Dining out is a popular get-together option. You can be with friends, family or co-workers, enjoy some food made by professional chefs and taste some special drinks you can’t always have at home.

We are living in the age of what CBC calls The Food Revolution. Our obsession with food has hit a new high. We’re enamoured with it at every level – from production, appearance and size to how it gets to our supermarket and more.

We are also living through a difficult economic time which makes our food desires harder to attain. Many people you ask will tell you that they think restaurants are overcharging for their meals and that they feel ripped off.

With this as the general public’s view, this writer decided to see if this was mere speculation or fact. How much more does it cost to eat a meal at a restaurant than to make it at home yourself?

I looked specifically at one restaurant and one supermarket. Kelsey’s was chosen because they are the most generous in giving their menu prices over the phone and Safeway was chosen because their flyers are everywhere!

There are a few popular feature meals at Kelsey’s. I chose one, the 11 oz. Triple-A New York striploin steak with a side of Yukon gold mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables for $20.99.

Add the chef’s salad or soup for $4.47 and a soft drink for $2.79 and the meal comes to $28.25 total.

 

“ Our obsession with food has hit a new high.

No Yukon gold potatoes were found at Safeway, just red potatoes which come in the bags for $0.99/pound. The AAA steaks (New York style) are $7.99/pound. Ingredients for a chef’s salad or soup come to around $8 or more (tax included).

So if you bought a five-pound bag of potatoes and two-pounds of steak, plus the salad or soup ingredients and a bottle of pop, the bill would come to $34.50 – $6 more than purchasing it at Kelsey’s.

That said, you would have leftover ingredients to use for a future meal.

Some other meals this writer compared restaurant prices against grocery ingredient prices were chicken linguine, grilled salmon, chicken and ribs. The difference remained at roughly $6 no matter what the meal. If you purchase a meal at a restaurant or at the supermarket they will roughly be around the same price.

So it all depends on your preference: How much you want to spend and if you intend to have any leftovers that taste any good.

Some think dining out is a waste of money, but they’re wrong. Look at the ingredients in your meal next time – the herbs, veggies, meat and sauce. Could you actually duplicate that at home for a good price? Unless you’re also a certified chef, it’s not likely.

The Man isn’t always out to get you. So this week, treat yourself to a night out – it’ll be worth it.

Bon appétit!

Published in Volume 64, Number 4 of The Uniter (September 24, 2009)