Every January since I started Get Rich Slowly, I’ve done an annual round-up of my discretionary spending. That’s not going to happen this year. The numbers are hopelessly muddled by events that created under-reporting in some categories and over-reporting in others. (Kris and I paid for our 2010 vacations in 2009, for example.)
Rather than sort things out, I want to talk about a couple of my spending habits instead. One is a worrisome trend, and one is a thing I’m doing right.
Food for thought
Long-time readers know that Kris and I love to dine out. It’s one of those things we’re willing to spend on. We cut corners in other areas of our lives so that we can afford to make this happen. Still, I’ve been concerned about my restaurant spending for the past couple of years. It seems a tad excessive.
How’d I do last year? Well, my grocery spending dropped, but my restaurant spending went up again — a lot. Here’s a look at five years of data:
- In 2005, we spent $1423.39 to dine out 100 times, for an average cost of $14.23 per meal.
- In 2006, we spent $1869.58 to dine out 108 times, for an average cost of $17.31 per meal.
- In 2007, we spent $2051.93 to dine out 84 times, for an average cost of $24.43 per meal.
- In 2008, we spent $2628.08 to dine out 77 times, for an average cost of $34.14 per meal.
- In 2009, we spent $3443.61 to dine out 69 times, for an average cost of $49.91 per meal.
Holy cats! Will you look at those numbers? We’re only dining out about half two-thirds as often as we were in 2006, but we’re spending nearly three times as much per meal. At the current rate of spending growth, we’ll be spending $300 per meal in 2015! Since I can afford our current spending — I’m not living beyond my means — the real question is: Am I getting my money’s worth? I’m not sure that I am.
If I’m honest, I have to admit that I don’t like the idea that we’re paying $50 per meal. I’d much rather return to our former habit: Dining out more often, but spending less each time. To that end, I’ve been brainstorming ways we can work to cut costs:
- We could do a better job of looking for discounts. We have an Entertainment book, and the local paper often features specials at local restaurants. We should take advantage of both of these. We used to do this, but have fallen out of the habit (primarily because we’ve become so used to eating at the same places again and again).
- We need to find more cheap places to eat. Half the fun of going out is just going out. Sure, we love the fancy restaurants, but we used to be happy with Dairy Queen. (This is lifestyle inflation in action!) The real problem is that the cheap places I know and love (Cha Cha Cha and Imperial Garden) aren’t Kris’ favorites. We need to find cheap places we both like.
- When we do eat in the same old haunts, we need to make an effort to reduce our spending. It’s okay to have an appetizer, entree, dessert, and drink all in the same meal now and then, but we could save money by cutting one or two of these from the mix each time we dine out.
- Finally, we should invite friends to our home for dinner more often. As soon as the book is done (getting close!), I’m going to make a habit of inviting one family to dine with us every couple of weeks. We used to do this a lot, but have fallen out of the habit. It’s fun and frugal to have folks over for dinner.
So, that’s one part of my financial life that still needs work. Next, let’s look at something I’m doing right.
A waning of want
Here’s something that amazes me: We’re twelve days into 2010 and I haven’t spent anything yet on personal expenses. I haven’t even felt the urge. I’ve bought gas for the Mini and groceries for home, and Kris and I went out to lunch last Friday, but I haven’t spent a dime on gadgets or books or games or toys or magazines.
“Big deal,” you might say. “That’s how it should be.” You’re right. But for me, this is a big deal. All my life, I’ve had the uncontrollable urge to buy Stuff. It used to be that I couldn’t go more than a day or two without buying something. Even while writing this blog, that’s been the case. (I’ve just learned to channel my desires into smaller, cheaper things.) Now, as last, I seem to have licked it.
I still want things — no question! — but I’ve become very good at ignoring the wants and moving on. How?
- Sometimes, I just put down the thing I want, turn off my brain, and walk away. I force myself to stop thinking about it. (Usually by thinking about something else — like our upcoming trip to Europe, and how I need to save for that instead.)
- If I still want the thing when I get home, I put it on my Amazon wish-list. For whatever reason, that’s often enough to satisfy the strange inner workings of my mind. I feel comforted knowing I’ve let myself put it on a list where I won’t forget it.
