Give it a rest, Sarah. The intent of the reference is quite clear and obviously not intended to be derogatory.

So yeah, you can do pretty well if picking the right sort of restaurant or ethnic market (to make the stuff at home). Some Mexican and Indian cuisine can be relatively cheap per pound, especially if you’re hitting a taqueria or can find an Indian buffet that does takeout. If you can find it, most forms of African food are delicious and again, not too pricy. This is also true of some Asian foods, depending on what you’re looking at. Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food varies, but generally is a good bed. Hell, I’d even throw in good old Southern U.S. style soul, creole, and cajun food being cheap if you know what to look for.

On the flip side, a lot of Asian restaurants have gone upscale, especially if they serve Japanese food, or just “fusion”. Sushi is not cheap, and that’s fine, because if they use cheaper fish, it tastes like crap. On the plus side, I also fill up very fast on a smaller portion, and unless you’re eating a bunch of tempura on the side, it’s really healthy. A lot of European foods fall into the expensive category too, but again, keep in mind you’re not supposed to eat giant portions.

I’ve found that eating out occasionally at ethnic places is great, especially for foods that are just don’t work at home. For the rest, I prefer learning to cook the stuff myself, and get a ton of ideas from around the world. It’s amazing how many ways you can make “rice and beans”[3], both of which are *very* cheap by the way.

In one week, I’m happy eating French style lentils with tomato and onion over rice, Latin style black beans and rice with chicken, Indian channa masala (chickpea curry) over rice, good old American chili (no rice this time), jambalaya (no beans this week), and then using the saved money to get some sushi at the end of the week. . . with a side of edamame.

~EEE~

[0] Technically, all food is ethnic food, since it just means it belongs to a culture somewhere. For this discussion, though, I’ll go with anything you can’t get at Applebee’s.

[1] There, I think that safely excludes Belize and a handful of Carribbean islands where this may not apply.

Realist: I’d introduce myself to the manager, ask about the place, his kitchen’s spin on the particular region’s cuisine, and otherwise take an interest in the operation. Subsequently, not only may you get the regulars’ menu, if such exists, but you may get to meet the chef, receive the occasional amuse bouche from the kitchen, or be seated without a reservation. Hell, in this economy, with restaurants suffering along with every other small business, managers will be happy to build long-term relationships with people as genuinely passionate as they are about their fare.

I’ve seen “traditional” as a descriptor for American food, but really, most of the menu items on chain restaurants — many of them “traditional” American — originated in fact or tradition overseas. Add to this the confusion of some types of cuisine deemed “ethnic” being of origin outside the source country, like General Tso’s chicken or chicken tikka masala. I guess it’s a matter of assimilation and authenticity.

I think I’d only take issue with the term “ethnic food” if someone were using it to reject something new to them out of hand, e.g., “That’s ethnic food!” Usually a cue that I’ll be happier not dining with that person. Probably best to just name the specific region when discussing food options. Though I’ve never seen anyone freak over someone’s use of “ethnic” as a macro for “non-American food.” You can overreact in either direction.

And now I’m jonesing for my local Indian buffet. Which, to return to the topic, is dirt cheap.

Another reason that some ethnic restaurants have lower costs is that they don’t spend a lot of money on a high-dollar space with upscale furnishing. Simple and clean with great food at lower prices works for me.

The bartering boom is yet another good thing that is coming out of these economic times. Other than the obvious monetary benefits, people are once again making connections through these types of arrangements.

Shirley

Of course, I think most of that comes from using lard or at least shortening instead of oil… But that’s another discussion for another day

And I don’t see the big deal about using “ethnic”. How else are you supposed to phrase it? “Foreign”? That sounds even worse… Like they’re somehow not supposed to be there, and are outsiders. I think ethnic is a good, neutral term to use here. Of course, it also technically applies to American food also, as everything humans create is ethnic in some way. But common usage deems “ethnic” in this sense as not relating to the majority ethnic group.

All that said, I think maybe the point was missed that it’s really the smaller, less-traveled markets you are looking for here. It just so happens that the vast, vast majority of those focus on ethnic cuisines, since the “typical American” ones have been long put out of business by the supermarkets.

No offense intended by the “ethnic” label. Don’t know how else I could have phrased it.

If anyone has ever eaten at a restaurant where the restaurant owner or cooks have actually grown up in another country you can actually taste the difference and its a truly a delicious and unique experience.

Mexican food cooked in the true Mexican tradition tastes quite different and better than what is considered your typical Mexican fare.

One of the best meals I’ve ever had was eating Ethiopian food in the same manner and tradition as that eaten in Ethiopia. (You sit on the floor and eat from a communal bowl) – and it was relatively inexpensive for the quality of meal I was served.

Its amazing how exciting meals can be if you just don’t fall in the habit of patronizing the same chain restaurants all the time.

Where I live there’s good Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi, Jamaican, Chinese and SE Asian food relatively cheaply both for groceries and restaurants. Not many Mexicans in the UK though so no cheap burritos.

Fish and chips is British. I have eaten it in the States, but if it was American you’d probably call them fries. Delicious, and probably cheaper as a takeaway.

I don’t know that recommending ‘ethnic food’, regardless of the political correctness of the term, is really the best suggestion, though. Certainly the average taqueria is pretty inexpensive, but that’s a trait of taquerias, not of all foods originating from other countries. Would you go out for Italian or Japanese or French food to save money?

Food from most countries comes in a variety of price points. Certainly you can buy a burrito for $4, but you can get a hamburger for about the same price. Yeah, a steak is more money, but so is the shrimp fajita plate.

Color me confused.

One example — whereas the mainstream supermarket sells chicken bones for a buck a pound, the Chinese market in my vicinity sells three to four chicken carcasses — five pounds of bones — for a buck. That means I can make three to five times as much chicken stock, which means three to five times as many lunches or dinners of hearty vegetable and barley soup, for the same price.

Yes, you need to learn to make chicken stock, and soup. But neither is hard, they’re just things you need to learn. And they are fantastic ways to cut the daily and weekly food budgets.

Beyond that, there are great cuts of pork and chicken for $1-$3 less per pound than my mainstream supermarket. It’s definitely worth snooping around the off-the-beaten-track markets in your area!