QOTD - Eating Out - 11.17.15

[LeeAndra]

What's your favorite restaurant to eat at? Why do you love it so much? Is it a local mom & pop or a national chain? How often do you go out to eat... and how often do you go out to eat there?

[LeeAndra]

We don't eat out a whole lot, but when we do, we have to keep DH's gluten intolerance in mind and pick accordingly to give him the best chance of not being 'contaminated.' We've had the best luck with steakhouses, seafood, and Mexican so that's where we usually go.

My personal favorite restaurant is Red Robin, however, where DH has been contaminated before but likes it enough to take the risk.

[mariewilcox]

We very rarely eat out. I'm a whole food/plant based eater and I don't eat oils so that leaves very little to choose from. If it's a situation where I have to eat out I have the best luck at steak houses believe it or not because they always have a good baked potato and a salad I can order without the dressing or cheese/egg. Most of the chain restaurants have very little in the way of whole foods so we avoid those. More upscale privately owned places are much more accommodating to the way I eat and are happy to adapt something for me, but with the chain places most of their stuff is corporate and prepackaged/precooked so it can't be adapted.

[fifilur]

I love going out to eat tapas. It's my fav at the moment. When my son and I eat out it's usually thai food because he loves it so much.

[YepBrook]

As a family we usually eat dinner out at somewhere nice once a week, usually Saturday night. We love a local family-owned Thai place that has the best sushi. That's my absolute favorite. We also eat at a Mexican place in town, it's not a chain restaurant and it's always packed. They have the best freshly made salsa, steak fajitas and MARGARITAS. Mmmm.... They also make a mean chicken soup I often buy it for myself when I'm sick... loaded with yummy stuff like chicken, cilantro, onion, and avocado.

When we do eat chain restaurants (usually on the weekend for lunch one day or a weeknight when Ben has a swim meet really late) we do Chipotle, Panera Bread, and Jersey Mike's subs mostly. We do eat at Chick-Fil-A with friends every week before the kids go to Awana clubs but I can't tolerate their food anymore... I'm fairly certain it's the MSG in their chicken. I just get the grilled chicken wrap there because it doesn't have MSG. But it's not my favorite place to eat.

All in all, we eat out probably 4 meals a week. Probably too much, but we try to make healthy choices when we do.

[carrie1977]

MEXICAN!! My fave here is a place called Toledo's. They have 4 restaurants here locally. I could eat a basket of chips and salsa and be a happy camper. I do love their albondigas soup. It's the perfect Winter warm-me-up. I usually order their Chile Colorado burrito. It's my fave.

[KristinCB]

We pretty rarely eat out here. Small town with only a couple restaurants and they are just pizza places & chinese but the chinese food here makes me sick.

If we go into town we usually will grab a sandwich or a sub from subway.

If you know me on FB you'll know I have a bit of a love affair with chipotle. There are only two places you can get chipotle in Canada and neither of them are near me so I'm sure the fact that I can't have it makes me want it more LOL!

I really can't think of my favourite place to eat in terms of a restaurant. I sort of hate eating out, all the noise and the people and stuff.. I'd rather order food in

[lovely1m]

We eat out once or twice a week. I love ethnic places because they tend to be more vegetarian friendly. I have been obsessed with giant burritos lately, but they fill me up for the entire day.

[emmasmommy]

we rarely eat out. If we do it's usually IHOP or something breakfast-y

[Gemma]

We never eat out but my favourite Indian restaurant does takeaway so we usually order once a week and collect it then eat it at home

When I was pregnant with my 3 boys I ate out a few times and because I had crazy sickness I had to run to the toilet to be sick each time, it's put me off for life lol, I'd rather just eat in the safety of my house!

[Saar]

I love Mexican food, but my favorite restaurant is Vapiano's. They serve THE BEST Italian food.

[janedee]

We usually eat out once a week and mostly at different ethnic restaurants, Thai, Indian and Vietnamese. We do have a favorite localItalian restaurant called La Cucina that we go to three or four times a year.