- I’m very good about using the 30-day rule to control my impulse spending. My Amazon wish-list plays a role in that, but so does my mountain of index cards. (My life wouldn’t be complete without index cards.) I have a handful of cards on my desk filled with notes about the things I want. It’s amazing how many times I sort through this stack and end up throwing cards away because I no longer want the item I’ve written down.
These techniques help me deal with desire. They don’t quell it completely — nor would I want them to — but they do keep it in check. That last rule is probably the most effective. By delaying purchases 30 days, I don’t feel like I’m denying myself. I can still buy what I want if I want it 30 days later, but I’m not just giving in to impulse spending. (When 30 days rolls around and I do still want something, it actually feels pretty good to be able to buy it.)
My current spending moratorium isn’t permanent, and I know that. In fact, the new Dick Tracy anthology comes out tomorrow, so if nothing else, I’ll be shelling over $25 for that.
Remember: there’s nothing inherently wrong with spending money on things that bring you joy. Problems arise when you finance these purchases with debt. If you’re meeting your other financial goals and have money left over, it’s good to indulge your interests and passions. Just make sure you’re getting value for the dollars you spend.
Here are the past installments in this series:
- My 2008 discretionary spending: Progress and challenges
- My 2007 discretionary spending: Highs and lows
- My 2006 discretionary spending: The good, the bad, and the ugly
How did you do on your spending goals last year? Are there areas where you wish you spent less? If so, what strategies do you use to keep yourself in check?
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I spend way more than this, unfortunately. Food is one of my splurges. However, reading this post prompted me to do a review of spending-by-category for 2009 (mint.com), and I’m mildly horrified. I don’t have non-mortgage debt, and have a healthy emergency fund, but seeing some of my spending habits over the course of the year has given me pause.
I don’t plan to make drastic cuts, but there are plenty of places I can reduce. I’ve been wanting to put more into savings and clearly the money is there, if I just cut out a few things per month.
Once again a GRS post has prompted me to do some work on my finances! I love this blog.
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Very interesting post!
Last year I spent about $1200 total on eating out. It’s by far the biggest item in my “personal entertainment” budget (which includes $128 on books, $80 on music, $120 on DVDs). This budget category doesn’t include vacations, so I always feel like the eating out expense is too big. On the other hand, I never go to bars and only rarely see a movie in the theater. I do spend on jazz clubs and the occasional play, however.
Similar to you, while I worry about the expense of eating out, I also hate to give up something I love doing and that I feel is overall a very positive part of my life (I can easily afford it, it just seems like a lot of money that perhaps I should be saving instead).
I especially like eating out because it’s social—I’m a divorced mom, and eating out means spending rare quality social time with adults. And you don’t have to plan ahead like you do if you try to get tickets to a play or concert!
I also take my 2 kids out to eat several times a year (to places like Olive Garden & Rainforest Cafe) and besides being fun, I consider this an educational experience because I use it as a way to help them learn how to behave appropriately in public (This training has helped them in many social situations. They are now 11 years old (I have twins) and I can take them anywhere and feel confident they’ll behave).
I suppose I should note like others have here–when I eat out, I always bring home at least another meal for myself in a “doggie bag”. The portions are always huge. So maybe that helps justify the expense?
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Regarding the tangent, if you’re craving some good pizza and beer at a cheap price try Sparky’s Pizza on SE 8th & Morrison. My GF and I can get two slices each, a pint of beer, and a glass of wine for about $16. They also show Blazer games on 4 flat screen TVs. I’m glad you like Cha Cha Cha, the Big Mama is great! Ole Ole is good too, it’s on NE 20th & Burnside and you can get a massive burrito for $5, bring cash.
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If you are going to France this year, you may want to consider the price of most restaurant meals in your eating out decision. Restaurants are quite expensive on the other side of the pond, unless you know where to go. I would think about starting a special fund for Restaurants in France. you’ll be glad you did. Keep an eye onthe exchange rate, too. What seems to be one price there, can turn into a “WHATTTT????!!!!” when you get home and see the bill.
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As others have indicated, if you are trying to lose weight (isn’t that another of your goals this year?) eating out less is a good way to do it. I would guarantee restaurant meals are loaded with calories even if they don’t seem like it. I inspect restaurants for a living, and between seeing how things are made and the poor food handling practices I sometimes see, you’ll be wanting to eat at home a lot more often!
