Eating out is one of the most popular pastimes in America. People grab a quick lunch at work with co-workers, bring their entire family to a local fast food restaurant on a Friday evening, and just look for any excuse to go out to eat. Having a fun time eating out is something we at Foodini’s know all about. As a leading provider of event catering in New Jersey, we love and appreciate authentic cuisine. There are many reasons to eat at restaurants, but also a few reasons to avoid doing so. Eating out once in a while offers the chance to savor new culinary experiences and let someone else do the full cleanup for you. Yet at the same time, eating out all the time can be expensive. Food prepared at restaurants can also be chock full of unhealthy fat and excess calories.
Different Kinds of Foods
Dining at a restaurant offers a marvelous opportunity to explore new food cultures. Diners can sample Thai flavors, try authentic Chinese food and sample regional Italian preparations. Many restaurants specialize in certain dishes that can be hard to find and prepare at home. An expert restaurant chef understands exactly to prepare the perfect bouillabaisse. Restaurants also offer corporate catering that allows people to savor those same dishes at home or at work.
No Cleaning Up
Preparing food often requires more work than we like to put in. All food preparation surfaces need to be kept clean to adhere to safety standards. Once you finish cooking, cleaning up can take a lot of time depending on what was cooked. Eating a restaurant means someone else does this prep work for the meal. The restaurant staff serves you and then cleans the space afterward. After a busy day, having someone else to cook for you gives you a chance to sit and have a much-needed rest.
Costly Meals
While eating at a restaurant is a leisurely way to relax and sample new cuisines, at the same time, it can be very expensive. The restaurant isn’t just paying for the cost of food. They are also paying for the cost of the setting and the cost of getting the food prepared for them. Restaurant owners need to pay rent and pay their chefs, cooks, and general employees. When patrons are being served dinner, they should leave a tip for the waiter. The cost of the overall experience adds up quickly, but still, we chose to go out to eat out. The average American actually eats out between 4 and 5 times a week! When eating at home people only need to pay for the cost of the food.
Loss of Control Over Eating
When people make meals at home, they control exactly what goes into what they’re going to eat. They decide what they’re going to eat and how it is going to be prepared. They are also able to provide foods that are part of diets, such as keto diets, without worrying about restaurants that might not accommodate for certain diets. At a restaurant, guests leave this decision in the hands of others.
A chef may choose to prepare the protein using an abundance of butter and oil. The diner doesn’t know exactly how the meal they’re being served was made before it ends up in front of them. A chef may add additions that add pleasing flavor but also bring in salt and fat. Additionally, portions at restaurants in the US are significantly larger than the suggested serving size. Cooking at home is the easiest way to control what and how much you are consuming.
Foodini offers catering as well as custom meals that are delivered right to your home. We also carry plant-based dishes for anyone who enjoys vegetarian selections. This gives you the option to eat food prepared by a chef, avoid prep and cleanup time, all while eating food portioned correctly.