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For the past 10 years, New Yorkers have gradually been eating out less and eating in more, but this year marks the first time that the two trends have crossed over.
Put down your forks and listen to this: New Yorker's at-home meals surpassed dining out for the first time in 30 years. That's the news from the Zagat 2013 NYC Restaurant Survey.
It said the citizens of the city that bills itself as the "food capital of the world" are only dining out and doing take-out 6.4 times a week, and they're making meals at home 6.7 times a week. That means more family pasta nights, and bagged lunches taken to work, and fewer trips to Per Se and Peter Luger's.
For the past 10 years, New Yorkers have gradually been eating out less and eating in more, but this year marks the first time that the two trends have crossed over. In 2002, New Yorkers made 5.1 meals at home and ate out or got take out 7.9 times per week. In 2006 that moved to 5.4 and 7.7. When the financial crisis hit in 2008, eating out took an immediate hit, dropping to 6.9 times per week. Meals at home jumped to 6.1 times per week.
In addition, the number of meals per survey per restaurant - an indicator of how many times diners return to their favorite eatery - rose from 9.6 in 2002 to 11.1 in 2008, then fell off to 8.5 in 2009, and declined to 8.1 in 2012. As the country's fortunes rise, so does its appetite for eating out. And vice versa.
But it's not just New York City, eating fewer meals out is a national trend. The NPD market research group reported in October that traffic to casual dining restaurants is down 2 percent this first quarter across the country, while visits to midscale restaurants is down 3 percent. That's in line with a four-year downward trend.
However, Tim Zagat, co-founder of the burgundy restaurant guide, told NBC News he's "not sure that it's more penny-wise to cook at home." There's a big opportunity cost to consider "once you factor in shopping, washing, cooking and cleaning." Instead, he said, budget-conscious diners might be "better off working an hour later -- assuming you have a job."
With persistently high unemployment figures in the headlines, that could be a big assumption. Still, he doesn't deny that New York restaurants have had to change with the times, and the recession, to keep their appeal.
"There isn't a restaurant in New York that still requires a tie," Zagat said. While some high-end joints like Le Bernardin still require men to wear a jacket, "If you put it over the back of your chair in the middle of dinner, they're not going to tell you to put it back on. Ten years ago taking your jacket off in a fine dining establishment would have been unthinkable."
Relaxing those standards means broadening your customer base, and that means being slightly more accessible to younger, more casual clientele, with lower purchasing power.
That's why Zagat sees what he calls "Better Alternative to Home" or "BATH" restaurants as a huge saving trend for the industry. They're the noodle shops, burger joints, BBQs, upscale diners, family style chains and ethnic eateries offering hardy fare and comfy and cozy atmosphere, "like having a second living room." They buy wholesale and, he and his wife wrote in a 2008 Wall Street Journal op-ed on the effect of a bad economy on the restaurant business, "produce meals far more efficiently than home cooks."
Affordable and casual restaurants dominated the list of 199 new restaurant openings included in the Zagat 2013 NYC restaurant survey. 399 of the overall listings offered a complete dinner, including beverage to wash it down and tip for the waiter, for less than $25.
Related: http://lifeinc.today.com/frugal-food
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"Mommy, can we have Grandma over for dinner?"
"Quiet son; you know we still have part of your grandpa in the freezer."
Gee, NewYorkers, welcome to world of normal people!
You know things are bad when even homeless people cook at "home"...
Came across a homeless couple getting down on some good ol cornbread, bbq, and surprisingly, some greens...had to look twice because I thought it was a bush fire at first, then realized it was someone's "home"...they look like they eat better than the average folks!
If I want good food, I dine out. I could more cost effectively make Ramen Noodles. For a large family it is more cost effective to eat at home but if its just for 2 people then often it is cheaper to eat out.
Think about a steak diane dinner for 2 would cost probably $40 at a restarant. Afer buying the steak, onions, mushrooms, green peppers, 1 starch side and 1 vegetable side you are pretty much past the $40 mark. Plus you dont have to cook or clean :)
Makes: You are obviously a poor cook.
makessense, first of all, most people don't eat steak for dinner every night.
