The most you've paid for a meal

[Flyingcursor]

Have any of you tried Arby's fish sandwiches? They're pretty good.
I got two for five bucks.

McD's now has a double fish sandwich. I love fish sandwiches.

[Charlene]

Wow, I don't think I have ever spend over $20 for a meal, and hop to never do so!

I would rather be hungry and buy a nice new whistle than a $100 meal!

It's like any other form of entertainment. I don't see paying for a fine dinner out once in a while as being any different from paying for a concert, a play, or a gallery exhibition. Art is art, after all, and that includes the culinary arts.

Redwolf

That's why we don't go out very often. My husband kind of wanted to see Jay Leno, but the cheap tickets are $65 each. Bob Newhart is a little better but my husband doesn't want to pay $45 each either. I know he'd enjoy Mamma Mia because he likes ABBA, but that's $30 apiece for the very top balcony in the opera house.

There are a couple of performers I'll pay $40 to $45 for, and one in particular I'll even drive 500 miles to see if I have the time off, but that's just because I really really really like them, and my husband usually says "well, if YOU want to spend that kind of money, you go, but I'm not going."

As far as eating out - McDonald's or Arby's or Old Country Buffet fills me up just fine and doesn't cost more than our combined income for the day. Even when we go on vacation my husband grumbles if we eat in any restaurant, so we just bring our food and eat most meals at rest areas or at the campground. (Not much of a vacation if I still have to cook and do dishes, but we would never go anyplace if I didn't agree to that.)

And it's just about time to go earn my $65 today.

[emmline]

Have any of you tried Arby's fish sandwiches? They're pretty good.
I got two for five bucks.

McD's now has a double fish sandwich. I love fish sandwiches.

Wendy's has a not-bad new one.

[missy]

Have any of you tried Arby's fish sandwiches? They're pretty good.
I got two for five bucks.

McD's now has a double fish sandwich. I love fish sandwiches.

Wendy's has a not-bad new one.

They are called "Frisch's" here, and I think "Big Boy" in other parts of the country, but they have the BEST tartar sauce in the world. You can buy it in a jar, but that is nothing like what you get at the restaurants (most still make if fresh).

[Jack]

Have any of you tried Arby's fish sandwiches? They're pretty good.
I got two for five bucks.

McD's now has a double fish sandwich. I love fish sandwiches.

That's what my mother used to order, anywhere she went: a fish sandwich. No matter what kind of restaurant it was, they usually could make her one.

[TC]

When I'm eating lunch by myself while i'm on the road, I try to stay below $2 (not including tax). When I'm at the office, I spend less.

mutepointe, I just have to ask, what does $2 get you in WV?
Are we talking two items off the dollar menu, or something more substantial?

[StevieJ]

To celebrate my mum's 80th birthday we took her out to lunch at a nice restaurant in Siena. The bill for 10 came to just over 500,000.00, which I put on my credit card as a grand gesture.

I really felt I had arrived, spending half a million on lunch... even if it was in lire.

[monkey587]

When I'm eating lunch by myself while i'm on the road, I try to stay below $2 (not including tax). When I'm at the office, I spend less.

mutepointe, I just have to ask, what does $2 get you in WV?
Are we talking two items off the dollar menu, or something more substantial?

I used to drive between Blacksburg, VA and Pittsburgh, PA a lot, back in 97-99. One day I followed a silverware sign from the highway to a little diner, name and location now forgotten except that it was in West Virginia. I had a bacon cheeseburger (back when I still ate meat), fries, coffee, and a slice of chocolate cream pie, all for $1.75. I felt like I'd driven off the highway and into the 1950s or something.

[Wanderer]

To celebrate my mum's 80th birthday we took her out to lunch at a nice restaurant in Siena. The bill for 10 came to just over 500,000.00, which I put on my credit card as a grand gesture.

I really felt I had arrived, spending half a million on lunch... even if it was in lire.

That's still not cheap, even in lire..close to $400

[cowtime]

When I'm eating lunch by myself while i'm on the road, I try to stay below $2 (not including tax). When I'm at the office, I spend less.

mutepointe, I just have to ask, what does $2 get you in WV?
Are we talking two items off the dollar menu, or something more substantial?