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I find Portland to be a very cheap city compared to other places I’ve lived. To make it cheaper sign up for Groupon which gives you one killer deal everyday. I’ve gotten 50% off at Siam Society, Branch whiskey bar, and Delta Cafe. Also check out the Merc Perks page on the Portland Mercury site. Similar deal with 1/2 price gift certificates.
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Good job J.D.! On books I know that Trent from the Simple Dollar mentioned paperbackswap and I know it has definitely saved me hundreds on books and I only have to pay postage!
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JD where you paying $14.23 for the both of you in 2005; or did both of you go out 50 times?
If you were only paying 14.23 for 2 I think you earned the right in 2009 to pay 49.91 for 2.
Stop with the buyers remorse. Wife and I will grab a Costco Dog and coke $3.00 for dinner but it doesnt really compare to the Pier 101 (Lincoln City) prime rib and seafood ($50+).
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Most people are commenting on food budgets and/or great places to eat. But I want to comment on the power of something else J.D. said — the power of simply putting something you want on a list (instead of just purchasing it.)
This is something very important I learned from the classic work of Getting Things Done by David Allen. As we humans try to juggle all the items in our life, get organized and get things accomplished, it can be very stressful. Even when we aren’t actively in the midst of thinking about it, part of our brain is constantly dealing with all the unresolved items on our mind.
One of the most important things is to get this subconscious junk out of your brain, where it is haunting you and taking up your energy. Put the items you think you MIGHT want somewhere secure: on a paper list, on Amazon’s wishlist, anywhere that you know it is secure, you can look at it anytime you want. Then it is LITERALLY off your mind, and you can focus on something else.
Putting your desires/wishes in a safe place might help you stop thinking about it and feeling the pull of whatever it is. This is really a secret weapon against over-spending: stop fighting with yourself and just write it down somewhere. Later, when you are relaxed, you can make a well-informed decision about it.
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There are too many great places to eat in Portland that making it cheap limits you. What we do is get a low cost appetizer and share an entree. Actually making it a portion fit for a healthy diet.
Sometimes we’ll split a beer. But the cost of that has reached a point where I’d rather pass on it completely.
Also making it a bi-weekly outing instead of a weekly one should keep the costs down.
Check online for new recipes and make something at home that you love to eat while you’re out.
Thai food can be pretty easy.
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Something to keep in mind: Often when you’re going out for a big meal and getting apps and desserts, you’re taking home leftovers and getting one or two more meals. You don’t get that at Dairy Queen.
There are so many inexpensive places to eat in Portland, I don’t even know where to begin. I’m sure you’re familiar with Yelp to find reviews.
I find Thai food to be my go-to inexpensive dining out. Most items are around $10 and when you order family style, 2 entrees can feed 2 people with leftovers.
Also, Happy hours are a great way to save money if you can get to them in time-not easy when everyone doesn’t work nearby, but some places serve happy hour until 7, which is great. Later Happy hours include The Night Light on Clinton and all the BJs brewpub locations.
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I agree with Jane #68 about eating out more often (I’d prefer more often with less outlay each time as it gives me indigestion to pay too much to eat out and intense feelings of guilt when I think about people who are hungry)–and Tyler #82 about your curbing the spending habit.
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La Buca
http://labucaitaliancafe.com/
Best cheap place in Portland and right around the corner from the laurelhurst theater if you are looking for a date night.
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Our two favorite restaurants are BYOB and next door to liquor stores. We get more for the money by finding hole-in-the-wall individually-owned places. They tend to look run-down but serve amazing food, and the lack of atmosphere also keeps the screaming brats away.
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I’m not sure I see a problem. Like someone else mentioned – did you adjust for inflation? I also see the pattern of eating out less often at higher quality places – maybe enjoying a cocktail or glass of wine along the way. Its more of an experience than just shoveling food in your face. In my opinion – that’s the way it should be. You make enough money – you should do this if you find it enjoyable and it’s not sinking you. There will always be a cheaper way to live but what does that get you? Technically you can eat off the $1 value meals at all the fast food places, but YUCK!!
When I was a kid, my parents took us out once a week. I still try to hold to that guideline. it helps when I have something ready to go. I’ll usually take something out of the freezer the night before and have some sort of plan for it for the next day. Keeps me on track most of the time.