Secondly, are there really a lot of restaurants in NY that charge $20 for any kind of steak dinner? And you didn't factor in taxes or tip. Unless they're allowing people to pay for those things with rocks these days, that adds a significant amount to a bill.
While it is certainly true that food prices are getting high and keep climbing, there are still lots of ways to keep a food budget under control and still eat very well if you know how to shop, store your food and cook properly.
I've never seen a good cut of steak go for less than $15. But steak is one of those things I'd rather not cook at home anyway. I can make pasta, rice, burgers, eggs, french toast, soup and a bunch of other stuff cheaper at home generally.
Going out to most restaurants make me queasy unless I can see the kitchen...all of the kitchen. I almost wish I was as naive as I used to be. Now I drive around a restaurant to see what the kitchen door and trash areas look like before I even park. If workers are milling about or the area is disgusting, I drive away. YUCK!!!
Makes sense. If your home cooked is Ramen noodles or comparable then you got a long way to go. Best part of cooking at home is knowing whats in your food. eating out is usually processed prepackaged and fat and salt laden. Unless you eat in the place that actually cooks the food you eat. But that surely dont come in 20 to 50 dollar range. Dont forget that bag of potatoes or rice, onions, etc goes longer than one meal. thus cuts down cost per meal.
This is news? Where have I been? I'm from New York and I've been cooking my own food practically my whole life. There is nothing like a good, healthy homemade meal. It's also much cheaper than eating out. I can season and cook a nice piece of London broil for dinner then use the left over to make several sandwiches for lunches all for about $15. This includes a large salad and potatoes. Find a restaurant that can do that. Even homemade desert is cheap and easy. I can make a pie in no time flat for about half the price of a frozen Sara Lee...and it's twice as big.
This presumes that you have a home to dine at. If you are homeless you eat out every night.
What a dumb poll, it's rarely cheaper to eat out than at home!
I really don't believe the picture....No kitchen in NYC is that big. LOL
Butwould you believe they saved a bundle on car insurance?
Only by switching to Geico.
So easy even a caveman can do it.
Not true people...USAA is HALF what Geico quoted...Although you have to be a Vet or related to one.
Not only is it less expensive to cook at home but if you know how to cook it actually tastes better and the quality of the food is much better than at a restaurant. There are no hidden goodies like enough salt to cause a stroke, used food from other plates. You also don't have to deal with pretentious people who feel they are too good to be bothered to help you. You also get much more food out of the dish.
Yes, and no hidden loogie if you piss off your pretentious server.
Thanks, but I'll make my own food at home where I know I'll never get a surprise.
"Tim Zagat, co-founder of the burgundy restaurant guide, told NBC News he's "not sure that it's more penny-wise to cook at home." There's a big opportunity cost to consider "once you factor in shopping, washing, cooking and cleaning."
One of the DUMBEST statements ever made. What else would he say. Of COURSE eating at home is less expensive - by an order of magnitude. Good lord!
Of course he was going to say that, he's trying to convince people to eat out more. And I agree, it was a completely ridiculous thing to say.
...the article is misleading because I haven't paid $25 for a real dinner, drink and tip in any NYC restaurant that wasn't named McDonalds or Burger King in over fifteen years....most NYC restaurants will run $50 minimum per person....and those places are hard to find....
Zagat is talking about a restaurant on two wheels with a trailer hitch in front.
As with some other things, whether to eat out or not has not become a question to the well-to-do.
Perhaps the Zagat business would want to survey those of us who've been unemployed for so long that we do our dining at the local mission or the St. Vincent de Paul kitchen.
What an arrogant, bombastic news article!
You eat at St Vincent de Paul, yet have internet access and post almost daily on the vine?
Internet access is free at the local library.
Here's your prejudice: You think people who've been hit by hard times are probably stupid and don't have the wherewithal to use the internet.
Your kharma one day is going to slam you up side the head.
I've been unemployed in my life time and homeless/hungry but didn't spend it at the library commenting on stories about food using Zagat as a source for the article. So take your prejudice and shove it.
It's a no brainer. As a NYC resident, I can easily feed myself for an entire week on 75$ from Trader Joes. 75$ gets you 3 takeout meals.
No $hi+ Sherlock...NOBODY in America can afford the Standard of Living we had before No-Bu++-$Wipe took office.
