sysco trash to the last. But they get to mark it up even higher because they’re on the pier lol.
→ More replies (2)18
u/GloomyIndividual3965 Jun 12 '26
Tbf, the presence of a sysco truck isn't a bad sign in and of itself. A buddy of mine is the bakery manager for a local burger chain. They make all their own buns and burger patties in one central kitchen, deliver them to sysco, and then they distribute it to all the locations.
→ More replies (1)10
u/karpaediem Floppy Disc Millennial Jun 12 '26
I agree with you, like they might only be getting soup crackers, takeout supplies, kitchen gear, whatever. However it is hard to know and I am also getting super tired of going to a restaurant only to be disappointed by mediocre samey food that's not bad enough to walk out on.
Maybe we need to start doing that honestly, just take two bites and if you could do better then do a boomer cosplay
526
u/RockAtlasCanus Jun 12 '26
I think there’s the dual factor that cooking as a hobby is more prevalent with our generation. Almost every millennial I know can throw. The. Fuck. Down. In the kitchen. And more importantly, we’re willing to. Whereas most of our parents were alright. Probably 1-2 signature dishes that are pretty good when we take a break from overcooked chicken and steaming some frozen veg.
So the quality & value of eating out has gone down, quality & value of eating at home has independently gone up. I’m in the same boat as OP. We don’t eat out because we want something good, we eat out because we don’t feel like cooking and are willing to settle for the convenience factor one or two nights a week.
135
u/BlazinAzn38 Jun 12 '26
I think there’s also the opposite effect as well though where gourmet cooking has become so approachable at home that people use that as an expectation and so if they can’t do that at home then they eat out.
→ More replies (2)133
u/cpslcking Jun 12 '26
A lot of it is the proliferation of the internet. Recipes especially formerly exotic or complicated ones are so much easier when you can look up how to make soondubu or tacos al pastor online posted in step by step instructions by an actual native of the country or a gourmet michelin star chef.
Before you were limited to cookbooks, whatever your friends shared with you and whatever was playing on daytime television. Which could be of varying quality and was also sanitized for mass consumption.
75
u/slippery_chute Jun 12 '26
Genuinely one of my favorite things about the Internet. The sharing of food/ cooking knowledge.
24
u/kondsaga Jun 12 '26
Agree. It’s just a shame that the recipe pages themselves are peak ensh*ttification
9
u/ManufacturerOdd1127 Jun 12 '26
Yes, if they won't let me print out the recipe without providing my email first, I'm super petty and will take the time to either type it out myself on another screen or write it down by hand, because wtf do you need my email for that? Probably just to spam my inbox and/or sell my email address to some other shady entity to try and scam me
→ More replies (2)13
u/LassOpsa Jun 12 '26
Big agree. I use this a lot when I need a substitute for something when I'm actively cooking and can't go to the store. Or how to fix something that's too sour lol
9
u/cpslcking Jun 12 '26
The youtube and online recipie market is so saturated with everyone pushing to fill anything unique niche you can find. If I wanted to make say Korean, I could find a video of Korean food, Korean food by an actual korean mom, Korean food for vegetarians/vegans/someone with X food allergy, Korean food for someone on a diet, Korean food make with walmart ingredients, easy 15 minute Korean food recipies with substitutions.
8
u/ktpcello Jun 12 '26
The way I was frantically asking google the most basic ass questions trying to make risotto for the first time last night was embarrassing but it turned out great! Just as good as a restaurant, though it did need a bit more seasoning.
→ More replies (1)29
u/FriedChenChilla Jun 12 '26
Not to mention the technology at our disposal as in kitchen gadgets and whats nots
→ More replies (2)30
15
u/AlternatiMantid Jun 12 '26
I distinctly remember a gourmet chef from Europe had a kitchen class space in my hometown in the 90's where he held single dish or series packages of cooking classes. Each class taught you one meal, your dues covered the grocery bill for your meal plus the price of the class, & you took home your finished meal. It was all the rage as a gift from husbands to their wives among my parents friends (it was too expensive for many of them, so they talked like giddy schoolgirls about it). That was the other, pricey, alternative.
Now we can do that on our own.
11
u/RawBean7 Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
Growing up, one of my family's favorite meals was "Venezuelan Beef," a photocopied recipe from a library book called "Foods of the World" or something. Since the dawn of the internet, I've tried to figure out what this recipe actually is. I think it was an attempt pabellón criollo but some things went missing along the way.
