We have great restaurants nearby and eat out often. Sunday brunch we can usually be found at a dim sum place. Greek, French, Italian, are on heavy rotation, so are a few places that are not tied to one region. I have a love-hate relationship with cooking. I love making special fun things, but am not as keen on cooking for two on a daily basis. With most kiddos off at school, my husband and I have reverted to our pre children ways, eating out mostly, fun cooking projects on the weekend or for holidays.

I have slipped and used the word "oriental" in regards to people, which my daughter immediately corrects, while rolling her eyes. lol.

I eat out a lot. Mainly because I don't like to waste food and cooking meals means a lot of leftovers and eating the same thing over and over. I want to start one of those meal plans again, like Hello Fresh, for something different.

My favorite type of food eaten out is sushi.

We eat dinner out at least once a week. Might get takeout Thai or Chinese a couple times a month. I love Italian food and sea food. Fortunately this area of New England has a plethora of both.

Wow! We eat out a couple of times a year. A birthday, or our anniversary. Always at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Hubby might pick up a pizza, or I might pick up gyros or sub sandwiches, on the way home. Maybe once or twice a year.

Dinner out once a week. After living in a tourist area, we long ago gave up on ever going out on the weekends, except maybe Sunday. Too crowded with tourists. So for 35 years, we go out on Tuesdays. We're doing the same here in our new home. Half the time, it's to a friendly local bar and grill, and half to an assortment of mostly BYOB places. Once a month we go to a higher end, usually Italian because that seems to be the most common here, with friends and have a wine-tasting dinner, each bringing something different.

We have lunch out maybe twice a week, at a greater variety of places, and try new restaurants for lunches. Once a week, we get sandwiches and bring them home.

Since I'm not willing to drive far most of the time and avoid the traffic of the city, the Asian and Mexican places are only so-so, compared to California. Adequate, tho not special.

Maybe every two weeks we order pizza or Chinese delivered.

We have lots of great Asian restaurants in my area, plus a myriad of wonderful seafood places, too. And since we're kind of a "granola" community, many vegetarian and vegan restaurants. If I could choose any type of restaurant around here it would be a farm to table type - most usually have wonderful seafood selections. I like lots of fresh veggies and salads that are different with unusual combos or ingredients.

It's good to expand and learn about things like "Oriental" falling out of favor. I don't think Asian people named their ethnicity "Oriental" but the Imperialists and Colonialists likely did, one of the reasons it's considered offensive now. Asian refers to a geographical area. You won't see Oriental on a map, although older texts refer to the Orient. Here we would call most SE Asian restaurants "Asian" (Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and Cambodian mostly), Chinese would be Chinese, Indian would be referred to as Indian, same with Pakistani. Most restaurants with a cuisine originated in an African country would be referred to by that country, like Ethiopian or Morrocan, not simply African.

If there are no other Asian restaurants in an area except Chinese, why wouldn't it just be referred to as Chinese? Why would saying Oriental (or Asian) even be necessary?

During the work week I go out to lunch pretty much each day, usually to a deli, or a diner or a pizza by the slice place, but also the Thai place, or the Mexican place, or one of a number of dumpling shops, or a middle eastern place.

For dinner time we've been going out more frequently over the past several months, but "more frequently" is still about only once every two weeks. Mostly it is because I don't like paying what the restaurants want to charge when I could easily do better for a bare fraction of the price.

For instance Saturday we were out of town at a horse show, and went to a seafood place names Pirate's Cove. The cod and shrimp dish I ordered was fairly bland the shrimp was slightly overcooked and they served it atop steamed potato wedges and corn. And for that I think they charged $26.

By comparison I bought 1.25 lb of monkfish fillets for $11, one leek for $3, and a bottle of white wine for $13 and made monkfish medallions poached with wine, butter and leeks, with a side of Israeli couscous with mushrooms and a romaine salad. The monkfish was quite a bit better than cod and shrimp from the restaurant, and it served three people for about the same price that they charged.