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I’m another who thinks quality over price when it comes to food. My criteria is that if I’m going to pay for someone else to make my food, they’ll have to do a better job than I can, and as we are both pretty good cooks that means that places like Dairy Queen just don’t cut it.
Another issue is that where we live maybe we don’t have the discounts on food that Americans have. Our entertainment books give a maximum of 25% off ‘quality’ (ie not fast food) restaurants. Here you’d struggle to get two baked potatoes for lunch for $15, and that’s without drinks .I think $50 for dining out for two is good value; ours would be more like $100 for a good restaurant and $200+ for a great one. (In London, dining out for forty pounds – about $90 at the time – was good value!)
But for all we love going out to nice restaurants we do it less than once a month, which is good for the budget but unfortunate because there are so many great restaurants that we haven’t tried yet!
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Do you guys drink a lot? I’m a foodie and a $50 average is pretty high, but my wife and I usually limit ourselves to one or two drinks (and often we have soda or water).
I would recommend concentrating on ethnic restaurants. My wife and I can stuff ourselves at the local Vietnamese or Mexican places for $20-25 with tax and tip. Indian or Thai places are usually pretty reasonable, and Chinese food shouldn’t ever be THAT much.
Also, fine dining is great and everything, but there’s something wonderful about simple, local specialties like a $1.50 authentic Mexican taco, a perfectly crafted Philly cheese steak or Italian beef sandwich, or a steaming bowl of Vietnamese pho.
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Ah, Portland food, how I miss it! I still get back a couple of times per year but don’t eat so much in your target area.
I spent $2268 going out last year – this category includes just a beer, or an ice cream cone, so the numbers are a bit hard to crunch. I estimate I go out about twice per week, and I live in the Bay Area.
I second the Portland recommendations for:
No Fish Go Fish
The Italian Place (corner of SE 32nd & Hawthorne) – it’s delicious but tiny so it’s best if you’re already going to be in the area.
Hoda’s
And highly recommend:
* Toro Bravo, especially if you can go with friends, since it’s tapas/small plates. Wow was it amazing.
* Pied Cow (coffe/tea/afternoon snack, especially if it’s a nice day and you want to sit outside in their lovely garden area)
* my favorite sandwich in all of Portland is Grand Central Baking’s mediterranean tosti
* if you’re willing to go to E Burnside for lunch one day during the week, there is a MOST amazing little Greek lunchplace somewhere between 12th & 16th or so. It’s on the south side of the street, has a blue awning, and was still there when I was in town this summer. I used to work near there and got lunch there occasionally. The gyro is so freaking good.
Those are all quite affordable spots!
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$3,443.61 is a lot of money. Compound that up for 15 years at 6% and your staring at over $74,000.
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If I’m going out to eat, I want it to be worth it. What’s the point of paying someone $8 to make me something I can probably make for myself, better?
I think your data just show that your tastes have been refined.
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I prefer quality over quantity.
Try searching in Yelp.com for restaurants. THey have almost 2000 restaurants reviewed in Portland and you can filter by neighborhood and cost levels.
Inflation didn’t cause much of the increased spending. Prices for eating out have only gone up about 3.5% a year since 2005. So that $14.23 spent in 2005 would cost about $17 today.
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@Sarah (#121)
Are you saying I’ve experienced taste-bud inflation?
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If your budget is representative of the average, you would be spending 5.4% of your income eating out. So if you’re indeed spending that, you’d be spending 3443/0.054=$63759 annually overall. That’s about 10 times my annual budget or 5 times ours if the $3443 is counting both of you. I spend $50/year tops each year eating out for about 3 times total.
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Dear Early Retirement Extreme (Jan 12th, 2010 at 3:59 pm),
While I’m sure most readers of Get Rich Slowly appreciate a good measure of frugality and agree that spending much less than you earn is essential for building wealth, spending the absolute least amount of money on everything is not necessarily the best path for everyone.
If three $17- meals out per year works for you, that’s great, but it’s not the only way to go while still being responsible.
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Oh, lol. You spend an equivalent of almost 30% of my annual income on dining out. Except for _very_ rare occasions I only dine out when visiting the in-laws in Central/Eastern Europe, where food is still very cheap (but great).
