Food For Thought

Beautiful People – Chris Brown  (<< this has been in my head all week.  I know Chris Brown is a skeez, but I enjoy his music)

Since we’re in college I know it’s unrealistic to have a home cooked dinner every night – with classes, work, studying, rehearsals, social time, etc. – so let’s talk going out to eat.
BARS:
Obviously, when you go to a bar, if you get there early enough you can get some food.  Most bars offer some sort of special that generally changes every day. These are the meals to plan ahead for; for instance, if you want a bacon cheeseburger, and you know that on Wednesday your favorite bar has it on special for $5 with fries, then obviously you go then instead of going any other day and spending $8.99 for the same meal.  This isn’t rocket science.
FAST FOOD:
I shouldn’t even be giving this a section because fast food, while occasionally delicious, is terrible to be eating regularly – still there are things that need to be said.  Dollar menus are where to order from.  Generally they have very close, if not the same food as the full menu, just sold a la carte.  Honestly, most fast food places make a “variety” of food, but I find it all tastes the same. 

“QUICK” FOOD:
By “quick” food, I mean places where the food is a little higher quality than McDonald’s or Wendy’s, but not as high class as Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants; somewhere like Noodles & Co. or Chipotle.  If they offer different sizes, try to go for the smaller portions.  Not only will they be cheaper, but they won’t overfill you.  Portion sizes in American food chains have gotten to be monstrous, some even topping 2000 calories for a meal; for most people, that’s more calories than they should be eating in an entire day.  Also, try to get veggies incorporated when possible.  Living completely on meat and starches isn’t healthy for your digestion no matter how delicious they are.
SIT DOWN RESTAURANTS:
Say if you and a bunch of friend want to go somewhere a little fancier (maybe somewhere with tablecloths??)  - look for places that offer group meals, or family style entrees. If you can order one less entrée than people in your party, you can all save a little bit of money, and try multiple dishes instead of just one.  We’ve all had that moment when we go out with some friends, everyone orders something different, and you want to try what your friends have.  Obviously, you can’t just fork yourself some of their meal; you’ll get stabbed by them.  Getting a family style dinner ensures that everyone will get to try everything, and there won’t be (as much) drama over who had what.  Here’s an example, my friends and I just went to Chicago’s Greektown. We got a family style dinner that included three appetizers, a salad, four entrees, and three desserts.  Individually, that would have cost us over $30 a person, plus tax and tip.  With this deal, we all spent $22 plus tax and tip.  Saving that $8 I know doesn’t seem like much, but if you keep at it when you go out, it adds up to a significant savings.
TIPS:
-        Be sure to check the restaurant’s website (if they don’t have one, I’m surprised they’re still doing business) to look at the menu.  Sometimes they even have recommendations on there as to what to order if you’re unsure.

-        Occasionally restaurants offer coupons and deals on their websites.  Check for these, some even have half off deals on your whole order.

-        Always try and do pick up if it’s a viable option.  Obviously, if the place is far and you don’t have any mode of transportation delivery is your best bet, but shaving off that $1-4 delivery charge adds up to a decent amount of savings in the long run.

There are clearly many more things to be said about going out and spending smartly, but hopefully this little start can keep you in the black.