The only time I've ever noted the use of the word "oriental" was when referring to rugs, furniture, style, etc., not food or restaurants. But I also never realized that the word was offensive to anyone. Good grief. No wonder the whole of mankind sticks it's face into a device all day and doesn't talk to anyone for fear of offending someone.

But once you know a term is offensive, it's pretty easy to stop using it.

We don't eat out very often for dinner because there is only one decent place within 10 minutes of home to dine. Anything else requires a 30+ minute drive. I'll occasionally bring home take out and then it is usually BBQ, Popeye's Chicken or Papa Murphy's take and bake pizza,

A group of co-workers go out for lunch every Friday and it could be just about anything. When it is my turn to choose I usually pick a Cajun restaurant that is popular in KC where I usually order a cup of gumbo and either Chicken a la Mer or a Mudbug Po' Boy .

I only eat out several times a month, not much in the way of restaurants in the country and nothing compared to the fresh-off-the-water seafood I was accustomed to in the deep south. I find eating out to be fattening while I do 6-8 hours of moderate-high intensity workouts weekly. Plus I put at least 50% of the meal in a take home container or split a meal so I don't finish the ridiculously large restaurant portions at one sitting.

So to those that eat out frequently, do you find that eating out affects your weight as I do and if so how do you counteract that problem?

No wonder the whole of mankind sticks it's face into a device all day and doesn't talk to anyone for fear of offending someone.

rita, that term was offensive long before smartphones and social media existed. I think the understanding of this may have begun with the publication of Edward Said's Orientalism, in 1978.

I don't eat out very often any more. I would rather eat my own cooking. If I eat out, I prefer Mexican food.

Aside from Said's issues around his ideas about colonialism, the word Oriental is meaningless with respect to people or cuisine. It simply means eastern. Eastern like Said's native Palestine, or maybe eastern like Istanbul, seat of the eastern Roman Empire, or perhaps eastern like India, or eastern like China. Oriental is the opposite of occidental; that's all.

Once upon a time education was not as universally available as it is now, and people could be more easily forgiven their parochialism. Refusing to learn about others is a way of saying they are not worth your time, less worthy of effort. I am pretty sure no one here feels that way.

"Refusing to learn about others is a way of saying they are not worth your time, less worthy of effort. I am pretty sure no one here feels that way."

I have no particular contributors in mind when I say this but I agree with the first sentence as much as I disagree with the second one. There's a fair bit of provincialism and "small town" thinking expressed in this forum pretty regularly.

I do agree with the rest of your comment, zalco dear.

Once or twice a week with family...home cooked Filipino food...

One of my favorite restaurants a few years ago was called Oriental Garden. I think a few years ago I might have been told by my daughter that that's not a term to use. Use Asians instead. So I do and only use it in describing rugs. I don't know why it's offensive, but I'll go with the flow. I Do love Asian food. We have so many choices around here I could eat at a different restaurant every night for a year.

Rarely eat out. Agree with marilyn_c, prefer my own cooking to that in most restaurants.

(Out of curiosity, I googled various cities all over the US and 'searched nearby' for 'oriental restaurant'. Big, small, north, south, east, west, every place I googled had at least one restaurant with the word 'oriental' in its name. The only exceptions were cities in sparsely populated areas you might have to drive 100 miles or so ... but they did show up on the first page of google suggestions. My point is that you might not notice these businesses, but they are there.)

Raye, that's a very good question. I think that people lose their ability to stick to dietary rules when they go out to eat. I have to be very careful about my diet due to inherited predispositions to high blood pressure, severe cholesterol issues, and other health problems. Weight watching is not the challenge for me and members of my family.

I have found it very easy to eat in (almost) any restaurant and stick to the criteria I have to follow. As far as avoiding those excess calories, even the most egregious of restaurants have low cal or low carb options. It's all about deciding ahead of time to make the right choices once you get inside the restaurant.

