Your restaurant order priorities

When you order in a restaurant do prioritize

  • Price (You don’t mind spending the money, but you want to get the best value.)
  • Nutrition (You’ll spend more to get the healthier meal, even if it’s not as filling.)
    or
  • Taste (You don’t care what it costs or how many calories it is, it just sound delicious)

When I was younger I’d be all about the extreme bacon cheeseburger. But now that I’m older and the calories don’t burn off as quickly I’m more likely to get the fish, even if it does cost more.

I’m all about the taste. I don’t eat at restaurants all that often, and when i do, i want it to be delicious, and something i don’t cook at home.

For myself, of the three options, taste is almost always # 1, with price a distant second and nutrition being last. To be clear though, everything is relative.

Because so are the values.

Sometimes you’re craving a specific sort of food flavor, and if it happens to be a cheap flavor, well, there you go. Or it’s supremely nutritionally unbalanced, like your ultimate bacon burger, but if that is what you want, $40 of high grade sushi (even if it’s quality, nutrition and value are unquestionably higher) is just not going to cut it.

A factor not explicit in the OP though, which is a huge issue for me, is “can I get this at home?” I actually learned to cook at a young age because there were dishes I liked ‘my way’. And as a minor-grade foodie, I’ve spent years learning to cook and having the equipment I want. So sometimes, going out, my priority is things that I have not been able to dial in for myself, or is too much work - because making it yourself almost always wins on all 3 values for the OP-

It’s price cuts out the third party costs.
It’s nutrition is generally better because you cut out any unneeded filler and side issues (drinks, etc).
It’s taste is customized to my own preferences (extra garlic, extra heat, etc).

It’s going to be price or taste depending on the restaurant. If nutrition is top priority I’ll just eat at home.

Preach it. If I’m eating out nutrition is the last of the three.

Taste, always, first and foremost. At home as well as in restaurants. The other considerations exist but they’re secondary.

Eating is a pleasure, not a freaking duty.

Most times, my concern is taste and nutrition. Salads are frequent for me because they usually have plenty of both.

Lately though, price is taking precedence; also calories as I am trying to lose some weight. That would go out the window if I were where I want to be this week. In Le Mans, France. Then, it’s taste, taste, taste.

Taste, always #1. But I am getting to that sad, sad age where I very occasionally have to fleetingly pay a tiny bit of attention to nutrition or at least health-related things. A tiny bit. But it lurks, taunting. No lactaid on hand? Well, maybe I shouldn’t go for that dish that looks like 50% cheese unless I’ve decided I’m willing to pay for my self-indulgence later. That sort of thing.

Price I don’t care about anymore, though it sometimes came into play when I was younger. I mean I don’t dine at $200 prix fixe places pretty much ever, but if I have entered a restaurant of my own volition in the first place it is because I can afford it.

Ahead of any of those things, I’m not making reservations or waiting around.

Not the restaurant’s fault necessarily if there are too many people, but I hate that sort of waiting and will immediately go elsewhere.

Too noisy is another one. I want to be able to hear the person I’m with, or my own thoughts if I’m alone. Especially bothersome to me is intrusive TV. I’ve left places I wanted to eat at because of obnoxious TV placement / volume.

I’m gonna be real original and say taste.

On occasion I might select a lighter option - the fish instead of the bacon cheeseburger - but only if I really like the taste of lighter option too, and I’m not ravenously hungry so a heavier dish might leave me feeling too full. So even then, it’s about the enjoyment.

Well, yes, i want to feel good after i eat. That means if I’m very hungry i want enough calories, and if I’m less hungry, i don’t want to overeat. And i never want to just eat fried carbs, not because i think it’s unhealthy, but because i know it will make me feel sluggish.

Nutrition, only. I’ll feel too guilty if I eat anything that isn’t healthful.

It depends on why i am eating out. Like, right now im at a two week work conference thingy. I will be eating out a LOT, and at the convention buffet the other meals. So taste will not be my only concern. I can’t eat total junk for two weeks. Nutrition is a big factor. But if I am eating out for like, an occasion, its all taste. And if i am eating out because it was logistically difficult to eat at home (like, forgot my lunch or working late and picking something up on the way home), price dominates.

A factor not mentioned is novelty. If I amsomwwhere that serves something unusual or regional, I’m more likely to choose it.

Taste is really my only consideration.

We don’t eat at chain restaurants with the exception of Olive Garden and that’s very rare – maybe once every few years. We have a rotation of our usual places and thus I know pretty much what the prices are. Nutrition wise I’m diabetic so I have my usual list of no-go meals but that’s not really prioritizing “nutrition” in my book.

We live in a small town with one Thai restaurant that my wife doesn’t like, one Indian restaurant that I haven’t tried yet, a couple of “Chinese” restaurants, and about a zillion Mexican restaurants and another zillion burger joints – we’re getting our first In-n-Out in a couple of months. Whoo-hoo :roll_eyes:. Only a couple of the Mexican restaurants and a Chinese restaurant get regular visits from us, and our usual Chinese place just closed.

Heard!

I eat out maybe four times a year at best. Those are special occasions so it’s all about having a really fine meal. Price is not much of a consideration and nutrition none at all.

Taste is the only thing I consider. Sometimes portion. For instance, I like chicken fried steak, but if the portion is bigger than the plate no thank you.

Yeah, i guess I’m the same. If I’m eating in a restaurant because i want to eat in a restaurant, it’s all about taste. But if I’m eating in a restaurant because i have to, then price, convenience, and nutrition all play a larger part on my choices.

Taste, otherwise I’m eating at home!

I’ll take that, thankyouverymuch. :stuck_out_tongue:

I like taste and something I can’t get at home. While I can make a great cheeseburger*, I can’t make decent fries. I rarely order steak or tri tip, since IMHO I make them better.

Pizza and sushi are my two biggest eat out food, but a good cheeseburger AND great fries are right in there.

*Although fresh tomatoes, lettuce etc are a pain in the butt if just cooking for two, especially as my wife hates tomatoes.