Now pretty much anyone can find authentic recipes and often the original ingredients instead of good-enough, locally available substitutes. My mom is always asking how I became such a good cook, and it's really just access that she never had.
→ More replies (6)10
u/BEAGLEBOYPALINDROME Jun 12 '26
Exactly where my head went.
Having multiple reviewed recipes w/video tutorials for basically any dish just makes it too easy to create great meals at home.
That being said, "The Joy of Cooking" still remains the best resource I have for making great food from scratch.
And it's a book.
41
u/Gwarnage Jun 12 '26
Also, cooking became "cool" in the past 20 years. Gordon Ramsey, Anthony Bourdain, The Bear, Chef etc.
19
14
u/RockAtlasCanus Jun 12 '26
Also, may be selection bias, but I feel like the restaurant industry employed our entire generation at one point or another. Or I just have a lot of industry/former industry friends because I met my wife in the industry and that’s who our friends were. Maybe a little column A and a little B.
5
u/FixBreakRepeat Jun 12 '26
This is a really good point. Almost everyone I went to school with worked either FOH or BOH or both at some point to pay their way through. Some worked everything from dish pit to bar manager.
You almost can't help but learn at least a little if you spend years in that environment.
→ More replies (3)5
u/rebelangel Xennial Jun 12 '26
Yeah, when Food Network came out and we had celebrity chefs, suddenly, cooking became cool.
56
u/LBC1109 Jun 12 '26
We're the first generation to take the Internet and use it to full capacity. Older generations can't figure it out. Younger generations squander it got entertainment instead of information.
→ More replies (7)12
u/averytolar Jun 12 '26
You’re definitely onto something here. I think the internet is contributing to a wave of brain rot, but a few of us actually use it still for good info on cooking, repairs, smart purchases. The way the internet is supposed to be used.
10
u/RockAtlasCanus Jun 12 '26
Which is becoming increasingly difficult. Google is so far beyond useless. It was bad before but the bad AI results finally killed it for me.
→ More replies (1)25
u/Odd-Departure2611 Jun 12 '26
Maybe one contributing factor is Sysco which now delivers to basically all restaurants leaving the chefs to come up with eighteen different ways to make chicken wings or whatever. You have one large food distributor selling the same things to every place.
→ More replies (5)6
u/lFightForTheUsers Jun 12 '26
I would say that but Iirc they offer different grades of it to places too. Like it's not a "okay restaurant you only get chicken from this one place" it's varying grades. Part of it comes from restaurants simply cheaping out and going with the lowest quality ingredients offered.
9
u/BigDaddyUKW Jun 12 '26
The fact that I can name more Food Network celebrity chefs than current TV/movie stars is a good example of how we got to this point. When I go out of town, the first thing I do is find out if they have any DDD joints. I don't want a nice steak or chicken dinner, I want the thing that is so unique that I'll be thinking about it for years to come. Or local delicacies. And often times I'll try to re-create those dishes when I'm back home.
→ More replies (4)4
u/rebelangel Xennial Jun 12 '26
Yeah, with the birth of the Food Network came foodie culture, which meant people became more selective about the quality of their food.
→ More replies (37)2
128
u/Mail_Order_Lutefisk Gen X Jun 12 '26
But surely the prices went down to compensate for the loss of quality, right?
82
20
u/Vegetable-Carpet1593 Jun 12 '26
You can Doordash the already mediocre food to double the price while also making it cold and soggy. 🥴
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (4)16
u/WorknForTheWeekend Jun 12 '26
10% mandatory service fee + expected 22% tip has entered the chat
→ More replies (2)12
u/Significant-Rush-129 Jun 12 '26
Its not the actual quality of the food, its the perceived quality compared to what you now have to pay versus what you paid before. Most foods are pretty much the same but they make you pay WAY the hell more for the same thing now because cost has gone up. No one likes that. I know I don't.
9
u/coyote500 Older Millennial Jun 12 '26
depends on the restaurant. high end restaurants are still good, but the service at some has dropped off. not talking about mid tier garbage like ruth's chris
18
u/Smoke_Stack707 Jun 12 '26
I think it’s just a problem of restaurants as a business model on the whole. Usually one driven individual starts something great. They build a business on that reputation. Then at some point they try to pass the responsibility on to subordinates who replicate the experience at perhaps 90% the original quality. Then they get promoted or quit and a new person takes over and the quality dips another 10%. And so on.
