Avoid Spending Your Cash on These 15 Restaurant Menu Selections
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Many of us are looking for new ways to cut costs this year, and one easy way to stretch your restaurant budget is to avoid paying for cheap food at restaurants. Think of things you can easily grab inexpensively and quickly at the grocery store for an easy prep meal. This allows you to explore less expensive menu items or alternatives you wouldn’t necessarily make at home.
Here’s a compilation of 15 dishes you might want to avoid ordering at a restaurant.
Canned seafood
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Fish available in cans at the supermarket are generally not worth ordering at a restaurant, where the price can be four times higher. Commonly canned varieties include sardines, mackerel, trout, and herring.
Don't hesitate to inquire with your server about the origins of their tuna, mussels, oysters, and other seafood to assess the value of the menu. Many restaurants are open about their fresh ingredients.
Dishes featuring truffle oil
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Truffle oil lacks consistent regulation, meaning that when restaurants include truffle oil dishes in their offerings, the quality can be unpredictable. In fact, many of the oils available commercially are often a blend of olive oil and synthetic truffle flavoring.
Although this used to be a popular fine dining choice, the market has become overly saturated and pricey, making it difficult to fully appreciate when eating out.
Noodle recipes
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While nothing beats the warmth and satisfaction of a huge plate of pasta from your go-to eatery, the price tag often leaves much to be desired. Even a basic spaghetti and meatballs meal at Olive Garden now starts at $12.99, making it hard to justify the expense.
Opting for an alfredo or clam sauce meal can significantly strain your wallet, particularly when you choose to include a protein.
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Soup
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Dining out at restaurants can be quite pricey, especially when it comes to soup. While a cup of delicious chicken noodle soup might set you back anywhere from $6 to $12, you could whip up a generous pot of homemade soup or grab a few cans of your preferred variety for under $5.
Certain soups are offered as specials because the kitchen staff is using up leftover ingredients from the previous week, which means they might not be the freshest choice available.
Flapjacks
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Although it may be enjoyable and simple to indulge in an assortment of pancakes and syrups at your neighborhood diner, the prices for those menu selections are not justified given the low cost of the ingredients.
Pick up a box of Old Country Store Buttermilk Baking mix for only $2.82, which breaks down to just 12 cents per serving. In comparison, a serving of pancakes with natural syrup at Cracker Barrel costs $6.89.
Young soybeans, often referred to as edamame, are a popular snack and appetizer, known for their vibrant green color and rich nutritional profile.
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Edamame frequently appears on the appetizer menus of Japanese and sushi restaurants. When salted, these green soybeans make for an excellent pre-dinner treat or a refreshing palate cleanser during a meal.
Young soybeans, often referred to as edamame, are a popular snack and appetizer, known for their vibrant green color and rich nutritional profile. now averages $5 to $6 per serving when dining out, while a 12-ounce bag of frozen edamame will cost $1.99 at Target and yield about four servings.
Mixed greens and vegetables.
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Unless your restaurant offers an appealing soup and salad combo or a significant deal, ordering salads when eating out is often n