[JennNtheBoys]

Originally Posted by KristinCB

We pretty rarely eat out here. Small town with only a couple restaurants and they are just pizza places & chinese but the chinese food here makes me sick.

If we go into town we usually will grab a sandwich or a sub from subway.

If you know me on FB you'll know I have a bit of a love affair with chipotle. There are only two places you can get chipotle in Canada and neither of them are near me so I'm sure the fact that I can't have it makes me want it more LOL!

I really can't think of my favourite place to eat in terms of a restaurant. I sort of hate eating out, all the noise and the people and stuff.. I'd rather order food in

^^^^ this is me^^^^. Well, besides the subway thing..... I've boycotted that place, i've seen some nasty things happen behind the counter

[Kjersti]

My girls are always begging me to take them to In and Out Burger - especially when they have lots of homework!! It's their favorite....and I just can't say no!!

[Dalis]

Here is two breakfast places, one is called Buttermilk and the other is called Ari's. They are both delicious!

[Tracyfish]

We eat out entirely too much. Usually Friday pm, lunch and dinner on Saturday and again on Sunday unless we do a cookout with friends.

Our fav sit-down restaurant is Chili's and fast food is Zaxby's. But honestly there's not many places we don't like...hence the reason we're all too fluffy.

[Tronesia]

There are 3 local, family owned Taqueiras here that are my favorite. Mexican food has always been a favorite of mine. I miss this place called Habaneros we used to frequent when we were in Alabama. There is one here but it is not the same at all.

Honestly, I don't enjoy eating out since moving here; there are not many choices and most of the places are not that great. The best luck we have is one of the Mexican places, Five Guys, Chic-Fil-A or Texas Roadhouse, every now and then.

[JenM]

We eat out way too much!! I've eaten out twice just today!! My favorite restaurants are both local joints. Harmon's BBQ and Garcia's Mexican!

[catgoddess]

We don't eat out a lot, but we like Five Guys for burgers and we like Shula's or Flemings for steaks. If we're just going casual and want decent food and good drinks, we go to Cheddar's.

[Sherri Tierney]

I like to eat out because I hate to cook and clean up after it so eating out solves that problem. However, I really don't have a favorite. My husband prefers to find these little hole-in-the-wall diners that only the locals of an area know about. I'm fine with going to a chain restaurant. I eat out of necessity. He eats for pleasure - considering this you would think he'd be the one dealing with a weight issue, not me! Anyway, the last place we went was a little diner in a college town close by. Rinky dinky place where there was barely a place for anyone to sit. There were like 3 tables and about 10 stools at the bar. The food was good, but the walls were covered with memorabilia that was covered in a layer of dust. *sigh* This seems to be the kind of place my husband likes the best. Maybe it reminds him of home? LOL

[SeattleSheri]

Originally Posted by YepBrook

As a family we usually eat dinner out at somewhere nice once a week, usually Saturday night. We love a local family-owned Thai place that has the best sushi. That's my absolute favorite.

I have never heard of a Thai place serving sushi!

We eat out a lot [blush]. I basically eat lunch out almost every day and as a family we eat out at least once a week, many times more. It's just hard with two working parents and all of the kids' activities to fit cooking and meal planning in. Plus, sometimes it's cheaper ($12) to pick up a couple pizzas than to make something.

[Lyd]

How much we eat out mostly depends on what we have going on during the week. Hubby probably eats out for lunch once or twice most weeks, and I go to lunch with friends once or twice a month. We probably take the kids out once a month or so.

I don't really have a favorite place--I love everything. Hubby and I recently tried a new sushi place nearby and that was really good. I do love places that serve breakfast all day long. There are a few local restaurants (Granny's and Sill's) that have that hometown feel and super yummy scones.

Hubby and I really love Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It's a bit pricey so we only go about once a year for a special treat.

[britaneejean]

I'm HORRIBLE about eating out, especially when pregnant. If I cook/prep food for too long, the smell or thought of eating it makes me sick so fast food helps, though it's not healthy.