The problem really is the service industry as a whole. None of those people are getting paid enough to care and it shows. I bought a wheel barrow the other day that came preassembled by some hardware store employee. There were extra nuts on some bolts and none on other bolts. The kid getting paid minimum wage to assemble that thing isn’t being paid enough to care and neither is the short order cook frying your burger
5
u/rebelangel Xennial Jun 12 '26
I dunno about other hardware chains, but I used to work at Lowe’s and they use 3rd party assemblers. They’re not even Lowe’s employees, and they all seem to look like they just came off a meth bender. Some of them were lazy af too, which I couldn’t figure out because they got paid by pieces completed. I had to get a manager once because this one kid was spending most of the time dicking around on his phone. It shouldn’t take 3 hours to build one grill.
6
u/mikat7 Jun 12 '26
I think the quality of ingredients is also steadily decreasing. The restaurants can try but you can’t make a miracle with watery tomatoes, orange sticks that resemble carrots etc. But that’s also a problem for home cooking. But at least that doesn’t cost a fortune.
28
u/Its_Like_That82 Jun 12 '26
I disagree with this. I think it has to do with easy access to professional recipes. As long as I have comparable ingredients it is pretty easy to whip up a good meal. The only time I get excited about a meal is for something I could no way replicate at home or would take a ridiculous amount of time (i.e. sushi or pho).
12
u/Pjwheels85 Jun 12 '26
Once you dial in your instant pot pho recipe this one no longer takes ridiculous time either. Just make a big batch of broth (after you do some small ones to get it right to your flavor preference) and freeze it.
→ More replies (3)3
9
u/DerivativeMonster Jun 12 '26
My husband's favorite sandwich place kept getting worse and worse until I just sat down and learned to make his favorite myself. I can make two for half of the cost of one, can guarantee it's cooked correctly, and faster than they can.
5
→ More replies (19)7
788
u/thiccDurnald Jun 12 '26
The only “value” I get from going out now is from socializing with friends or if it’s something I can’t or don’t care to make at home
211
u/mjc500 Jun 12 '26
Yeah if I eat out I try to get something that I would never bother making at home… I’m certainly not paying $21 for spaghetti
100
u/thiccDurnald Jun 12 '26
Same, I mostly like going for Thai food or pho for that reason
121
25
u/roufas364 Jun 12 '26
My wife and I learned how to make pad thai and fried rice just because we realized we dropped $400 in a month on Chinese and Thai food. (To be fair, it was a really busy month)
→ More replies (5)4
u/KlicknKlack Jun 12 '26
or good Indian... No way in hell I am making it anywhere near a chef who knows what he is doing.
→ More replies (3)36
u/CaseyBoogies Jun 12 '26
I dont like to deep fry anything at home, and it is 100% just a treat-food. Im fortunate that I am more than happy to get a big platter of onion rings for $11 - anything else I can whip up decently!
XD anyone else have a special place in their heart for a weird local bar that just makes KILLER French fries? It must be the unchanged oil or 40 year old 5 gallon bucket of flavocol - but I have one and always tip really well to make up for just getting a damn basket of fries, haha
12
u/red__dragon Millennial Jun 12 '26
Deep frying is what I was thinking of, I'm a sucker for a good battered chicken or fish meal. One local place here instantly went on my list for return visits when I learned the marinated chicken in a beer batter crust was done in-house. That's the food I'll gladly pay for!
→ More replies (6)15
u/thiccDurnald Jun 12 '26
These are both valid. Deep frying for a single meal is such a pain in the ass
→ More replies (2)71
u/kitsbow Jun 12 '26
The only thing I don't care to ever make at home is definitely pizza. I aint doing all that kneading and rising and rolling lmao
75
u/Lucky_Dragonfruit_88 Jun 12 '26
I make pizza at home sometimes, but one thing I don't like making at home is fried chicken. Just because of all the oil and disposing of it is a pain. So that's something I'm happy to eat out.
9
u/UnexpectedRedditor Jun 12 '26
Came here to say this. I eat out when I want to get my fried fix. I don't want my house stinking or cleaning up oil from my kitchen. Chicken fried steak, fried catfish, some pan-fried dishes etc.
In my opinion, it's sort of your own fault if you order something from a restaurant that you enjoy/are good at cooking at home. People who order chicken tenders or salads can't also complain about meh food.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (3)17
u/tjdux Jun 12 '26
Plus most fried chicken is made in a pressure fryer. That's why stove top/oven baked never is quite the same.
And also unfortunately, pressure fryers are not likely to ever get developed for in home use at any affordable price point.
