I do not make pho (although I would like to), gyros, or poke bowls, but I do make the rest from scratch and like mine better than what I get elsewhere. Rotisserie chicken is especially bad at the store - way too salty. I especially like my falafel recipe.

I do buy sushi rice at the store, if they have it, but sometimes they are out, and then I make my own, which takes a bit of effort, but it turns out better.

I make tacos all the time at home and never buy them already made. I also have a very good recipe for pad thai.

I'll give them gyros, since I don't make those and do not intend to. I have never cooked lamb and do not especially like it.

Iv'e edited my post to say"In my case anyway, most likely better."

It takes a special cooker to make gyros, though some people have success imitating it in a meatloaf style preparation. Then the issue becomes how it handles on the flattop, though I'm thinking it (the meatloaf version) might benefit from a bare cast iron frying pan, rather than the usual way.

So re "cheaper", I'm guessing they mean for a single serving, or even as the main in dinner for four. If you're buying a little bag of masa just to make tortillas for your tacos, it could be a lot pricier than if you make tortillas regularly. If you're buying a can of refried beans, rather than a five pound (at least) bag of beans, and have packets of refritos in your freezer ready for taco night, out might be cheaper.

There is a need to compare like to like. Most people buy better quality, more expensive raw chickens than most of the cheap rotisserie chickens. At a store which makes their own from quality, local chickens, rotisserie cooked is about double raw. Figuring in the price of running the oven or spit-pit, seasonings and time (at worker wages not senior lawyer salary), they're probably even, or favoring home. Comparing par-cooked and frozen chix from China, or Costco's injected, factory grown chickens processed in a Nebraska factory and sold as a loss leader, to quality birds cooked nicely, let alone what you'd make at home, reveals marked differences in just what you're comparing, even though a whole chicken seems like the simplest item on the list.

For me, pho from the local place is definitely cheaper than homemade because I don't have many Asian ingredients. I'd have to make the broth first, and make vegan "fish sauce" to go in it--or buy fish-free pho broth. (There might be too little fish in the sauce in the broth to provoke a reaction, but why gamble?) Then buy and prep all the toppings, rather than use what's on hand. Whereas I have everything needed to make felafel and all the trimmings, including making the pita, on hand, so one would price it as amount used per serving, and not a whole eggplant (to be fried as puffs), canned garbonzo beans (just don't--works for hummus but not a good idea for felafel), etc.

Notice a third of the list is fish. If you're not able to use locally caught, very fresh fish (could be pricey, and you have to figure your time if you catch your own), you have to source quality frozen fish. This isn't tragic--all sushi game fish, like tuna, is flash frozen to kill the tapeworm eggs, but finding the same quality fish for home use could be an issue. Ditto for poke. Of all the things on the list, however, if you're open to using the local freshwater fish, any of us could probably make quality fish and chips for a competitive price,

I live where you can buy all these things made well, but even so, I agree with Sherry's point. I've had meh food at fine dining restaurants, as well as mom and pop joints, and points between. The better than diner level Salvadoran place has excellent pupusas (though I can make as good) but their meat isn't great. They have the best fried plantains, which I have only managed average on, but they puree the beans. Some may like "silky" but I want texture--but they're very well seasoned, though the cheese on top is rubbery and flavorless. Prices being what they are nowadays, I can make the dinner for less, by a long shot (notice the list in the OP is for a dish, rather than a meal). Out food isn't about the money. It's about money vs. time/inclination. If you cook, and have a well stocked kitchen, even the more complicated of the dishes listed should be makeable at a decent price.

Tacos seem out of place on the list, but I admit that I buy the tortillas from a place that makes them fresh all day long. The result is much less expensive made at home, and quite a bit better tasting than bought. While I buy rotisserie chicken, and use it for various purposes, it isn't among my favorite chicken cooking methods, so would cook my own another way. Fried chicken I could sort of agree with, except for the fact that Popeye's has become so expensive that the less expensive label really does not apply any longer. Sadly, we have resorted to just not eating fried chicken. Gyros, I buy the meat when it is available and assemble my own. Except if I am in certain areas of SD county, then I might buy some from Greek Chicken (formerly Greek Style Chicken, and even more formally Kentucky Style Chicken. Good gyros---not so great with company names.) I've played with the idea of making my own gyro meat, but the only places that I have found to sell ground lamb in my area are very pricy markets.