Some people can't exert their will power when they smell that food!

I think I may have not made myself clear. Where I live, PEOPLE are always referred to as Asian if from a country in Asia, with the exception of Indians. We have a large Indian population in this area (mainly at the medical school and the university) and they even have a huge annual festival downtown called India Day. But RESTAURANTS often offer food from multiple asian countries and often have the name "oriental" in them. In fact, the best one and considered by local Chinese the most authentic, is called "Oriental House". They even have a separate menu for "natives" or those who prefer a more authentic cuisine. Their food is wonderful!

I am 'eat to live', not the reverse. DH enjoys food, but would never be considered an adventurous eater. We've both dined very well on occasion, but are day-to-day close to the low end on the "Foodie" scale. I have always been a small and slow eater, still eating my salad and appetizer when everyone else is consulting the dessert menu -- waitperson hovering, wanting to turn the table. Most entrees are too enormous for me.

I can cook 'plain' without a lot of effort, and with better results than nearby restaurants, at less cost. We seldom eat 'out'. If one could 'order in' a delicious meal, we would occasionally do it, but neither of us wants the fried chicken, pizza, or other fast-food choices that are generally available for delivery -- in or out. (There is no *good* Chinese take-out within miles! Odd for an affluent town.)

It could also be that we are Old, Lazy, and Cheap. lol

I haven't eaten delivered food in over a decade.

We never order delivered food as we have so many restaurants within a five/ten-minute drive. Neither of us ever eat the whole meal because portions are way more than we usually eat. So they're boxed and eaten the next day. The delivery business is huge around here and is affecting the service of those who go for a sit-down dinner or meal.

Regarding the diet thing, I am eating primarily low carb and have not had any problem sticking to that with takeout. Sometimes a few adjustments need to be made (by me, not the restaurant) For example,if I stop for mexican I will get a taco salad and not eat the shell. Or the one I go to has a dish that is grilled chicken or steak,poblanos,onion,mushrooms and tomatoes with a little melted cheese. That's low carb. I just dont eat the tortillas that come on the side with it. Take the bun off the burger, pick the carby extras off the salad. There is always a way.

I am going out to eat on Saturday evening. Everyone's favorite pizza place. Have a great salad bar there. I like to eat at a lot of places, so I can not pick just one. Many are fast food places. Usually though my kids pick up food for me rather than me going out to eat. They will bring me a great meal from Sirloin Stockade or one from Logan's Steak House. I like Steak and Shake too and KFC. I have a long list. :)

Sue

We seldom eat out unless we are out of town or on vacation. When we do eat out locally, however, we often just go to some place that is close, such as our favorite Ethiopian restaurant, which is less than a mile away. Or we go to Little Osaka for Japanese food. Kevin goes out for lunch most days in Culver City where he works, but I prefer to cook at home. Nearby to us are good Lebanese, Turkish, Syrian, Thai, Jamaican, Greek, and California style restaurants. We have to go a bit further for Vietnamese and Korean food, but not all that far. There are some okay Indian restaurants, but Kevin goes to those frequently for lunch, and so we don't go there for dinner. Sometimes we just go to the beach for whatever.

Amylou - isn't it interesting the prior generations ate bread with almost every meal and never had weight issues through out their lives? I suspect that it's the replacement of Iodine with Bromine in wheat flour that has caused such a dramatic change.

While traveling recently, we ate at a Peruvian restaurant. Neither of us had eaten Peruvian food before but it was one of the best meals I'd ever had. Wondering if this was typical of Peruvian fare or whether this particular restaurant was exceptionally good.

Whatsay, A few Peruvian restaurants opened I was surprised that they offer sushi.

We tend to go to the same ol' restaurants when we go out. Hubby doesn't really enjoy eating out, but will do so for my sake. We generally eat Mexican, Chinese Thai, Mideastern, or Indian. He is Indian so has a hard time with what he considers bland food: American, Italian, French, etc. We occasionally eat these foods, but I know he does this for me.