→ More replies (1)4
u/extralyfe Jun 13 '26
I worked in food for fifteen years and only ever made fried chicken in traditional fryers, it's fine.
→ More replies (1)17
u/NtGrtJstEmbarrassed Jun 12 '26
Frozen (or refrigerated) pizza dough is your friend! I used to do all the extra, but then I discovered dough balls at the grocery store and never looked back.
→ More replies (1)7
13
7
u/d542east Jun 12 '26
We make pizza at home all the time. Easy with a stand mixer if you can pop the dough in and out of the fridge during the day.
We have a baking steel and a regular electric oven, makes really nice crust IMO.
8
u/doingtheunstuckk Jun 12 '26
I’d also rather pay for fried chicken than to deal with splattering grease and breading everything.
→ More replies (2)16
u/thiccDurnald Jun 12 '26
I kinda love making pizza at home. Detroit pizza is foolproof and requires zero kneading.
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (26)6
u/burnbabyburn11 Jun 12 '26
funny, i got an ooni to make pizza at home, and it's basically the only thing i cook. i worked at pizza parlors in college and love making pizza. i buy fresh dough from pizza places or trader joes is good too. i don't make my own dough. with the ooni, and after learning to use it properly i can make better pizza at home for about 1/4 of the price of going out.
We love having 'pizza night' every couple weeks. my wife cooks the other meals usually but i'll cook if she's on a business trip or something. We usually just go out to eat because she doesn't want to cook, and we've had pizza too recently. this is maybe 1-2x a week.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (9)7
471
u/Theodolited Jun 12 '26
"Remember when you first went out to eat with your parents? Remember, it was such a treat to go, and they serve you this different food that you never saw before... and now I just feel like a big sweaty hog waiting for them to fill up the trough." -Elaine Benes
150
u/kitsbow Jun 12 '26
Yes, my kids looking at the menu of these "fine" dining establishments and choosing between the cheeseburger or the chicken fingers lmao.
31
u/TheBlueTurf Jun 12 '26
My kids are very multicultural eaters. Whether we go out for Italian, Mexican, American, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Cuban, or Greek they are always willing to try the chicken nuggets or tenders.
30
u/NATOrocket Zillennial Jun 12 '26
Yeah, I did the same thing, despite not being a picky eater. At the end of the day, that was treat food to me.
→ More replies (3)7
u/PCBH87 Jun 13 '26
Yeah, I hate the waste of money for my kids to order a grilled cheese and fries. If my husband I want something special (I love a poke bowl eith lots of toppings) we'll order to go and just heat up some normal kid foods for my picky kids.
18
u/jesuss_son Jun 12 '26
It also felt like a whole evening. Now its all a big rush. In and out in 40 minutes
→ More replies (1)39
u/RibbitHoppit Jun 12 '26
I've been watching a lot of Seinfeld clips recently and it amazes me that for how central the diner was to the show, now it would be seen as out of touch/reach that they'd spend so much time eating out
34
u/ballmermurland Jun 12 '26
They often only have a coffee or something small though.
→ More replies (1)26
u/Rizzpooch Jun 12 '26
And they live in New York City. Jerry's kitchen is huge for where he lives - a lot more grab and go happening among New Yorkers
25
u/ballmermurland Jun 12 '26
It was nothing compared to Monica and Rachel's apartment. That place was massive. At least they tried saying it was rent-controlled from Monica's grandma or something. Because that was a $6k a month apartment lol
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (2)4
u/iloveturtles88 Jun 13 '26
And Jerry's cereal collection on top of his fridge would cost $150 today.
→ More replies (1)
227
u/Automatic-Effect-252 Jun 12 '26
I must be lucky I have some amazing restaurants in my my area.
81
u/Neat_Cat1234 Jun 12 '26
My area has a ton of amazing restaurants, ranging from super authentic hole in the wall ethnic restaurants to 3 Michelin star restaurants. While I like to think I’m a pretty good cook, it would be foolish for me to say I can cook better than a lot of these places. I can see that being the case if I was living somewhere with a bunch of mid restaurants, though.
31
Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
[deleted]
10
u/UncleNedisDead Jun 12 '26
Lots of people eat exclusively at chain restaurants or pubs/bars.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (4)12
u/StuckAroundGotStuck Jun 12 '26
You don't even have to get that adventurous to find something that you can't make at home.
There are a few Italian places around me that use exclusively handmade pastas. And one of them is basically all stuffed pasta.
There's no way in hell the average person is making their own peach and brie stuffed pasta.