My fave type of food is Mexican and I think Utah has it's own type. My fave place for it is Cafe Rio and this hole in the wall place about 45 minutes away, La Casita. We don't go there weekly but if we're eating out, it's from just down the street...Kneaders, Wendy's, McDonald's, or Chick-fil-a. Again, not healthy. Oh, we also have a local pizza place that's the best, Tenney's Pizza. So, so, so good! They do $5 pizza too

[nietis]

We eat out once or twice a week. Simply because, hubby is always at work and I am at home. So, I usually cook food just for me and my boy. There are times I do cook for the whole family, when hubby is definite to be home for it.
I love food... Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese and some American, too. So, I can't really say which specific one we do go often. But, here, there's one chain Italian pizzeria that I always love, Pizza Express. It's the same one that they have in the UK.

[littlekiwi]

I love Subway so thats my go to when I'm out. I hardly eat at fine dining places so I'm super excited to be going for dinner with my classmates tomorrow night.

Sent from my SM-G318H using Tapatalk

[clearskies]

Our favorite restaurants are usually local breweries. We have one about 5 minutes away from our house that makes a killer Thai chicken pizza. Chain wise my kiddos love Red Robin (and I like that the big one can get extra food if he's still hungry) and MOD Pizza. I do way to much fast food (especially at lunch), but my oldest is super picky about it, so I try and go when he's at school.

[Scrapbookity]

Originally Posted by YepBrook

As a family we usually eat dinner out at somewhere nice once a week, usually Saturday night. We love a local family-owned Thai place that has the best sushi. That's my absolute favorite. We also eat at a Mexican place in town, it's not a chain restaurant and it's always packed. They have the best freshly made salsa, steak fajitas and MARGARITAS. Mmmm.... They also make a mean chicken soup I often buy it for myself when I'm sick... loaded with yummy stuff like chicken, cilantro, onion, and avocado.

When we do eat chain restaurants (usually on the weekend for lunch one day or a weeknight when Ben has a swim meet really late) we do Chipotle, Panera Bread, and Jersey Mike's subs mostly. We do eat at Chick-Fil-A with friends every week before the kids go to Awana clubs but I can't tolerate their food anymore... I'm fairly certain it's the MSG in their chicken. I just get the grilled chicken wrap there because it doesn't have MSG. But it's not my favorite place to eat.

All in all, we eat out probably 4 meals a week. Probably too much, but we try to make healthy choices when we do.

We don't eat out much because my daughter has some food intolerances. MSG is one of them and it's not always easy to see as an ingredient. It's interesting that you mention Chick-Fil-A because I have not been able to find out if it's safe for Emma or not.

About 2 years ago I called the restaurant before a fundraiser our school was having there just to find out what items on the menu might be safe so I wouldn't hold up the line when we got there. They said to call the home office. The home office said to check the website. No ingredient list and MSG wasn't one of the allergies listed. I called back and they said to call the local restaurant. I added it to our "don't bother going there" list.

When we do eat out, maybe once a month, it's usually dictated by where our daughter can eat safely. As far as chains go, Chipotle, Red Robin, Olive Garden, & the Cameron Mitchell restaurants don't use MSG in anything so they are usually our top picks. Subway can tell us immediately what's safe so we go there sometimes too. And always Donato's Pizza. Their founder has the same problem as our daughter so she can eat anything including all of the meat! They even have Marzetti's make ranch dressing with no MSG for them. No, they don't sell it to the public, but they told me to always ask for extra to stock up!

[annet83]

I don't eat out very often, but we do visit the Hard Rock Café in every city we go to on holiday. And in London we always go to Jamie's Italian, I heard they've opened one in the Netherlands as well so we're gonna check that out sometime.

[YepBrook]

Originally Posted by SeattleSheri

I have never heard of a Thai place serving sushi!

We eat out a lot [blush]. I basically eat lunch out almost every day and as a family we eat out at least once a week, many times more. It's just hard with two working parents and all of the kids' activities to fit cooking and meal planning in. Plus, sometimes it's cheaper ($12) to pick up a couple pizzas than to make something.