Speaking of Indians, they do not consider themselves "Asians," just "Indians" or "East Indians," if necessary. After my dh told me this, I asked Indian friends as well and they agreed. Most people don't like their ethnicities (sp?) to be lumped in with others', with the possible exception of Americans. (And Canadians?)

My community is quite limited when it comes to dining choices; when we go out, it's more for the social aspect than for the food or ambience. We save our eating out for weekend trips/vacations when we are in placed that offer more options. Fortunately, we both enjoy cooking and can make food that is 10 times better than anything the local restaurants offer.

We like all types of food, but my favorite type is Mexican (I swear I could eat it every day and never tire of it), hubby loves breakfast foods and we both like Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Indian and Asian food. Good bbq and seafood is also another favorite and I certainly won't turn my nose up at a good burger and fries.

While on vacation this past summer, we had East African food from a food truck at a local fair and it was delicious. The food truck was based out of San Diego where the restaurant it is attached to is located. We'll be spending a couple of weeks in SD come January and plan to visit the restaurant while we are there. I'm hoping the restaurant meal will be every bit as good as what we received from the food truck.

"we both enjoy cooking and can make food that is 10 times better than anything the local restaurants offer"

With all due respect to your cooking, I'm going to guess that this is much more a reflection of the restaurant limitations of a small town than of your own cooking skills and experiences, no matter how exceptional. It's good you can enjoy and produce foods of a nature and quality not available in restaurants. For me, even for the things I can do myself, I often would much rather avoid the work and do it the easy way, in a restaurant (where it's usually better anyway).

No, it's actually not due to the restaurant limitations; it's because we enjoy preparing food. You have no idea just how much my husband and I enjoy preparing and eating the results of our efforts and I don't know what makes you think that you are qualified to tell other people that you know better than they do what they like, don't like and what their preferences are. Just because you feel a certain way about things doesn't mean that everyone else does.

For us, cooking is a much enjoyed hobby/pastime and you'd realize that if you paid attention to some of the food threads I've posted in the past.

Do any of you dine at a restaurant for Thanksgiving, Easter or Christmas dinners or any other special day celebrated by your culture? After my Grandparents passed away 10 of us had Christmas dinner at the Holiday Inn and it wasn't enjoyable. I guess I missed the coziness and the tradition of sitting down at the table at my Grandparents, pulling crackers and wearing our silly paper hats. After my Mom passed away I was invited by friends for holiday dinners, andI then started having Holiday dinners for some family and friends and it was enjoyable, but my sisters have passed away and other family members have moved. We almost went to the Casino buffet for Thanksgiving dinner 2 weeks ago and for 3 of us it would have cost over $90 and the food is tepid at best. I am not a fan of buffet food. I cooked a big Thanksgiving turkey dinner and before I finished my meal the other 2 were in the living room watching tv. I either have to invite more people for dinner or give up the ghost of holidays past and go and eat out and let others do the cooking. Prime rib or good steak dinner at a steakhouse is starting to sound good to me for Christmas dinner this year. If eating out where would you choose to go?

Sorry dawn, I'm not sure how to understand your comments. First you said:

"My community is quite limited when it comes to dining choices".

But after my comment, you said

"it's actually not due to the restaurant limitations"

I presumed nothing, my words were based on what you said the first time.

cherryfizz, if a Holiday Inn or a casino buffet are the best choices available or your budget limits your choices, you'd probably do better doing something at home. Even if very basic.

$90 for 3 sounds pretty reasonable but I guess that varies from place to place.

cherry, I'll be eating at the casino in November. :)

I don't find it tepid because I order my dishes at the grills instead of the buffet. Since there will be about 24 of us, it's the simple way to enjoy each other's companionship without the burden of prep and clean up.