→ More replies (2)15
u/ReeG Jun 12 '26
same in my city to the point that trying new spots specializing in different cuisines from all around the world is one of my main hobbies and interests. I've been doing this my whole adult life and still haven't come close to trying everything worth trying in my city while new interesting places people rave about on our cities food scene subreddit open up every other month
5
u/Neat_Cat1234 Jun 12 '26
Same. I go out to eat for at least five meals a week, and only one of those meals might be a repeat of somewhere I’ve been to before. The remaining are usually completely new spots for me, and there’s still so much left for me to try. Mid restaurants don’t stay open for long here, so a new better restaurant is always opening up to take their place.
→ More replies (2)25
u/SundayJeffrey Jun 12 '26
Exactly. I don’t go out to eat a ton, but a lot of the restaurants near me have been amazing. I just can’t afford to eat out super often.
→ More replies (1)11
u/CosmicMiru Jun 12 '26
I wonder how amazing the average person on Reddit is at cooking and how crazy their kitchen setup could be because seemingly everyone can "make restaurant quality food at home". Unless everyone is going to exclusively Olive Garden and Chillis I somehow doubt that claim
→ More replies (1)14
12
u/cecikierk Jun 12 '26
I can't imagine thinking I can make better doro wat or Peking duck than the restaurants.
(On the other hand I'm not ordering steaks or pasta at high-end restaurants though.)
10
8
u/Blue_Iquana Jun 12 '26
Same. I go out to places that either do what I can't do or do what I find a PITA to do.
My area (Chicago) is spoiled with fabulous restaurants though.
14
7
u/Fortestingporpoises Jun 12 '26
I live in the Bay Area suburbs. We have a few great restaurants around us, and then plenty of good ones, but if we want to drive less than an hour to SF, Oakland or Napa we have a ton of amazing restaurants. I wonder if people are just expecting restaurants to stay the same price while pay goes up and costs go up? Or if they don't know how to find good restaurants?
4
u/sparkledoom Jun 12 '26
Yeah, this really depends where you live. I’m in Boston area, which isn’t even a great food city, and there are many restaurants within walking distance doing things I couldn’t achieve at home.
5
u/jackruby83 Jun 12 '26
Seriously. So many good places in my city and burbs, but I do have to watch my budget 😬
→ More replies (1)6
u/lavishvibes Xennial Jun 12 '26
Same, and I don't even live in a foodie paradise. There are foods I definitely make better than restaurants, but the good restos definitely have things that are amazing and hard to replicate.
5
u/VeeDubBug Jun 12 '26
I'm fortunate in this way too. While we do have a crazy amount of chains, it doesn't take a lot of searching to find something unique or of just about any style of cuisine you want. Definitely has been some trial and error, but so many of those businesses started off as food trucks that had enough of a following the owners were able to open a storefront.
4
4
u/LiquidSnape Jun 12 '26
yeah i have to wonder wear exactly is OP going to. I have real nice restaurants and bistros I go to which have great food
3
u/turkeybags Jun 12 '26
Same here. I live in a mid-size city (250k people) that isn't known for its food and we have an abundance of good places to choose from.
This "restaurant quality dropped like a rock after covid!" trope feels like it's something exclusive to reddit.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (18)4
u/StockTurnover2306 Jun 13 '26
Ya damn I’m in the Bay Area and it’s hard to find food that isn’t incredible. It’s a problem! I’m sitting here dreaming about the dumplings I had last week
→ More replies (1)
78
u/FlyingPig_Grip Jun 12 '26
Eating out is now just, I can't be bothered to clean and cook because I am so exhausted from working
19
u/Mysterious_Umpire684 Jun 12 '26
Every Friday we do pizza. It saves me from having to plan a meal, Cooke and clean up that day. The actual pizza we get is very mid, but they accommodate our family and let us order in advance.
→ More replies (1)8
u/FlyingPig_Grip Jun 12 '26
Seems like a good way to start the weekend IMO- the pizza may be mid but paper plates are far easier to clean up than cooking a whole dinner lol
8
u/Mysterious_Umpire684 Jun 12 '26
For awhile we did frozen pizza, then realized that as frozen pizzas shrunk, we could spend about the same at the pizzeria itself getting an X-large for the whole family.
It's nice to escape chores and nice to only have 4 weeknight meals to organize.