America needs to realize that NoBama has a WORLD agenda, that drastically marginalizes the US. He is NOT stupid or inept, although he is EXCELLENT at appearing that way. His vision is that NO ONE in America should have a better Standard of Living than anyone in Kenya, and that the Muslim Brotherhood would be MUCH better to be a Superpower than America.
Nice post rdx111, It was nice to see Obama struggle in the debate last night. Without his telepromter rolling he took it on the chin a lot. You are right, he's not stupid and his plan is to bring America down so other countries can rise up. Wouldn't be nice if he just let the other countries figure it out themselves and keep our corporations from robbing them of their natural resources. Oh wait that might cut into campain contributions.
Jesus you two are stupid. LOL.
I won't eat anywhere that I can't order a jumbo coke.
How's the food in NJ?
Manhattanite here...I want to sanity check some of this. First of all...
Let's not exaggerate. I am one of these people who eats a LOT of restaurant meals. I've never set foot in either of these restaurants. Most of my meals are along the lines of deli sandwiches, salads, and omelettes--"restaurant" does not necessarily mean wine service and a white tablecloth. Also, a bagged lunch isn't getting swapped in for Peter Luger's, it's replacing a diner or Thai takeout.
Tim Zagat's comment probably sounds bizarre to most, but in the context of Manhattan can have validity for some.
In this city, 11-12 hours in the office plus an hour or more commute each way is not unusual. In additiona, a substantial number of professionals work as freelancers, consultants, or contractors, where earnings are directly tied to hours worked, rather than on salary. For these people (myself included) time definitely has a dollar figure attached to it--and it's substantially higher than the cost of a diner meal.
Even in straight retail cost, some surprisingly mundane dishes ARE, in fact, cheaper to order at some restaurants than to buy. Remember, this is the land of $7.99 Edy's and $2.00 cans of tuna.
As an example, I actually tallied up the cost of making taco salads (for two) at home. It was cheaper to order in by about $7.00, even after factoring in a tip. Tack on the fact that skipping grocery shopping, cooking, and dish washing adds 7-10 hours a week available for work, and, yes, it can make economic sense if done conservatively.
These bizarre economics don't apply to many places outside Manhattan, and certainly don't apply to everyone. I don't have children, but I suspect it doesn't hold up when you are feeding a larger number of people. It's also not going to yield the same value trade-off if one has a fixed salary.
However, contrary to the article's implication, it's not some widespread, over-the-top addiction to luxury restaurants. It's a lot of sandwiches, salads, eggs, and pizza that let us squeeze an extra hour or two out of our days.
PS - As I write this, I'm at my desk eating a takeout lunch of scrambled eggs, toast, and french fries.
Where I live isn't known for great dining establishments. I have rarely had any food in a restaurant that I found more enjoyable than the food I make at home. Combine the inferior quality/flavor with the high price, the lack of apparent hygiene of some of the staff and dining out becomes a great deal less appealing.
Who wants to spend time asking for a clean fork, or wondering whether the kitchen staff really washes their hands after using the restroom?
At least at home I know how my food is prepared, I know the dishes are clean and the food I prepare is customized to my liking from fresh or in some cases home grown ingredients.
Yeah I agree with you about the cleanliness issue. I found this article a weird read. 98% of the time...it will always be cheaper to cook meals at home. I like to cook and try new things especially with our home-grown veggies and herbs.
Fortunately at my age (70) I can afford to eat just about anywhere I choose. BUT, I will NEVER eat in a restaurant (from McDonalds to PerSe) unless necessitated by business or travel.
I simply do NOT trust anyone else to handle, to cook, to serve, or to be anywhere around food I am going to eat.
When my wife and I prepare our own food, I am pretty certain that it is sanitary (not to mention VERY tasty).
Carrion, please.
glitter makes a good point that time is money and in maybe a few cases, you can save a little by ordering certain cheap types of take out foods... but wouldn't it STILL be cheaper to bring sandwiches, yogurts, chips, etc. from home, that you purchased while out grocery shopping?