Interesting that you say that! A lot of places around the Palm Beach area are 'asian bistros' and they do a mix of thai, chinese and japanese. I think the demand for sushi is so high in this area that all asian restaurants offer it now (with the exception of the quick-stop chinese delivery places). Some people do sushi very well and some really do not!

[YepBrook]

Gosh you guys, I am starving now!!! LUNCH TIME.

[anelia]

Originally Posted by Saar

.... my favorite restaurant is Vapiano's. They serve THE BEST Italian food.

I love Vapiano's - we don't have it here in my country but I've tried them abroad and the food is reaaaally good!

As to me - I don't like Mexican or Thai. Chinese is like fast food to me.
There's a local restaurant that make the best sushi ever and I enjoy it.
I like Italian cuisine a lot! All things pizza, pasta and lasagna
There's a local gourmet-like restaurant that makes some some awesome dishes like those you see in the MasterChef reality. I like eating there from time to time (when the budget allows it, of course).

[kelley]

We eat out rarely at an actual restaurant, and then usually it is just hubby and I for a date night because it is so expensive for all 7 of us. Our favorite is Cancun - an authentic Mexican restaurant. It is a local place with a couple of locations. Actually last week we went out on our first date in months, and we decided to try another Mexican restaurant in town. It turned out far inferior to Cancun, so I'm sure we won't be going back (it was still okay, but we have high standards for Mexican food LOL)

[cherrygutz]

We don't always dine out but when we do, we make sure that a restaurant has a variety of pork, chicken, beef and/or veggies since I have seefood allergies. We have a couple of local diners that we love to go to when I don't or can't cook. But if we really want something, say Mexican or Thai, then we have to travel real far.

[rach3975]

Dinner on Saturday is almost always restaurant food. Sometimes we all go out, and sometimes we bring in something early for the kids and then DH and I order our own dinner later. Some weeks we also eat out for lunch once during the weekend--it depends on whether our weekend plans keep us out and how much we've spent so far that week.

As a family, our favorite restaurants are Chipotle, a local Italian restaurant, and a local Chinese take out place. One of my favorites is a small chain (less than 10 locations) that serves Indian,Chinese, and Thai food. You can choose the protein you want them to use in any of their dishes, and the options include paneer and tofu. As a vegetarian, I don't have too many options at most restaurants. There, I have so many that it's hard to choose! Plus I love some of the Chinese and Thai dishes made with the Indian cheese, and that's not something I can find anyplace else.

[Julie Billingsley]

We eat out 3-4 times a month. Tonight we went out and had Olive Garden (not my fave). We like a lot of restaurants and there are many choices in our area, so we don't get bored.

[SeattleSheri]

Originally Posted by YepBrook

Interesting that you say that! A lot of places around the Palm Beach area are 'asian bistros' and they do a mix of thai, chinese and japanese. I think the demand for sushi is so high in this area that all asian restaurants offer it now (with the exception of the quick-stop chinese delivery places). Some people do sushi very well and some really do not!

That's exactly how I pictured it. We have some "asian fusion" places in our area that serve both Korean and Japanese food [bibimbap and sushi] or Chinese and Japanese. We even have a food truck that mixes Korean and "Mexican", which is basically Korean food wrapped in a tortilla, lol.

[Saar]

Originally Posted by anelia

I love Vapiano's - we don't have it here in my country but I've tried them abroad and the food is reaaaally good!

The food is really good, isn't it?
We used to have one in Antwerp, but it isn't there any more. So no more Vapiano's in Belgium either.
Luckily, we live near the border with the Netherlands and there's one about 45 min. from where I live.

[MamaBee]

we eat out way, way too much!

My go to is mexican and we always go to a local place... we went so much when I was preggo with J that they knew us by name! haha Hubby's choice is always Buffalo Wild Wings and kiddo wants McD's... but we eat all over the place, depending on how much time we have or what a craving is...