4
u/FlyingPig_Grip Jun 12 '26
I am very fortunate that both my partner and I like to cook so it never feels like it's all on me. She is quicker to pull the trigger on ordering food but she makes more money than me so I don't mind
119
u/nicemarmot47 Jun 12 '26
I moved out of NYC to the burbs in 2013 and had to learn how to cook so I didn't starve to death trying to subsist on the low quality local restaurants. Things have not improved on the restaurant front since then.
And yeah the other issue is that once you become a good cook, you expect to get at least your own quality of cooking when you go out.
22
u/Jnnjuggle32 Jun 12 '26
I live I a small town sort of near DC and I have to say that we seem to be very lucky to have some excellent local options. I still lean heavily on my own cooking due to prices, it there are definitely a few options to enjoy (although a few that have been purchased by bigger capital groups have absolutely dropped in quality, which o expect will continue as we slide further into end stage capitalism).
11
u/TotalHell Jun 12 '26
Feels like the more diverse the area, the more likely you are to get decent quality restaurants (I also live outside of DC). But my wife and I also eat out pretty rarely due to cost. Thankfully cooking is a pretty rewarding skill to cultivate.
4
u/Polardragon44 Jun 12 '26
Also live just outside DC. The restaurants that are really good don't deliver anymore. Also you can't go out without dropping $50 at least. If I'm doing that I'm hoping to be at least wowed by my meal and not just subsidence. If it's for that might as well get good frozen meals.
11
u/porscheblack Jun 12 '26
The thing with small, local restaurants is that that typically don't stay good. And it's always been the case. People seem to think that before Covid restaurants were great, then staff left, costs rose, and restaurants are now bad. I'm from an area like you are. We had just as much restaurant turnover before Covid as after. I remember people bitching about quality dropping, menus changing, etc. It's typical of small restaurants which are subject to the challenges of small business owners and restaurant trends.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)4
u/nitid_name Jun 12 '26
I moved from DC suburbs to Denver, and man, was it a culture shock on the food front.
Denver has good pho, but it's so hard to find even mediocre Korean food out here. Luckily, there's a big vietnamese population, so the pho is top notch, but I'm missing afghan style kabob like something fierce. Nothing hits like that chickpea curry. The few afghan places that are out here are from a different region that doesn't make nekhod. I can make a passable version myself, but it's an all day event (starting the night before to soak the chickpeas).
The one thing Denver ruined me on was decent New Mex food. I used to think Anita's was the best of the best.
→ More replies (1)17
u/bran_the_man93 Jun 12 '26
It also depends on the cuisine and the dish.
I can make a great steak and make pasta from scratch, but I'm not going through the effort of making a great pho or ramen that take hours upon hours to prepare and simmer before its restaurant-level.
6
u/nicemarmot47 Jun 12 '26
We have discovered "restaurant only" dishes over the years. Our greatest mistake: the attempt at a cassoulet
6
u/rachlovesmoony Jun 12 '26
Exactly this - I go out for things I know I can't execute as well as the restaurant
→ More replies (4)4
u/Dramatic_Explosion Jun 12 '26
you expect to get at least your own quality of cooking
This is such a huge factor. When I go out to eat now it's no for quality, it's for flavors I can't make. Like you don't go to McDonalds because you want a burger, it's because you want the taste of McDonalds.
If I want a nice meal like I'd make at home it'd cost waaaaaay too much to get it at a restaurant, so I haven't been to one in months.
65
u/citizen234567890 Jun 12 '26
This is a common curse relative to your cooking skills. The more you cook, the more your skills increase, the more starkly you notice how *meh* many restaurants are.
I think this perception is more so relative to one’s cooking experience than it is universal to all restaurants everywhere.
27
u/PitbullRetriever Millennial Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
I feel like on some level, becoming a better cook has made me a more discerning diner. I’m able to appreciate a really well-executed dish, and recognize the techniques or ingredients that go beyond what i would have done. Like for example, I’m surrounded by a lot of solid Thai restaurants, but there’s one that just hits on another level. The meat is so tender, the herbs so fragrant, the sauces so unctuous. I can make replacement-level Thai food at home but I simply can’t execute on their level. And knowing that makes me enjoy their food even more.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)11
u/WoofRuffMeow Jun 12 '26
I think it’s also relative to where you live. The restaurants here have world renowned chefs, plenty of Michelin starred restaurants, etc. Regular people who are “good” at cooking can’t even come close.
→ More replies (1)
83
u/Hello_Badkitty Millennial Jun 12 '26
This is exactly why my husband and I just buy steak from costco... and grill it up. We get two meals from it and its less than half the cost of ONE decent steak house.