The good thing about being a low-income student is that you learn to make your own food for a low price. I hope this habit will continue long after graduation.
Edit: I should add that using the Amazon wish list is a great tip. I have a LOT of books on my list, and just adding them makes me feel that I almost own them. Once in a while I go through the list to see if there is a good (used or new) offer and to remove a few books that I don’t really want anyway.
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Y’all quit taunting me with Dairy Queen! I love it and there’s not one anywhere near me!!!
Managing wish lists: I would be lost without my Amazon list. As another commenter noted, once you write it down you don’t have to keep it in your brain. And knowing you can get it *whenever* takes down the temptation to get it *now*.
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Every time I go down to Portland (I am near Seattle) I hit two places – Powells and Old Wives’Tales. It is a fabulous restraunt that is not very expensive and has a great menu. One of the things it is know for is its soup bar (the creamy russian mushroom is amazing – like mushroom stroganoff) that also has several types of bread and crackers. They do a chocolate mousse that is wonderful. The menu is somewhat modular in that you can order may of the meals as vegitarian or choose to add chicken, salmon etc. to the plate. I took my Mom and she loved it so much that before we left town I took her again for breakfast.
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Oh – a quick add on – Old Wives’ tales is at 1300 E Burnside St. 503-505-6079
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I think food carts are one of the best ways to try a huge and (hopfully) fantastic variety of foods for relatively minimal expense. I like the low risk factor for new culinary experiences. Sometimes the atmosphere leaves a little to be desired. Delicious food doesn’t always taste as good when eating it in front of homeless people.
Here’s a decent site to assist – Portland only:
http://www.foodcartsportland.com/
The other tip I would second is the “every other week” dining out. Our spending didn’t go down, but the quality of the dining experience sky-rocketed. We were willing to travel further and make a bigger event out of the meal – appetizers and cocktails.
Once a month is not frequent enough for a meal out for us, otherwise I can only imagine the meal a month’s restraunt budget would buy. Joel Palmer House, DOC, EaT, Paley’s Place – all great, but all too expensive except for very special occaisons.
Also, amen to Screen Door. If you’re lucky enough to brunch there early, the fried chicken and waffles is enough food for an entire day. Maybe two. Brunch there has been slammed lately and I’m too hungry to wait an hour in the drizzle. You might also try the Delta Cafe over on Woodstock. It’s got a little more…character.
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FYI, No Fish Go Fish is lunch only, but it’s terrific. There’s also the Waffle Window– they’re not just for breakfast anymore. And the happy hour at 3 Doors Down is fantastic.
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Just for comparison – we spent $2460 for 88 meals, family of 4 in 2009. My records were a little shady in 2008, so I do not have much to compare.
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Wow, my food bill is much lower, but then I’m single and living podunk Tx where the cost of living is less.
I spent an average of $124/mo in ’08, and an average of $175/mo last year. My goal is to get down between the two this year. But as much as I love to cook it’s so boring for one, so I’m working on eating heathlier/organic food as much as possible, that I cook myself.
Instead of being a ‘wanter’ I’m the opposite, I have trouble spending. Both positives and negitives to that though. Good luck to everyone this year!
We’ll see how it goes.
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For a cloth-tablecloths happy hour that’s a good deal and feels a bit fancy, I like the Springwater Grill, near Bybee and Milwaukie Ave. in Sellwood. After nine p.m., last I checked.
Sometimes I take a modest “eating-out” amount of money and go to Fu Bonn, the giant Asian supermarket, to spend it on frozen steamed buns, dumplings, and other convenience foods. That way with my ten or twenty dollars I’ve bought a stash of pick-me-up snacks and small meals, usually a mix of favorites and foods I’ve never tried. It stretches out the fun for a few weeks. I often use something from Fu Bonn as a “give me the energy to cook dinner” snack. Then I can face cooking beans or veggies or whatever, and get the benefits of staying home.
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Now that is definitely beaking it down.
I wonder if you avail yourselves of all the discounts restuarants are offering these days. They’ve been so hard hit by the slowed economy that almost all of them are discounting now
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No longer live in Oregon, but still have my favorites: Hoda’s middle eastern on 34th and Belmont, Riyadh’s Lebanese on 13th and Hawthorne, Wong’s King Seafood on 80th and Division (that one only!) for awesome dim sum and Thanh Thao on Hawthorne at 40th (although I really like the Thai place right across from PSU), Il Piatto on 23rd & Ankeny (kind of spendy). Haven’t had good Mexican food since I left Colorado except when visiting New Mexico, of course.
