5 Things to Consider When Spending Money on Dining Out

It’s the beginning of a New Year and we are all thinking about budgets along with loads of other goals. Plus I got a comment on my blog awhile back that really got me to thinking….

It got me thinking about what I think an average price is for a meal and what others consider an average price.  I mean what do you consider an average price for dinner in Portland?

I even posed the question on Facebook to see if what I thought was average was what you all thought was average. When I asked this I was referring to nice sit down restaurants. Sure enough we all kind of agree, on average you will spend right around $80, pre tip and probably at just 2 drinks. It also got me thinking that $80 is a LOT of money.  Some people even thought we were out of our minds for thinking that was average. Can’t blame them. It is a lot of money for just a meal. What makes spending $50-$100 on a meal worth it?

Here are 5 things that are important before spending that kind of money on a place:

1. Going out for a special occasion. Celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or anything you think deserves being celebrated. It calls for a really good meal. This is clearly not an every day meal.
2. When the menu is different and intriguing. I like menus that make me ask questions and menus that change with the seasons. It’s kind of a rule of mine to order something I won’t make at home.
3. When a space is smaller and quirky, or a converted space like a power station or a firehouse. Don’t give me deep mahogany with padded booths and low lights, give me unique and funky. Give me a space where the doors or windows can fling wide open in the summer months. No big over priced chains for me.
4. When the service is stellar. This really can make or break a meal unfortunately. Nothing is more frustrating than having them forget you or your meal. I really watch reviews of others and always make a note of this on my posts so you have an idea. Also this is the other reason I don’t let restaurants know I’m there. I want to report a true service experience to you.
5. Reputation. If you’ve read about it and people are saying good things, chances are you are in for a good meal. For Portland, we even have the reputation of some pretty good chefs. Word of mouth is also a way I find places that are special and have a good reputation.

This is why I “research” for you. Trust me, some places I haven’t put up a review, because I have nothing nice to say. And you know what my mom said about that??

For those of you that are sitting there with your jaws on the ground at this price, please refer to #1.  We go to plenty of Food Carts that offer exceptional food for a fraction of the price. We also hit sandwich shops and burger joints and spend way less than $80.  When you go into the nicer places in Portland you will find this $80 price as average.

What do you look for in a meal when you are going to spend that much money?