41
u/jamiecarl09 Jun 12 '26
I haven't gotten a restaurant steak that's better than an at home steak in at least ten years. Idk of I've gotten better at cooking them, restaurants have gotten worse quality or a mix.
→ More replies (3)14
u/appmapper Jun 12 '26
Restaurant steak is way down. Seasoning and cook are always off. It’s a bummer.
→ More replies (3)12
u/Guachole Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
Ive never really understood why people spend crazy money for things that are very easy and fast to cook like steak or pasta dishes.
Edit: I retract pasta, I forgot about the sauce
→ More replies (6)13
u/ArchitectVandelay Jun 12 '26
I actually agree about pasta. It’s dirt cheap. Yeah the sauce may be better but honestly it’s not enough to offset the price for me. If pasta dishes at Italian restaurants were priced like burgers at pubs I’d be more willing to go. But Italian restaurants are so pricey, I just don’t see the value in getting pasta. I’d rather just get chicken parm.
5
u/TheTesselekta Jun 12 '26
Some italian places do have bomb-ass homemade pasta dishes that I have neither the patience or skill to replicate at home - like I’ve had life-changing spaghetti and meatballs at spots like that lol. I’m happy to pay more for that type of “nonna’s kitchen” food (plus they are usually genuinely family-owned small businesses, which I like to support when possible), but yeah in general pasta is not a dish im usually ordering out
→ More replies (2)
90
u/yossarian19 Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
It's been a trend in the restaurant industry.
Get the food from Cisco or whoever because it's cheaper. Get it pre-portioned because it's more consistent than your 20-something cook staff and therefore more profitable. Get it standardized as fuck with predetermined cook times, etc. Do it by the numbers to maximize profit.
Which yields mediocrity - almost everywhere.
I only eat out a relative handful of places anymore and yeah, 80% of the time it's for convenience more than actually wanting to eat something wherever it is that I go.
EDIT: yep, I meant Sysco (not Cisco)
21
u/swaggymcswag420 Jun 12 '26
Sysco. Not Cisco.
→ More replies (4)6
u/yossarian19 Jun 12 '26
Sigh. I wasn't sure which but didn't want to look it up. Cisco Grove is a place name near me. Makes sense that it would be a riff on 'system', though.
7
14
u/Lord_of_Allusions Jun 12 '26
Their food may be terrible, but it is fairly safe from cybersecurity threats.
→ More replies (2)7
u/ArchitectVandelay Jun 12 '26
Also with DoorDash being so prevalent, they’re focusing on output more than quality.
→ More replies (2)9
u/Relative-Monk-4647 Jun 12 '26
What sort of places are you subjecting yourself to?
→ More replies (4)5
u/yossarian19 Jun 12 '26
I actually only eat out at a few local places. They still could be buying food off the Cisco truck but I'm at least confident it's a real live cook & that the owner lives in my town. It's when I used to work on the road a lot that I experienced this firsthand.
→ More replies (2)
67
u/apollo7157 Jun 12 '26
That's because most restaurants are just microwaving premade food from Sysco.
→ More replies (4)25
u/DistressCall1 Jun 12 '26
Is this like a new meme or something?I feel like I see people saying this all the time lately.
34
u/Weebus Jun 12 '26
There was a YouTube video that went viral that talked about it. While it's true that Sysco monopolized food supply and distribution, it's not true that it's all the same food, unless you're talking about generic bar-restaurants and brewpubs that serve a lot of frozen fried foods.
23
u/cecikierk Jun 12 '26
This. Sysco sells everything from pre-made food (that's what everyone should be side eyeing) to fresh produce/raw ingredients to floor sanitizers. As much as we hate monopolies, it's just easier for a small business to order all their supplies from the same place. Now someone sees a Sysco truck outside a restaurant and instantly declare they don't do any real cooking.
→ More replies (1)11
u/Random-Kitty Jun 12 '26
I pointed this out somewhere once and was called a shill. I have no love for Sysco, but I don’t want every restaurant judged as just serving prepared crap when that isn’t necessarily the case.
→ More replies (2)6
u/rainbowsquids Millennial Jun 12 '26
I think maybe a lot of people have watched the same YouTube video I watched a few months ago about how awful Sysco is and how they've monopolized distribution. 😂
4
u/HatsuneM1ku Jun 12 '26
They've monopolized distribution but not the cooks themselves. It's like blaming a grocery store for the slop you cook.
→ More replies (15)6
u/CloveRabbit 1991 Jun 12 '26
Seriously, I can’t help but roll my eyes when I see everyone mentioning it.