We'll be there tomorrow night to participate in the Spirits of Windsor Tour.

Spirits

We'll be back on November 2nd for the Rum Runners Tour.

On eating out on holidays I've found the few open restaurants add additional tables and lower their service standards. I've had much better luck going out the evening before and ordering extra dishes that I know will reheat well for the next day.

Great idea to avoid the "day of" for a restaurant The food choices don't matter, it's the celebration and connecting with others that make it an occasion.

Elmer, the Holiday Inn wouldn't have been my choice and it has long since burned down. There are much better places to dine. I don't think the $90 was too bad but my cousin who moved in with me has dietary restrictions for foods that cause her to have migraines and she would have limited herself to the salad bar and desserts.

Michael, enjoy your outing! We tried to get tickets for Sprits but the event sold out fast. Maybe I should give the Casino another shot. It has been a few years since I ate there and I think I wouldn't mind trying Nero's.

whatsayou not surprising that a Peruvian restaurant would have sushi as Peru has the second largest Japanese population outside of the larger Peru. They even had a President Alberto Fujimori from 1990 to 2000.

A friend of mine had an interesting comment several years ago. He said that in his area especially at Christmas he could always find a Chinese restaurant open for meals. Although last year the ones closest to me were closed and it may be a regional thing.

On the east coast it's a Jewish tradition to go out for Chinese food at Christmas.

Rob, this may be a little morbid, but when someone's in the hospital and I'm going to visit, I try to make it a time when we can try the cafeteria. Our local hospital has the best onion rings, LOL. They also have a really good coffee cart in their lobby.

We go out for Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are usually a few relatively decent restaurants that serve dinner on both of those days.

Cherryfizz, I agree it's hard when families are gone on the holidays. I have many happy memories of family holidays in years' past - but all of those family members are now deceased. We don't really have any family to celebrate holidays with anymore. So we first tried eating at home by ourselves (it's just my spouse and me) - but for us, it felt even more sad to be home alone than surrounded by other people.

So now we go out and eat a nice meal somewhere. It's usually a somewhat overpriced meal because most places charge a premium for meals on those 2 holidays....but we pick places that have good food anyway.

Holidays can be hard. There is no right or wrong answer. For us, we're better off going out than sitting home with just the 2 of us.

I posted about the grocery budget...and part of that is to try not to eat out too often. We eat out on average once a week. We generally do locally owned restaurants and not chains. Close by are two very good restaurants....and that is pretty lucky, we live on farmland outside of a tiny town. If we travel to the next decent sized town there are a lot of options both local and chain. We have multiple larger cities in an hour to hour and a half with great choices.

We are trying to do the local places a couple times a month and a more upscale place once a month...so not saving money but instead doing the upscale a little more often by giving up the "average" as often...and by average i don't mean not high quality.

We only eat out if we're working and I didn't pack lunch. :0) Taco Bell is the norm. Wendy's, Burger King. I prefer to grill salmon and make a small salad, sort of meal. Staying home is a TREAT! We occasionally meet friends at a restaurant, but prefer to have them over.

I got to have the hospital's teriyaki chicken today, and it didn't disappoint :)

ETA: always, I didn't find your comment morbid. Regular people have to eat at the cafeteria too. I'll tell you what to get when you come here? The cobbler. It's awesome!

This is an interesting conversation, isn't it?

Many restaurants can accommodate a special request as a non menu option. I can rarely eat a whole entree and a good restaurant is usually happy to offer a smaller version. If a restaurant has a big entree sized salad with shrimp or salmon, ask for a side salad version.

We've often eaten at a Chinese restaurant at Xmas, and it can be great fun. One of them puts on a really great and special buffet with piles of good shrimp and crab as well as their usual items. The

We usually have T'day here, whether joined by friends and neighbors or by ourselves. We both enjoy cooking for two or many. My husband often says, " What would you like me to make you for supper, sweetie?" Don't you love it?