MEALS
If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might be better staying at home." --James A. Michener
Unless you’re camping or RV’ing or have accommodations with a kitchen, mealtime is decision-time. On a two-week trip, it means finding a place to eat 42 times; on a four-month adventure, you could be talking over 300 meals out. Now, the free continental breakfast or breakfast buffet offered at some hotels or the hearty, though not necessarily heart-healthy, Irish or Scottish breakfasts that are part and parcel to B & Bs, are a start. The basic decision-making is hard enough – what are you hungry for and then finding a place that’s even open, (it is not uncommon to come across a small Spanish town at midday with all of the restaurants closed – everyone, restaurant employees included, have gone home for lunch and siesta)… Then comes the financial kicker – how much is it going to cost and can we afford it. Establishing a budget for daily sustenance is an important step in the travel planning process. Partly, it depends on your willingness to “go native,” eating where and what the locals eat. In France and Italy, it’s probably not a gastronomic problem; in some parts of the world, make sure your health insurance is paid up.
Resorts often offer meal plans that include two or three meals per day and, oftentimes, unlimited beverages (including cocktails, wine and beer). This “all-inclusive” package may make sense for stays in remote locations, but can seem limiting if in larger cities with lots of dining options.
To the extent possible, we try to avoid restaurants for breakfast – either eating the free hotel or B & B meal or else walking to a local market, buying fruit, juice and rolls and eating in our room or on a park bench. This is usually much less expensive that eating a sit-down breakfast and less time consuming. If you’re into McDonalds or other international fast food emporiums, their breakfast repasts can be on the affordable scale as well. Lunch for us is a mixed bag – depends on where we are and what we’re doing – anything from buying bread and cheese and wine at a local market to sit-down at a local café or a sandwich and brew at the pub.
Dinner is where things get more extravagant and more expensive. We try to partake of the local cuisine, though tend to avoid the sidewalk carts of third world fame. Princes for dinner vary widely. Use a guidebook to check on local prices, set reasonable standards for yourself, and budget accordingly.
This is especially important if the local cuisine is an integral part if your trip. If you plan on wining and dining your way through Italy or France, a not uncommon experience, budget accordingly. Remember, it’s why you’re going. There are ways of saving money even in this instance. Fine dining at lunch time is MUCH less expensive than at dinner time. Fixed-price (prix fixe) meals (often called set meals) can result in substantial savings – IF you like the day’s choices). If, on the other hand, the focus of your attention is on the landscapes of Ireland, then there’s more flexibility in the food budget (just make sure to budget for the nightly brew or two at the local pub!).
During our first night in Tokyo, the three of us went to a restaurant specialized in tempura (my favorite). The $80 meal was fine and, given prices in Japan, not surprising. The next night, we ate basically the same meal at a noodle shop around the corner from our Ginza-district hotel – for $30! Just as good. That became the new norm for us on the trip. We did splurge two nights at a traditional Japanese Inn that including a 5+ course dinner each evening. A comparable meal without lodging would have been upwards of $100 per person. So the $300/night stay with breakfast and dinner was a bargain! So, there are clearly ways to save money on food and still eat well and eat local.
Reviews and Recommendations
In the US, the place to start is www.yelp.com. Type in a City and State and you will have access to consumer reviews of a wide range of restaurants in terms of price and cuisine. Overseas, I suggest starting with www.tripadvisor.com. Again, just type in a City and, assuming it’s in its' database, you will be linked to a range of consumer reviews. (Note: tripadvisor also has consumer reviews of US and Canadian restaurants, though I’m partial to Yelp.)
Unless you’re camping or RV’ing or have accommodations with a kitchen, mealtime is decision-time. On a two-week trip, it means finding a place to eat 42 times; on a four-month adventure, you could be talking over 300 meals out. Now, the free continental breakfast or breakfast buffet offered at some hotels or the hearty, though not necessarily heart-healthy, Irish or Scottish breakfasts that are part and parcel to B & Bs, are a start. The basic decision-making is hard enough – what are you hungry for and then finding a place that’s even open, (it is not uncommon to come across a small Spanish town at midday with all of the restaurants closed – everyone, restaurant employees included, have gone home for lunch and siesta)… Then comes the financial kicker – how much is it going to cost and can we afford it. Establishing a budget for daily sustenance is an important step in the travel planning process. Partly, it depends on your willingness to “go native,” eating where and what the locals eat. In France and Italy, it’s probably not a gastronomic problem; in some parts of the world, make sure your health insurance is paid up.
Resorts often offer meal plans that include two or three meals per day and, oftentimes, unlimited beverages (including cocktails, wine and beer). This “all-inclusive” package may make sense for stays in remote locations, but can seem limiting if in larger cities with lots of dining options.
To the extent possible, we try to avoid restaurants for breakfast – either eating the free hotel or B & B meal or else walking to a local market, buying fruit, juice and rolls and eating in our room or on a park bench. This is usually much less expensive that eating a sit-down breakfast and less time consuming. If you’re into McDonalds or other international fast food emporiums, their breakfast repasts can be on the affordable scale as well. Lunch for us is a mixed bag – depends on where we are and what we’re doing – anything from buying bread and cheese and wine at a local market to sit-down at a local café or a sandwich and brew at the pub.
Dinner is where things get more extravagant and more expensive. We try to partake of the local cuisine, though tend to avoid the sidewalk carts of third world fame. Princes for dinner vary widely. Use a guidebook to check on local prices, set reasonable standards for yourself, and budget accordingly.
This is especially important if the local cuisine is an integral part if your trip. If you plan on wining and dining your way through Italy or France, a not uncommon experience, budget accordingly. Remember, it’s why you’re going. There are ways of saving money even in this instance. Fine dining at lunch time is MUCH less expensive than at dinner time. Fixed-price (prix fixe) meals (often called set meals) can result in substantial savings – IF you like the day’s choices). If, on the other hand, the focus of your attention is on the landscapes of Ireland, then there’s more flexibility in the food budget (just make sure to budget for the nightly brew or two at the local pub!).
During our first night in Tokyo, the three of us went to a restaurant specialized in tempura (my favorite). The $80 meal was fine and, given prices in Japan, not surprising. The next night, we ate basically the same meal at a noodle shop around the corner from our Ginza-district hotel – for $30! Just as good. That became the new norm for us on the trip. We did splurge two nights at a traditional Japanese Inn that including a 5+ course dinner each evening. A comparable meal without lodging would have been upwards of $100 per person. So the $300/night stay with breakfast and dinner was a bargain! So, there are clearly ways to save money on food and still eat well and eat local.
Reviews and Recommendations
In the US, the place to start is www.yelp.com. Type in a City and State and you will have access to consumer reviews of a wide range of restaurants in terms of price and cuisine. Overseas, I suggest starting with www.tripadvisor.com. Again, just type in a City and, assuming it’s in its' database, you will be linked to a range of consumer reviews. (Note: tripadvisor also has consumer reviews of US and Canadian restaurants, though I’m partial to Yelp.)