The rest of the list I don't tend to eat, in or out.

To me, the items better bought are generally the ones that I somehow cannot be bothered to master making them as good myself (chicken fried steak), or I just don't enjoy the process of making (French toast), or they are time intensive for items that are not that much better, or less expensive, than the bought versions (onion rings, the assembly task portion of ravioli, tortellini or potstickers).

There are really just three things on the list I make at home…tacos, gyros, rotisserie chicken and falafel. Tacos at home are always better, although I do like the street tacos from one place nearby. The gyros I make are far from traditional but still have the flavor using ground lamb and beef. There’s also a chicken version we like. DH will do rotisserie chicken on the grill spit, but I also buy them often (definitely cheaper). I‘ve made falafel but didn’t think the version I tried was very good.

Fried chicken is always takeout. I avoid frying it at all cost.

The only things which we eat at home are roast chicken and falafel. Fish and chips we always eat out because I do not own a deep fat fryer. I've never seen gyros here but doner kebabs are similar and we eat them maybe once a year late at night after the theatre or cinema. Sushi, pad thai and pho I'd only eat at the appropriate restaurant. I've never been tempted by a taco or a poke bowl.

Without the ambiance of a sushi bar, there's no reason to eat sushi.

FWIW, we don't really eat most of those things listed - tho I make what I call a taco filling, I make it into taco salad in a bowl. I actually don't care for 'normal' tacos because they're too messy.

I roast chicken often - no rotisserie here - and whenever I've eaten rotisserie chicken, it's had a weird mushiness that I do not care for.

I do agree that I cannot make fried chicken as good as store bought - gave up on trying long ago - so we do buy it occasionally.

Carol, were the mushy chickens bought at Costco or similar? If so, they were probably injected with brine. That does tend to make them mushy.

My oven and little barbecue both have rotisseries, and I've made very good chicken on them (much better than boughten), but a "beer can" stand or a wire vertical roaster makes nearly identical roast chickens with a tiny fraction of the mess. And Awesome Chicken (butterflied and sauced on a big bed of vegetables then steam roasted) doesn't make a mess, is the easiest to prep, and is ...awesome.

I pretty much prefer everything on that list purchased rather than homemade. Cheaper, certainly, as a single person most often cooking for just myself, all those ingredients add up fast whether making a single serving or if making for several.

And I am not shy to admit I quite like Costco rotisserie chicken and that of the couple of more local stores that offer it. Quick, easy, tasty and so versatile.

I guess it may depend on the quality of the local purveyors of the various items on the list. And how much fuss and bother one is prepared to undertake. I have excellent sources nearby for the first and I am at the bottom of the list for the second. I buy, not make!!

I make some of them, others I don't care for no matter who cooks them.

I do have a small rotisserie device and raise my own chicken, so mine is better but not as convenient.

I make tacos and they are good but they are one of those things that I just think is a pain to make. Chop lettuce, tomatoes, onions, make guacamole. I don't have to make salsa as I have home canned salsa for which I am a minor celebrity in my family, LOL. I don't like tacos well enough to do it very often and because we are a very agricultural area, I can actually get good authentic tacos from businesses that cater to our migrant community.

Poke is a no-go for me, I don't like all my food messed up together in one bowl.

I know, I know, I'm a heathen, but I don't care for pho.

I do fry chicken and fish, both of which I raise, and I don't find it expensive or difficult. Gyros are a favorite of Elery's but I dislike lamb and don't eat it. Falafel is not difficult so I make that myself. Same with sushi and then I can put what I like in it. I still use CindyMac's pad thai recipe and don't find that difficult either.

Many of the ingredients used in the list as excuses not to make your own are already contained in most well stocked kitchens, so the cost of ingredients does not factor into my opinions. And they are just that, opinions. Taste is subjective, not objective, so what you like, I might not and vice versa, like the poke bowls.

Annie

@Lars, about that ”very good recipe for pad thai”? Care to post. TIA

I did mention this in another thread, and it's not on the list in this one, but I absolutely do not make hamburgers as well as I can buy, and don't even try anymore. :) Doubtless they cost more, but they're worth it.

Here is the Pad Thai recipe that I use:

Chicken Pad Thai Fried Noodles

This recipe is a combination of several recipes that I found, and the flavor seems to be authentic, mainly because of the sauce.

