We had to take some documents to our solicitors in Blackpool on Monday, all to do with the sale of our Welsh flat, which is at last going through nice and smoothly. So while we were in the vicinity of our nearest Dobbies and we were both hungry we decided to stop for lunch. Mavis loves it there too, which is always a deciding factor.
They had neither of the things we wanted so we had to change the order at the last minute and I ended up with a 'Fish Finger on Grain Bread' sandwich. I don't know why, maybe it's something to do with all our local shops offering this on their menus but with 'Posh Fish Fingers', but somehow I expected more than I got.
It was nice enough and very edible, something a bit similar to the above photo but with brown bread and a big dollop of coleslaw added. They were just cheap, skinny fish fingers slathered with lots of tartare sauce, possibly as I had asked for no butter on the bread.
But on the way home it got me thinking ... what could I buy along the same lines for the same price from the shops? Now obviously when you are eating out you paying for the privilege, I totally understand and appreciate that, and the money for whatever you choose to consume is also covering overheads, property, wages, food and it's cooking costs etc etc. You choose to do this if you can afford to eat away from home, and boy oh boy is its getting harder and harder to hand over the amount of cash needed to be able to eat out without the prices playing on my mind.
You just know what I did first thing this morning don't you ....
I 'shopped' on the Sainsbury's website for the things that would have been needed to make my fish finger sandwiches and all the garnishes that were on my plate.
It turns out that I would have the makings of another complete fish finger sandwich ... PLUS leftovers of two fish fingers, three quarters of a loaf of bread, two thirds of a tub of coleslaw, most of a bottle of mayonnaise, two thirds of a red onion, most of a bag of mixed salad leaves AND a bonus packet of chocolate chip cookies all for the same price as my lunch. 😀
It gets you thinking doesn't it, well it sure gets me thinking!!
Luckily, while we were there we enjoyed our two free monthly coffees, well we paid 30p each to top them up to large-size instead of the free regular sized that you get.
And I picked up the sachets that we had chosen to go with our lunches and that were actually unused.
Do you still enjoy eating out, is it as regular as maybe you used to do it or have you mostly stopped it now. It's something we can and should all decide for ourselves isn't it.
Sue xx
The older I get, the fussier I get. We never eat out now. It’s not the cost so much, I’m just choosy about the ingredients. I go to a lot of trouble and expense to source and cook the best ingredients at home, organic veg and grass fed meat, no seed oils etc. - a restaurant won’t do that. And I’m pretty sure my kitchen hygiene is better than most commercial kitchens. When I was younger I loved a take-away as much as the next person, now I wouldn’t touch one with a barge pole. I don’t even have coffee out. I’m a sugarless black coffee drinker, it’s always disappointing in a cafe so I’d rather not bother. I’m not as joyless as I sound, just older and wiser I think lol
ReplyDeleteAnna
I don't often do meals out as it's sometimes not fun alone but coffee and cheese scone out is still a treat and will continue to be so as long as I can afford it and don't have a live in coffee maker!
ReplyDeleteWe never eat out for a variety of reasons and I just meet a friend a few times a year for lunch so as you've done in this post, I'm always comparing prices of eating out vs home cooked food. even the most reasonable priced, good food is so much more expensive "out" whatever way you look at it, I find.
ReplyDelete