Eating out in the US
Discussion
We're off to the US next year and were wonder what the cost of eating out is over there? People often say the portions are larger and better value, but does that just apply to the equivilent of "The Greasy Spoon" ?
We wont be eating burgers and chips every day (if at all) so Italian, Japanese and Chinese restaurants will be high on the list.
We wont be eating burgers and chips every day (if at all) so Italian, Japanese and Chinese restaurants will be high on the list.
jesusbuiltmycar said:
In general it is cheaper to eat out but all restaurants expect you to pay a tip of between 15% and 25%.....
They even put the suggested amount you shuold pay on the bottom of the bill, which heavily pissed me off so unless the service is exceptional I left no tip!
In the US, don't go back to any restaurant after doing that They even put the suggested amount you shuold pay on the bottom of the bill, which heavily pissed me off so unless the service is exceptional I left no tip!
Edited by john_p on Tuesday 23 June 10:56
Goochie said:
Plotloss said:
Chinese is almost universally s
te in the US.
Does that mean its not like the "Chinese" you get in the UK, or that its not like the food you get in China? te in the US. The latter is generally a lot different to what you get in the UK.Its like UK Chinese but with even more MSG and general s
t in it.
Goochie said:
We're off to the US next year and were wonder what the cost of eating out is over there?
Which bit of the US?Places like Orlando have an amazing range of restaurants, many of which are fantatic value, but it's not all like that. To my mind the most glaring difference is that you can order a steak in almost any level of restaurant in the US and it will probably be as good as the best steak you can get in any UK restaurant.
The other thing is the chain restaurants that are, by UK standards, pretty good quality, and very good value. Places like Cheesecake Factory, Outback Steakhouse etc.
You can get steak hanging over the edge of your plate etc, but it isn't generally like that. Puddings are often a bit bonkers though.
Goochie said:
Italian, Japanese and Chinese restaurants will be high on the list.
So go to Italy, Japan or China then!Italian is usally OK, only been to chain "Japanese" (Beni Hana) but that was OK. Had a Chinatown down an alley meal in San Francisco and it was horrible. PF Chang is a chain that's OK - very similar to UK Chinese - but relatively expensive.
Had a couple of good Thai meals in independant restaurants in the US.
Edited by Deva Link on Tuesday 23 June 11:24
Deva Link said:
Goochie said:
We're off to the US next year and were wonder what the cost of eating out is over there?
Which bit of the US?Places like Orlando have an amazing range of restaurants, many of which are fantatic value, but it's not all like that. To my mind the most glaring difference is that you can order a steak in almost any level of restaurant in the US and it will probably be as good as the best steak you can get in any UK restaurant.
The other thing is the chain restaurants that are, by UK standards, pretty good quality. Places like Cheesecake Factory etc.
Goochie said:
Italian, Japanese and Chinese restaurants will be high on the list.
So go to Italy, Japan or China then.We've been to Italy, China, Japan and love the food - However the US is not exactly renound for its food other than burgers and chips - unless someone can enlighten me?
Goochie said:
Plotloss said:
Its like UK Chinese but with even more MSG and general st in it.
Oh joy..... I'm really looking forward to that!t in it.Chinese in Chinatown, San Francisco was ok though.
They get so hung up by dim-sum though
JakeR said:
tell me the Mexican is good in Calif?
Gonna be there for nearly 3 weeks, and I'm planning to gorge, as most of the so called Mexican in the UK is bobbins.
Depends what you expect by Mexican.Gonna be there for nearly 3 weeks, and I'm planning to gorge, as most of the so called Mexican in the UK is bobbins.
Authentic Mexican, which is like tapas almost, lots of small dishes, is fantastic all across the southern states.
If you're after small donkeys etc then anywhere in America is about the same.
Goochie said:
We're going to California (San Francisco and LA being the big cities), Arizona and Nevada.
We've been to Italy, China, Japan and love the food - However the US is not exactly renound for its food other than burgers and chips - unless someone can enlighten me?
I added some more stuff to my original post, but every level of restaurant is available in the US. To be honest, travelling with the family we tend to stick to the chains, and I mentioned some with locations in Ca at least. They're not exactly "fine dining" but good quality and reasonable value.We've been to Italy, China, Japan and love the food - However the US is not exactly renound for its food other than burgers and chips - unless someone can enlighten me?
I'm hopeless at remembering places, but there's a decent Italian on the front (a bit in the direction of the GG bridge, walking away from Fisherman's Wharf) in San Franciso - http://www.themenupage.com/cioppinos.html and we always go over to http://www.horizonssausalito.com - if you drive over the GG bridge you can turn off immediately you get over the bridge, then turn left and drive under the road and up the hill a bit you get good views of the bridge and the city. Then drive back down through the tunnel and straight on to Sausalito.
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