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If you love Sushi, nothing beats Saburo’s on Bybee. Yes it’s $$ but the portions are so huge that you can each split an order of rolls, a few bites of sushi, and even a salad (try their salmon skin salad, it is to DIE for) and be plenty full for way under $40 total.
Also:
Woodstock area, Pizza Roma – a big slice, salad and drink will set you back less than $8 a person and it’s such good pizza.
Papaya Thai near Bybee, on 17th. A light supper of spring rolls (theirs are fabulous) and spicy soup won’t set you back much at all.
Another well kept secret in da hood – go to the mexican pastry shop on the corner of Johnson Creek Blvd & 32nd ave (Tacoma up to Johnson Creek to the blinking red light – it’s there next to the convenience store). It’s nothing special to look at, but their food is moi bueno. They have expanded their mexican bakery, which btw is fantastic, to other foods including take out tamales and flans, etc. This place is packed with hispanic customers (imo, the best barometer for a mexican taqueria or bakery), and we have been die hard customers for years.
Ever slipped into Kay’s place for a chicken fried steak? Pretty killer! (just have your defibrillator handy later).
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HA! I figured I should post to make you feel a little better. I just compiled my quicken report for 2009, we dined out (breakfast, lunch and dinner) a total of 499 times with a total expense of $9,402.
Sounds like we should focus on scaling back a bit I think in 2010.
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The Waffle Window at 36th and Hawthorne
http://wafflewindow.com/
Great place for a late breakfast on a Saturday.
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Man… all these restaurants are making me wish I lived in Portland.
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Thanks for another 3rd stage of personal finance article regarding food. Being fans of the Food Network and living in Las Vegas we tend to spend too much money eating out. We can “afford” it but I always say to myself, “How many meals could we have had if we applied that money to groceries?” It’s usually a minimum of 3 delicious meals prepared at home to the 1 at the restaurant. With that kind of ratio I always feel like we are wasting our money eating out. I wish we could find better balance when it comes to enjoying life without feeling guilty.
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I spent 1400 on restaurants last year (this includes buying friends a meal). As some other readers, my opinion is also that the restaurant food has to be better than what I can cook myself, or something don’t cook myself. So I don’t go to a restaurant to eat a spaghetti bolognaise. My suggestion would thus also be: Dine out less often, but spend more when you do. I generallyy spend $50 a person and more, but don’t eat out often
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There are lots of cheap, good places in North Portland (not SE, but it’s where I live so I’m more familiar). King Burrito has great cheap Mexican (and a surprisingly great burger). Monsoon Thai is great too. Also previously mentioned Montage is great.
Local weekly The Portland Mercury has a new thing they do call Merc Perks where they have weekly specials with various local restaurants where you get gift certificates for half price.
http://post.portlandmercury.com/portland/Shop
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I’m not sure which types of restaurants are your favorites, but I love yelp’s map search feature.
In our area, have you tried Frog Thai? It’s near the Value Village on McLoughlin. It’s quiet and good for a date.
Also we love Elk Rock – everything there is homemade. It’s a bar experience not a dining experience, but the food is great and reasonably priced. It doesn’t look like much from outside, but we are glad we stopped in and it’s become one of our regular breakfast places along with Hale’s & Bob’s Red Mill.
Old Wives Tales on Burnside is delicious. Last time we went I ordered appetizer, espresso, dinner, & dessert so we spent $40 including tip, which is a lot for us.
Flying Pie on McLoughlin is great too. I have been told by several people that Hot Rod has great pizza, but I am gluten intolerant so I can’t testify to that.
We love the local businesses!
We were so disappointed when Cabaret II went in, naively hoping it would be a new restaurant.
“Groupon” is another suggestion in addition to the entertainment book and restaurant.com. I got a half off deal for El Palenque which is on 17th.
Finally, having people over for dinner doesn’t always save us money over going out, because we want to serve fancier food to guests – it depends if we are planning to drink or not. Drinks really add up when you go out. But a rotating potluck is fun and frugal – one of the local food bloggers has monthly themed potlucks where they choose a foreign cuisine and everyone gets to try to find a dish to bring.