When you figured out the cost to make taco salads for two, did you add up the grocery bill for the entire packages, or just the parts you used? What I mean is, yes you might spend a bit on a package of taco shells, a pound of ground beef, a head of/bag of lettuce, veggies, cheese etc. but keep in mind you wouldn't have used all of what you purchased, just 2 of the taco shells, a little of the lettuce head or bag or salad, a small portion of the cheese, and maybe half of the ground beef? So doesn't it realyl cost less for the AMOUNT of ingredients you used per portion? Please if I'm wrong by all means you may correct me.
But I have found, as a resident if Idaho, you can never eat out cheaper than buying in grocery stores. Those sandwiches for 2 or 3 bucks at grocery stations are loaded with extra salt, made with cheap crappy bread, and you can make a better sandwich yourself for less than a dollar. Going out to eat and paying 13 or 14 bucks for a chicken dish? a 3lb bag of frozen chicken costs 6 or 7 bucks, and at a restaurant you definitely aren't getting 3lb of chicken... The cost of running a dishwasher or electricity is just beans in the long run, doesn't matter. In all my experience, eating at home is much cheaper AND healthier, AND tastier.
Small point, but FTR...
No dishwasher, plus a tiny sink and little counter space, so dishes must be hand washed after every meal if the kitchen is to be usable. My new apartment has a better kitchen WITH a dishwasher, though, so yay!
Valid point about the ingredient remnants. I can buy a just-right bag of spinach (I overload the greens so it's not *entirely* "fluff food"), tomatoes and single avocado, but there *are* cheese and chips left over. Also, I can drop the price if I make it with kidney beans and tomatoes instead of meat, but my husband complains...
*Some* meals are cheaper ordered in, but most do cost more; it wasn't as much as I expected, though.
When I added up monthly spending, the additional retail cost across-the-board of ordering in vs groceries came out to about $400 a month before factoring in time cost. Certainly not trivial, but if it buys me, say, an extra 20 hours a month of billable time, it nets out.
Now, meals I cook are fresher, healthier, and quite frankly taste better. And I *do* eat a good share of peanut butter sandwiches or fruit and yogurt.
Relying on takeout for most meals is far from ideal and no, it's not a necessity; I just wanted to counter the glamorization from the article...the writer makes it sound like everyone's eating in fancy restaurants all the time and "OMG they are doing it less now!!!"
For most of us, the heavy use of restaurants is less about decadence and more about adapting to a really weird environment.
I grew up in rural upstate NY, so I am very aware of how"off" this all is. I very much miss my Saturdays spent shopping at Wegmans and then cooking in my full-size (for an apartment) kitchen.
considering the size of a typical ny apartment, it's probably not very practical nor particularly enjoyable to prepare meal in a cramped space, at least not for me. just on this fact alone and people still avoid eating out if they can means it's gotten really really bad there.
Ain't that the truth. My current place has two feet of usable counter space after accommodating a dish drainer (no dishwasher) and microwave. I love cooking, but it's so claustrophobic here I never do anything that requires real prep work anymore.
If you can't put it between two slices of bread or in a rice cooker, it's not getting made.
Yus, that's a very good point. I don't live in NY,but my BIL does and even though he actually has a fairly large co-op, the kitchen is still miniscule. I love to cook and I would have a very hard time doing so in such a tiny space. I live in NJ, and while our home is small by the McMansion standards in our area, my kitchen is quite large (although not so big that it defeats the purpose) and I am very grateful for the space. We eat the vast majority of our meals at home (or brown-bagged) both because of economic considerations and because I can make better meals than most restaurants do.
I would feel sorry for you but you have chosen to live this lifestyle. Move away from the City and have a life again.
@sr71 Oh, I will. I'm just waiting for my husband to finish his research.
Not only is it usually more economical to prepare a delicious meal at home, but you can eat and drink what you want instead of worrying about banned foods and beverages.
I can tell I'm no New Yorker! I ate out twice last month...once was a Pizza hut pizza for $10 (dinner for 2 plus 2 meals for work lunch leftovers). The other was at a Culvers because I was traveling. It's just too expensive to dine out. Shoot, even if I do order from a restaurant, I just order it to go because it saves on the tip and overpriced drinks.
Better tasting, cheaper and cleaner to prepare meals and eat at home.