Avoiding Dining Disasters and Disappointment

How do you save money when you dine out?

One of the worst ways to burn through your "coffee can" savings is a disappointing meal. Food costs  are one of the biggest expenses in the average vacation, no matter how frugal you are. I hate that sinking feeling you get when you have a bad meal  – it almost stings like a betrayal and, despite the fact that you are not at fault, you feel guilt and regret. There have been so many times when I've thought “For the $50 we just spent, we could have gone to McFood 5 times and been so much happier.” So what's the best way to avoid these tourist traps and dining disasters?

What Do You Really Want To Eat?

Eating on vacation is a lot of like eating at home – there will be overpriced restaurants and there will be hidden delights. There will be real bargains and there will be occasional indigestion. On every trip I've enjoyed, I usually fall into a similar pattern. I go crazy in the first few days wanting treats and specialties galore – full English breakfast, casino buffet lunches, open terrace dinners, with plenty of iced coffees and snacks in between. About midweek I experience the duel discomfort of a  heavier stomach and a lighter wallet and, oddly enough, I crave a combo of simple comfort foods (toasted BLTs, scrambled eggs on toast), and healthy dishes (roast chicken and vegetables, fruit salad). It's taken me a few vacations to learn that the best use of my limited dining budget is on what make me FEEL happy, relaxed, excited, or just plain good. It's not on what I THINK good vacation eating should be about – and it's definitely not what everyone else SAYS it is!

Mysterious Lines Make Memories

Don’t get me wrong, I've made wonderful travel memories while dining out at “typical” vacation spots. I've splurged on overpriced room service and loved every minute of it. I've had a blast enjoying mediocre drinks by a hotel pool.  But my best travel memories involve a more authentic, less expensive experience - trying Indian cuisine for the first time with university friends at a rural restaurant in England, joining a mysterious long line by a Hawaiian food truck to discover it was selling malasadas, and fixing a breakfast out of fruit cups, mini cereal boxes, and coffee maker hot chocolate in Death Valley cabin. What do these experiences have in common? The food was terrific, the setting was unique, the mood was relaxed, and both wallet and stomach were full.

Trying Wahoo Fish Tacos. UGH. BLEAH.

Those I'd Rather Forget...

Less memorable was the third buffet of the day in Vegas (so we’d max out the value of buffet pass), a “hidden gem” in Boulder City that was featured on a popular TV food show and served forgettable diner fare at bistro prices, a beloved taco chain in O'ahu (ugh!), and a hotel breakfast buffet bar in Sault Ste Marie that cost $25 for little more than dry muffins and old apples. Utterly forgettable, miserably mundane, horribly overpriced. In each of those cases, I would have been much happier with a drive-thru value menu and putting the leftover cash towards something fun.

Happy Wallets, Happy Tummies 

So here are a few tips for living large on a coffee can budget during your next vacation and avoiding regret:

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1.) Try what the region is famed for. Save your dining dollars for amazing Indian food and fish n’ chips in England. Chances are you will be disappointed with their coffee and burgers.

2.) Enjoy local baked goods and forgo restaurant desserts. Always invest some travel dollars in a small neighbourhood bakery  – a more delicious and budget friendly choice than the hotel's mass-produced frozen cheesecake.

3.) Relaxation Rules! Most people would rather have chocolate milk, peaches, and oatmeal in their hotel room, wearing their pajamas and enjoying cartoons and newspaper crosswords. Budget friendly and delicious! You've worked hard for your travel budget – would you really have fun standing in line for 30 minutes at a trendy bistro for cold eggs on a rainy Sunday morning?  You'd be amazed by the delicious meals you can create by  cooking in a hotel room.

4.) Ask cleaners and valet boys for their favourite spots – chances are, it will be budget friendly, generously plated, and a million times better than the place across from the hotel.

5.) Just like at home, present the manager with a firm but polite and professional complaint if you are dissatisfied. A manager at Wolfgang Puck’s in Vegas won us over with his amazing customer service when we presented him with a concern. You should never lose your precious travel cash when they aren't up to the job.

6.) The old tips still work: While in Europe, save money by eating your breakfast at the bar, not at a table. If you want to splurge on a fancy restaurant, go at lunch, instead of dinner. Ask if there are discounts for seniors, children, or students. If you are set on a certain destination, do a search for online coupons or specials. Review travel promotional literature for coupons. If you only want wings and nachos, get them half price at happy hour. Save your full price splurging on something more unique.

7.)  And if you’re going casual, consider takeout. We were exhausted our first night in Kona and Ryan went out to grab us a pizza. We discovered Bianellis and it was the perfect pizza – inexpensive, great value, and a neat local find that featured delicious island pineapple. We thought it was so great we enjoyed again several days later, this time by dining in. By the time we added on the impulse salad, two drinks, and tip, our cost was almost double compared to takeout night. And, while a nice enough restaurant, eating out was nothing special. We would have been just as happy saving $15-$20 and watching the waves and sunset in our PJ's.



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