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Marcy!
Apparently you live in my neighborhood.
We haven’t tried Frog Thai, but have talked about doing so. Nor have we tried Elk Rock.
We do go to Hale’s from time-to-time, but mostly for dinner. Prices are reasonable. Our favorite breakfast (and lunch) place is Sully’s in downtown Milwaukie, across from the lumber yard. The food is awesome, if unassuming. (I love the tuna melt.)
And I agree that Flying Pie is great. I actually eat lunch there once a week (out of my cash allowance). Much of my book was written in Flying Pie.
I’m also quite fond of Imperial Garden, in front of Ace Hardware.
Since you know the area, I’ll point out that Gino’s in Sellwood is the source of much of our restaurant spending. I’d eat there every night if my belly and budget would let me.
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Wow! I never realized I was in such a minority. I don’t love to dine out, since I generally can make better food at home, and I’m not fond of noise and crowds. The few times we do go to a restaurant, it’s because of a special occasion, and it will be a four or five star restaurant–quiet, excellent service, and food I can only dream about being able to make. This only happens maybe 6 times a year, but if I think about it, it probably adds up to $1200 – $1500 per year out of our budget.
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If you just want deelish food and don’t mind taking it home (or eating it outside, provided it isn’t raining a bunch), try the carts on hawthorne! dude. burrito cart is where it is at!
Otherwise, are you opposed to going to bars occasionally? Try getting there for happy hour. Usually there are some good eats at decent prices (plus people -theoretically – aren’t all wasted and annoying yet)…check out FARM (now has HH wine/food specials), Maiden in the Mist, Night Light, C-Bar, Gladstone Pub, Bar of the Gods, Tennesse Reds even has BBQ HH food…etc. The only thing is that sometimes they make you buy a drink to get the cheap eats.
More on the cheap…
• Por Que No
• Cha cha cha
• Ole Ole
• East Side Deli (DEELISH and HUGE sammies towards 50th/Hawthorne, by Angelos)
• Justa Pasta (best pasta in all of portland, nice atmosphere, worth the drive to NW Overton & 19th, and CHEAP!)
There are more, but most of SE stuff is covered above!
Woot! PDX REPRESENT!!!
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I agree that the restaurant.com coupons are great. We have found them to be a much better option than the Entertainment book. As previously mentioned, don’t buy them full price, look for the coupons (often 80% off) and get $25 off a meal for $2. In SE Portland, I would recommend the following places that use restaurant.com coupons:
Mezza Middle Eastern Cuisine (Woodstock and 55th)
Dingo’s (Hawthorne and 46th)
Blue Pig (Division and 50th)
La Calaca Comelona (Belmont and 23rd)
You might also try Hawthorne Fish House (Hawthorne and 43rd) as they have fantastic lunch specials. And for those indulgent nights, fried cheese curds!
There are lots more on restaurant.com if you are willing to drive a bit. We just went to Lorenzo’s in Mississippi and had a fantastic meal for $38 (including tip, drinks and the coupon!).
Best of luck J.D.!
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My husband and I enjoy eating out too – mainly because we enjoy cooking and recreating the recipes at home. We recently spent a weekend in Atlanta and we found all the restaurants we ate at via tripadvisor (I am featuring some of our favorites on my blog tonight!)
I highly recommend checking tripadvisor for your local city to find the hole-in-the-wall but good places! Price ranges are posted on tripadvisor too.
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Ok, more Portland area suggestions:
for Lebanese, I really recommend Habibi’s downtown around morrison and 10th.
Henry’s Tavern on 12th has fantastic happy hour food deals M-Thurs.
Pad Thai Kitchen around Belmont and 23rd is the hands-down best Thai food in Portland.
The Berlin Inn near Powell and Milwaukie is reasonable and delicious, especially if you split the fondue.
Sheridan’s grocery store near MLK and Stark has a fantastic deli that changes daily, they put a menu up online every day.
Casa de Tamales (Asparagus Farm) in downtown Milwaukie can be delicious and relatively inexpensive.
Other places in SE Portland that I love for relatively cheap: Daily Cafe, The Side Door, Kyoko Teriaki.
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