The Last Article You’ll Need on How Eating Out Isn’t Worth It
By: Will Zolpe
Tags: Reflections, Adulting, Life Lessons, Health, Food

Whether you are concerned with your health, your money, your time, or all of the above, eating out is simply not worth it.

I am personally concerned with all three for myself and that is why I’ve made this decision. Obviously, this doesn’t mean I’ll never eat outside of my house again, but I am taking a strong stance against it.

I think what pushed me over the edge was seeing how the last town I lived in and the current one I’m now in are getting “gentrified” and restaurants are popping up like it’s a game of whack-a-mole.

Every time my girlfriend and I pass one of these new places while we’re driving, we look at each other and either verbally or telepathically say,

“That place will be packed in less than a week.”

Sure enough, we nailed it. The parking lots are full. They’re always very hip-looking places that scream high prices.

Now, why do I care, you might be wondering. Am I just being too cynical?

I don’t think so and here’s why: I think people put way too much trust into restaurants and they walk away not realizing they’ve been completely taken advantage of.

People love going out to eat because it’s an event, it’s social, it’s something to do.

Meanwhile, they seem blissfully unaware that they’re being fed food that is too low in quality, being robbed of their money, and spending an enormous amount of time where they have no control over the situation.

Much of my annoyance comes from the last couple months in the house my girlfriend and I just bought.

We ordered new appliances, received them, but couldn’t find anyone to help us install them for two months. It was a complicated job to run a gas hookup to the kitchen for the stove and install a dishwasher in a space that was too small.

Bottom line, we had to wait on help for a while being that many people were not willing to do this job in the current health crisis.

This meant most of our dinners were eaten out. Let’s just say I’m glad that’s over.

After sacrificing on health and diet, saving money, and the nightly time investment, I’m thrilled to be cooking all of my family’s dinners each night.

Let’s get into each individual reason why I got to this point:

Eating Out is Too Expensive

Surely, you’re already aware of this. You’d think everyone would be. But every single day of the week, restaurants are absolutely flooded with orders.

As a DoorDash driver, I can tell you there is not a night in the week that Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru line is not backed out into the street. The only exception is Sunday, because they are closed.

Most people don’t seem to realize or care how irrationally expensive it is to eat out versus cooking for yourself.

The last night before our appliances got hooked up, my family and I ordered from one of our favorite local restaurants.

I was ordering on the phone, getting myself a grass-fed burger with fries. I asked for the burger to be on a gluten-free bun, not thinking much of it, only to find that my meal would end up costing me $18.

A burger and fries in Wisconsin for $18. Come on.

The gluten-free bun cost me an additional $3. It was ignorant of me to not put together in my head how obnoxious these prices were beforehand and not be more calculated about it, but this was absurd.

For a meal that didn’t even fill me up, I was disappointed to say the least.

My favorite restaurant, one that I can rely on for high-quality ingredients, has since been pushed down in the pecking order.

Minimal Control Over Ingredients

I just mentioned my latest scenario of being specific about what ingredients I prefer to eat. This is a unique case though because that restaurant caters to unique diets and preferences. This is not the case for most places you’ll go.

Most of the time, you are going to be eating factory-farmed meat, food that was cooked in a very low quality oil (usually canola oil), and be generally unaware of all the ingredients that went into your food.

If I sound like I’m high maintenance, good. Someone has to show you there’s a better way.

Most of my mentors are people I used to think were utterly ridiculous. Now, I look at them with respect as I understand the decisions they make for themselves.

If you’re a person that really wants to be healthy, knowing the ingredients you eat is mandatory. While eating out, you’ll almost never be fully aware of how much wheat, soy, sugar, or rancid oils you’re consuming because there’s so little emphasis on understanding these topics.

Someone has to demand better. I will be one of them, will you?

You’re More Prone to Overeating/Eating Crappy Food

With all that being said, it can be hard to resist much of a restaurant’s food when you’re sitting in their ecosystem. You’ve committed to sitting down in their house for a chunk of time, holding a menu full of food, while seeing and smelling everyone else’s tasty food.

On top of that, your girlfriend doesn’t eat the same way as you so she has all kinds of breaded chicken, sweet pastries, and God only knows what else in front of her. How dare she. I’m not mad about that at all though.

Point being, if you’re the only one who cares to eat a certain way, you’re going to be putting up with a lot of peer pressure and using a lot of will power to resist.

One way I combat this ongoing battle is to set strict rules over what will and will not be eaten before you enter the establishment.

For example, I try not to eat wheat (gluten-free). So before I walk into places, my rule is that I will under no circumstances eat something with wheat in it. This makes it easier on my decision-making and guilt complexes.

As a bonus, it usually helps me avoid other bad ingredients like sugar.

The main point though is that when you’re in a restaurant, it’s even easier to agree to eat more and eat worse.

This is because there’s almost no extra work for you to do; you simply have to order and pay. Naturally, everyone encourages you to do so too, from the waiters to your peers.

Not to mention that the restaurant’s job is to make your meal enjoyable and memorable; it has to taste good. If the food wasn’t a party in your mouth, the restaurant failed their most important test. Hence, it usually tastes pretty damn good and you want to keep having more.

I emphasize this point because that means they will do what they have to in order to make it taste great. This might mean using more ingredients, adding artificial flavors, and the like.

It would be naive to just assume the restaurant staff has your best health in mind. That job is for you to figure out.

Even having my rules, I still fall prey to this often.

The biggest takeaway here is acknowledging that you’re always going to be faced with this when you eat out.

Eating at home, however, I find it easier to eat a reasonable amount of food for dinner and not go overboard. Also, I get to pick the ingredients that go into my food, so I don’t have much to worry about under my roof.

Time Investment

One of the major parts of eating out that I don’t hear many people discuss is the often major time investment you’re putting into what is simply for the purpose of eating a meal.

Now I don’t want to be a complete stickler here.

If you are going out to enjoy some time with friends or take a girl on a nice date, I can totally understand that.

What I’m talking about is the more common, “What’re we doing for dinner?” type of nights. The ones where it’s not going to be spectacular, you’re just trying to tide yourself over.

In my opinion, this is something to consider no matter where you are going.

Drive-thrus are notoriously slow and congested.

Sit-down restaurants usually make it difficult to flag down a waiter to put in your order at the beginning and to get the check at the end.

At all places, you never know how long the food will take to be made or if it will be done correctly the first time.

From fast food to the nicest sit-down you’ve been to, it’s a toss up for how long it could take.

Sometimes, it gets even worse: the food finally comes out and it’s not at all what you asked for. You’re really putting yourself at the mercy of the establishment.

I’ve come to realize I’d much rather be in control of this whole situation which is why I opt to cook at home now for the most part.

General Frustration

Deciding what and where to eat is usually the first point of friction for a family dinner. We’ve all been there and it’s totally natural.

Driving and parking is the next thing to wear on you.

Ordering and waiting is what usually breeds a little more impatience in everyone.

The lack of control over the whole situation is what brings out the hanger (hungry-anger, not the clothing hanger).