A few businesses seem to be recession-proof. It really doesn’t matter whether times are good or bad, people will still eat out, they’ll still drink alcohol, and they’ll still gamble. They gamble to get rich, and if the economy is bad they’ll be even more desperate to have lots of money. When times are good, people drink to celebrate; and when times are bad, they drink to forget. But they go to restaurants because it is a pleasant experience. It’s easy to vary the diet: one day I can eat Geek food, and the next, Italian. Or even if I eat hamburgers every day, those at one fast-food chain are different than the ones at another. Eating in company with other people is always an enjoyable experience, especially if you know you don’t have to wash the dishes afterwards.
Why do you eat out?
(1) For a change
(2) I hate to cook and do the dishes.
(3) It’s not fun eating at home alone.
(4) For more delicious food
(5) The family likes to go out together once in a while.
(6) To celebrate special days
Sample answers
(A) When I got married, my wife and I made it a point to eat out once a week. We didn't have to go to an expensive restaurant — that was for special occasions- but we avoided the fast-food places. We'd go someplace quiet and get a table alone, and later with the kids. And we'd relax and talk about pointless things, just to enjoy being together. But then our schedules changed, and it became harder to eat out every week, and we lost a lot of the intimacy we once had. Eventually we broke up. I don't think we got a divorce because we didn't eat out very much anymore, but I think if we had continued to do so we would have had a better chance of staying together.
(B) I'm sorry to say it, but my wife is a terrible cook. She can't even boil water successfully. So if we didn't regularly go out to eat, the whole family would either starve to death or die of food poisoning.
Speak Your Mind
1. How often do you eat out?
2. Where do you usually go when you dine out?
3. Who decides what to eat?
4. Does the expense matter when you go to a restaurant? Why or why not?
5. Do you always eat out on a special day? Why or why not?
6. Explain why the number of people who eat out is on the rise.
Speak Your Mind Helpers
1. How often do you eat out?
(A)
I hardly ever eat out. I pack a lunch at home, and I almost always fix my own breakfast and dinner. As far as I'm concerned, eating out is just a needless expense. I can use the money for more important things.
(B)
I hardly ever eat at home: |’m really never there at mealtimes. I used to eat breakfast at home, but now I just skip it entirely and sleep a little later. But I have to eat lunch during my noon break, and I'm not anywhere close to home then. And after work I usually eat out for business reasons. My wife would like to eat out more often, but for me it's just part of the routine — for me, eating at home is a special occasion all its
2. Where do you usually go when you dine out?
(A)
Maybe I'm in a rut, but I always go to the same little restaurant near my house. It's a very pleasant little walk to get there, the food is always delicious, the price is right, and the people who work there all know me and go out of their way to help me enjoy my meal. Some people asks me why I don't try someplace else for a change, but I always tell them, “Why? What can I get elsewhere else that I don't already have here?”
(B)
I like the adventure of finding some new place to eat. So I'm constantly trying new foods and different ambiences. Whenever I find one I really like, I'll go back again, of course, and keep rotating among my favorite ones. But, at the same time, I continue to ferret out new experiences too. After all, variety is the spice of life.
3. Who decides what to eat?
(A)
I'm the man of the house, so I have the responsibility of choosing the menu. I have to make sure the wine is suitable and that the food is cooked properly. I also need to consider the different dietary needs of the individual family members. As a result of my vast experience in eating and making choices, I consider myself a genuine gourmand, and I would feel very hurt if my family didn't let me make these simple decisions on their behalf.
(B)
I don't understand the question. When we go out to eat, we all talk about the menu and what sounds good, but we all make our own individual choices. Sometimes we end up getting the same thing, but that's very unusual. One nice thing about doing it this way is that we can also sample each other's food and therefore get a little more variety.
4. Does the expense matter when you go to a restaurant? Why or why not?
(A)
It all depends. Once in a while, for some very special occasion, we‘ll deliberately go to a very expensive restaurant; and of course, on business, we'll always go there. But usually, we don‘t worry about how much it‘s going to cost. Good things are never cheap, and we want to live life to the fullest. But at the same time, it's silly to spend lots of money on these things all the time. So, I would say that we never consciously worry about how much we're spending on food and drinks, but we don‘t get the most expensive items on the menu, either.
(B)
Unfortunately, expense does matter. I like to eat out, but I can't afford to go to the best eateries every day. So I go to inexpensive restaurants with good food very often, rather than going infrequently to the so-called top restaurants. Usual\y, the food and atmosphere are not significantly better, anyway.
5. Do you always eat out on a special day? Why or why not?
(A)
Of course. Eating out helps make it special! If we did the same things we do every day, then that day would be just like all the others, right? In fact, we make a real big deal about it. We dress up in our finest, hire a limousine, go to the best restaurant in town, and order the house specialty. Then we'll go out dancing afterwards, maybe to a nice nightclub. I always say, if you're going to celebrate something, go all the way!
(B)
What do you mean by “special”? Some special days, like Christmas or Thanksgiving or the New Year, are meant to be a time of sharing the occasion with the extended family at home, so of course we don't go out at those times. Others, like a wedding anniversary, are supposed to be more intimate, so we'll celebrate those by eating out. Things like birthdays — well, it varies. For the kids, sometimes we'll have a party at home, and sometimes we'll have a party at a fast-food restaurant. If it's my own birthday, I'd rather just enjoy a special meal prepared by loving wife, and if it's my wife‘s birthday I'll either fix her something she enjoys or we'll go to a nice place together. II all depends on the circumstance, and it‘s nice to celebrate in different ways instead of doing the same thing every single time.
6. Explain why the number of people who eat out is on the rise.
F: My, this place is crowded!
M: Yes. I can remember when we'd come here and be almost alone.
F: I wonder what's happened.
M: Commerce is picking up, I guess, so a lot Of businesses are probably taking prospective clients out more often. The food here is always good, so they come here.
F: That's probably true. And I suppose that, as more and more women work, they don't have the time to cook at home, so they go out to eat.
M: Right. And also, I suspect that a lot of modern women never learned how to cook properly, so they are forced to eat out.
F: Unfortunately, I think you're right.
M: Yes, and so some of them, the ones who couldn't cook, saw their marriages break up. And so there are a lot more single people these days, and most of them don't want to go to the trouble of fixing their own meals by themselves. It's just a lot more convenient for them to eat out.
F: What about us? Why do we eat out?
M: So we can share a nice experience together and keep our romance alive.
F: I was hoping you'd say that!
M: I suspected it was a test. I'm glad I passed.
F: So, let's eat!
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