Ingredients:

8 oz. dried rice noodles
12 oz. chicken meat (or shrimp)
3 tbsp corn starch (or flour)
1/8 tsp cayenne (optional)
3 tbsp grape seed oil or peanut oil, approx.
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or chopped
1 small bunch bok choy, leaves reserved separately (or one cup bean sprouts)
1/3 cup Thai preserved cabbage, rinsed and drained – press out all excess moisture
2-3 Serrano peppers, thinly sliced, seeds removed, if desired
3 oz. Savory baked tofu or tempeh, sliced 1/8” thick and cut into 1/2” x 1/4” pieces
2 tbsp dried shrimp, ground
2 eggs, lightly beaten with 2 tsp soy sauce
4-5 green onions, thinly sliced, including green parts
1/4 cup chopped basil (Thai basil preferred)

Sauce:
2 tbsp tamarind paste
1/4 cup water
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2-1/2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tbsp Thai curry paste or 1 tbsp Chinese chili paste*
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

For Garnish:
chopped cilantro
coarsely chopped dry roasted unsalted peanuts (optional – I serve these on the side)

Place the rice noodles in a large bowl, cover them with cold water, and allow them to soak for about one hour. After they have soaked, drain them well and dry with a clean dish towel or paper towels. Keep them covered until you are ready to fry them. I dried them in a salad spinner that I lined with paper towels, and them I left them in the spinner, covered, until I was ready to use them.

While the noodles are soaking, make the sauce. Dissolve the tamarind paste in water, using a pestle or other blunt object (such as wooden stomper for a meat grinder) and then strain through a coarse strainer or run through a food mill. Scrap the softened paste off the bottom of the strainer/mill, and put into a pyrex measuring cup or small bowl. Add the sugar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, curry paste (or chili paste), and cilantro and stir to combine. At this point you can taste it for seasoning and add a bit more soy sauce if you think it needs it. Set aside.

Cut the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces. Combine the cayenne with the cornstarch, and dredge the chicken pieces in the mixture.

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a wok. Stir-fry the garlic for about one minute, and add the chicken pieces, one at a time. Stir with very long stir-fry chop sticks. When the chicken is done remove and set aside. Leave whatever oil remains in the wok.

Make sure the rest of the ingredients have been sliced/chopped and are lined up in order of addition. Remove the green part of the bok choy and reserve it chopped with the green onions. In order add the

Bok choy (white part only)
preserved cabbage, rinsed and drained
Serrano peppers
baked tofu or tempeh
dried shrimp
drained rice noodles

Stirring with the long chop sticks to distribute evenly. You may need to add the extra oil as you go along. After the noodles have been brought up to temperature (about 3-4 minutes or so), add the sauce, stir to combine, and push the entire mixture to one side of the wok with a wooden spoon. Add the egg/soy sauce mixture to make scrambled eggs in the bottom of the wok. When the eggs are soft set, stir them into the rest of the mixture, using the chop sticks.

Lastly, add the green onions and bok choy greens, fry for about one minute more, and then add the basil. Serve with garnishes on the side or on top. I omit the peanuts for myself, and I serve the peanuts in a small dish at the table for others to add as they like.

*If you use Chinese chili paste, you may want to omit the Serrano peppers. The Thai curry paste that I use (Prik Kaeng) is not very hot, and is made from chili extract, lemon grass, garlic, onion, and shrimp paste. I would not recommend using a Massaman curry paste that has more ingredients than that.

Serves 4

Rotisserie chickens I've had were from Publix and Whole Foods - Costco is too far away from where we live.

I don't know Publix (except the name), and Whole Foods isn't what it was before Amazon ate it. I did have one of their chickens this year--just remembered when you said so--and it was a weird, never again, texture. Back in the old days, and before my ovens-a-plenty current kitchen (the old oven didn't hold any particular temperature), if I had to make a lunch for the dozens, I would buy four of their chickens. The only difference between theirs and home made (in a proper oven) was the salt level, and they sometimes had unsalted. I'd make chicken salad or pot pie, or strata, or whatever. The snooty store has a rotisserie cooker right by the butchers, and it's their chickens, like you'd buy from them. I'm pretty sure the semi-snooty store also uses the good chickens they sell raw. In fact, I think a lot of the prepared foods are based on what didn't sell and needs using up. :)