Semi-Charmed Life

“Fine” Dining?

I was eating dinner at a very fancy pants restaurant last night when I thought to myself . .  . what kind of idiot pays through the nose for food like this? How do I justify a meal that costs more than what I pay for breakfast and lunch for my entire work week? A meal that would be the equivalent of what a family of five would spend on groceries for a week?

Maybe I have to be a "foodie" to appreciate fine food. That could be it. I don't consider myself a foodie, but I sure do love food. Maybe that's my problem. Am I just too undiscriminating when it comes to food?

I understand that part of dining out is the experience. I hate it when people think it's the same thing when you go out to a theatre and see a movie or if you just wait until it comes out on dvd to watch it. Or worse . . . downloading the bootleg. Going to the movies is an event unto itself. So I can totally understand the difference between dining out and eating in.

It could be that what I'm really paying for is the ambiance and the venue, which for some people is just as important a factor as the food itself. Some people are very influenced by what atmosphere they're in, or how the presentation of their food. These things matter to an extent for me; obviously if I'm eating somewhere dirty and unpleasant or if my food looks like it was slopped on the plate with an ice cream scooper, I wouldn't be too thrilled.

Maybe I just have a lot to learn about dining out. Personally I think dining out should be an experience, but I think people are full of shit if they think the food they eat at some of these places is so great it justifies the ridiculous prices they pay. The reason I do eat at some of these places though, is that I do these types of things infrequently ,it's with good company and many of these restaurants are places I'd like to try at least once.

Or this post could have been just a poor attempt at justifying my being cheap.