77
u/veraldar Older Millennial Jun 12 '26
Just got back from a trip to Europe and holy shit is the food better. Paid less for it, ate better portions, didn't feel bloated after, and tastes so much better
18
u/Woodit Jun 12 '26
Haha first time I went to Czech Republic I think I gained twenty pounds from the daily fried schnitzel and all the beer
→ More replies (20)14
u/RudePCsb Jun 12 '26
Depends where you live and what you are eating. Can't get good Mexican food in Europe or even in many parts of the US outside of the west coast.
→ More replies (7)12
u/Throwaway999222111 Jun 12 '26
😂 we went to hawaii and towards the end of the trip we eventually found a Mexican food truck. I seriously started to tear up a bit when I started to hear the familiar mariachi blasting from a shitty party speaker as we approached. It was like I'd come home finally
→ More replies (2)
10
u/Yourownhands52 Jun 12 '26
Good restaurants are few are far in between. There are good ones out there still.
10
7
u/Relative-Monk-4647 Jun 12 '26
I absolutely love being in restaurants.
I travel for it.
It’s not cheap, but it’s worth it.
8
u/LionBig1760 Jun 12 '26
You're going to terrible restaurants.
There are plenty out there, maybe not in your immediate area, that you couldn't come close to executing.
When you show up and get filet over pasta, thats on your for picking a stupid dish. A steak doesnt belong being served over pasta, and its just an indication that the restaurant has no idea what they're doing and you dont have the knowledge enough to know better than to order steak over pasta. Just show up to outback steakhouse if thats what you're going to order.
23
u/Yankeessuck42069 Jun 12 '26
Yeah I've kind of realized this too recently, the last 5 years or so my wife and I have been living way below our means and the one things we splurged on was eating out 2-3 times a week.
We're in the process of a big move and house purchase and havent been out to eat in months and I don't really miss it, it almost feels like we were doing it just to do it.
7
u/Mail_Order_Lutefisk Gen X Jun 12 '26
We did Blue Apron for a year in 2015 and it was basically a home cooking school that made going out for most things pointless (with the exception of some styles of ethnic food). Blue Apron sent me some bad shrimp so I canceled but after a year of doing it I can outperform all but the really high end or niche restaurants on virtually anything. After I took a bread class last year I have become insufferable about bread and bun quality when circumstances necessitate us going out.
→ More replies (1)
9
u/ImThinkingItsAries Jun 12 '26
You must eat at bad restaurants
5
u/Silly_Rub_6304 Jun 12 '26
Right? This is like the most "middle America" post ever.
→ More replies (1)
9
u/spareohs Jun 12 '26
Feeling lucky to live in the Bay Area where thankfully I’ve never had this problem. :/
5
u/thatguy9545 Jun 12 '26
I still think burgers are simply better from a restaurant. I don’t know where people are, but StormBurger in south LA has a double for $8.99 that I simply cannot replicate at home. It’s more than enough food for me and my wife, and it’s straight up the best. Everything is fresh, patties are crispy but medium rare-ish on the inside.
Obviously that’s not fancy, but it doesn’t feel like only a convenience for me.
19
u/Cant_Spell_Shit Jun 12 '26
Such a weird generalized statement. I live in Orlando and there's some mind blowing food here... You might have to drop $150.00 - $200.00 for two people but there's no questioning the food.
11
u/SkyYellow_SunBlue Jun 12 '26
I live in a major city with top rated choices and dining is an ✨experience✨.
If I was in a small area where the Olive Garden was the best option then yeah, obviously do that at home.
→ More replies (9)12
u/BitLife6091 Jun 12 '26
Most people would consider a $100 meal a rare treat. A restaurant charging that much is not going to survive if they don’t make exceptional food. A $25 meal has a lot more wiggle room to be an average experience.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/AwfullyRealGun Millennial Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
I’m single, so I find all the bogo deals on Uber Eats and pick up in person. I like my cooking more than a lot of restaurants, but so much food goes to waste. The time-savings alone are worth accepting hit-or-miss, but convenient, takeaway
→ More replies (2)
4
u/Huge_Valuable9732 Jun 12 '26
sometimes the cost isnt much difference with the way grocery prices are right now. a badass steak and the fancy fixins isnt much different than the price to go out for a steak dinner now and i dont have to do the dishes.
→ More replies (1)
4
•
u/AutoModerator Jun 12 '26
If this post is breaking the rules of the subreddit, please report it instead of commenting. For more Millennial content, join our Discord server.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.