I used to drive between Blacksburg, VA and Pittsburgh, PA a lot, back in 97-99. One day I followed a silverware sign from the highway to a little diner, name and location now forgotten except that it was in West Virginia. I had a bacon cheeseburger (back when I still ate meat), fries, coffee, and a slice of chocolate cream pie, all for $1.75. I felt like I'd driven off the highway and into the 1950s or something.

You had.....



For lunch I wolf down a deviled ham sandwich made by me that morning. (no time for lunch-the mail must go through) Breakfast is a big can of V-8.
Not much expense there.

[mutepointe]

When I'm eating lunch by myself while i'm on the road, I try to stay below $2 (not including tax). When I'm at the office, I spend less.

mutepointe, I just have to ask, what does $2 get you in WV?
Are we talking two items off the dollar menu, or something more substantial?

2 items from the dollar menu is the easy way to go. We have Tudor's biscuit world. A large sausage biscuit is about $1.50, an egg biscuit even cheaper. Tim Horton's sells bagels for less than $1. Panera's bread can be bought for about $2 but I take the rest of the loaf home. Grocery stores have fruits, veggies, and deli lunch meats and cheese sliced to order (ask for $2 of ham, they'll do it), potato salad (they'll give you a spork for free), fried chicken and chicken livers. Roadside stands in the summer are an option. In the winter, I stop by a lot of Chinese buffets and ask for a container of won ton soup. Since the whole lunch buffets are only $5, they usually charge me $2. If it's a Chinese restaurant that sells individual items, the cost goes up. A pint of white rice is less than $1. A bowl of soup at Subway is $1.50. I ask if I can have it in a coffee cup so I can drink and drive and the sweet folks behind the counter will fill-up the coffee cup. I shy away from gas station food except for hot dogs. I think all hotdogs are a mystery and Speedway sells them 2 for $1. In West Virginia, you can get cheese, chili sauce, and all kinds of condiments for hotdogs but I'm driving and have learned the hard way to go plain on that hotdog. There are also some pizza places that sell by the slice, I can get 2 slices of plain cheese pizza for $2. I know some of this isn't the healthiest but when it comes to myself, I'm cheap.

[mutepointe]

When I'm eating lunch by myself while i'm on the road, I try to stay below $2 (not including tax). When I'm at the office, I spend less.

mutepointe, I just have to ask, what does $2 get you in WV?
Are we talking two items off the dollar menu, or something more substantial?

I used to drive between Blacksburg, VA and Pittsburgh, PA a lot, back in 97-99. One day I followed a silverware sign from the highway to a little diner, name and location now forgotten except that it was in West Virginia. I had a bacon cheeseburger (back when I still ate meat), fries, coffee, and a slice of chocolate cream pie, all for $1.75. I felt like I'd driven off the highway and into the 1950s or something.

Speaking of WV being in the 1950's, one of my friends from Washington DC was visiting a few years ago. We stopped to get a pop. He kept trying to give the cashier $2 but the pop cost less than $1, so she was only trying to take one of the dollars and he kept shifting the money so she could get both the bills. I just laughed.

[Jack]

mutepointe, I just have to ask, what does $2 get you in WV?
Are we talking two items off the dollar menu, or something more substantial?

I used to drive between Blacksburg, VA and Pittsburgh, PA a lot, back in 97-99. One day I followed a silverware sign from the highway to a little diner, name and location now forgotten except that it was in West Virginia. I had a bacon cheeseburger (back when I still ate meat), fries, coffee, and a slice of chocolate cream pie, all for $1.75. I felt like I'd driven off the highway and into the 1950s or something.

Speaking of WV being in the 1950's, one of my friends from Washington DC was visiting a few years ago. We stopped to get a pop. He kept trying to give the cashier $2 but the pop cost less than $1, so she was only trying to take one of the dollars and he kept shifting the money so she could get both the bills. I just laughed.

Did you know that I am a native West Virginian? Before you came along, I was the token West Virginian even though I don't live there anymore. I'm glad to let you have the role, now.

[mutepointe]

There are a lot of West Virginians on this forum. Someone mentioned that on another thread. I'm not a native West Virginian, I grew up in PA, between Pittsburgh and Morgantown. Someone with better credentials than me gets that honor.

If I ever do something really special and the governor wants to give me an award or something, I'm going to ask for a piece of paper that makes me an honorary native born West Virginian.

[missy]

I'm a West Virginian by marriage - Tom grew up in Parkersburg (although he graduated from Belpre High School - his parents moved across the river for a few years). Tom's dad still lives in Parkersburg.