topic Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants in Kitchen

Home cooking vs. restaurants

novamc1 — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 15:17:54 GMT

As COVID-19 Triggers Resurgence In At-Home Cooking, Are Dine-In Restaurants In Trouble?

5:20 pm ET October 6, 2020 (Benzinga)

One of the more obvious trends playing out in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic was consumers eating more at home than usual. And this made perfect sense, as restaurants were mostly limited to take-out, delivery or drive-thru — or closed altogether.

Months later, many restaurants across the world have reopened with some limitations.

The key question remains: will consumers return to dine-in restaurant chains as they did before, and what impact will this have on their stocks?

Fact: People Are Cooking More At Home

If you wanted to sit down and enjoy a steak back in April, your options were limited: make it yourself or hope that a takeaway meal was still hot and fresh by the time it was brought home.

Many people opted for the first option, and if it is sustainable, the trend doesn't bode well for a chain like Texas Roadhouse Inc

"I can say that outdoor cooking channels on YouTube are getting more activity, and I am fielding a lot more questions than usual about techniques and recommendations regarding grills and other pieces of equipment," Gregory Mrvich, host of "Ballistic BBQ" on YouTube, told Benzinga in late April.

A handful of food companies recently confirmed that the early trends of people cooking at home remained unchanged throughout the summer months.

For example, spice company McCormick & Company, Incorporated said in its third quarter earnings report that it benefited from "the sustained consumer preference for cooking more at home."

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

deepwaterdotter — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 15:20:29 GMT

My husband says he prefers my cooking to the restaurants we used to frequent. Since our favorite local Chinese and Mexican restaurants have permanently closed, I am honing my skills at these cuisines. I still miss the hot and sour soup from the Chinese restaurant, and don't think mine is as tasty.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

Laura14 — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 15:22:38 GMT

I give it through the holidays. If the pandemic finally abates, people will find their way back to convenience once again especially once schools and kids' activities get back into full swing.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

millieshops — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 15:39:35 GMT

In my Long Island neighborhood, the restaurants that have set up outdoor eating areas look very busy as I walk or drive past, but what that quick look doesn't tell is how that busy-ness matches their previous numbers. And what will happen as our weather cools?

Overall, the costs of opening have been large for the owners; whether they can survive is really up to the general population. Social distancing, masks, and sanitation do work.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

proudlyfromNJ — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 15:46:07 GMT

@millieshops wrote:
In my Long Island neighborhood, the restaurants that have set up outdoor eating areas look very busy as I walk or drive past, but what that quick look doesn't tell is how that busy-ness matches their previous numbers. And what will happen as our weather cools?

Overall, the costs of opening have been large for the owners; whether they can survive is really up to the general population. Social distancing, masks, and sanitation do work.

@millieshops Is indoor dining still closed on LI?

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

Still Raining — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 15:49:21 GMT

We have indoor open more or less, but no one I know goes. If the current ones do go under, I assume the sites reopen with perhaps different menus.

Another horrible side effect.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

proudlyfromNJ — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 15:53:25 GMT

@Still Raining wrote:
We have indoor open more or less, but no one I know goes. If the current ones do go under, I assume the sites reopen with perhaps different menus.

Another horrible side effect.

@Still Raining Ours are open inside at fifty percent. They get plenty of customers. The town has supported all of them since the beginning with take out pickup and delivery then eating outdoors and shortly afterwards indoors.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

millieshops — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 16:01:00 GMT

@proudlyfromNJ No, they can now use the inside (not in NYC) but not at full capacity.

I don't see myself eating indoors at a restaurant any time soon -- maybe 2023????

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

proudlyfromNJ — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 16:19:04 GMT

@millieshops wrote:
@proudlyfromNJ No, they can now use the inside (not in NYC) but not at full capacity.

I don't see myself eating indoors at a restaurant any time soon -- maybe 2023????

@millieshops know about NYC just wasn't sure about LI. We've eaten in three times I think. Was a bit leery of one of the restaurants practices..or non practices.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

Group 5 minus 1 — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 16:21:47 GMT

We HATE to eat out. Like to be together in our house. Have never been eater-outers.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

kaydee50 — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 16:33:06 GMT

Eating in a restaurant is one of the few things we enjoy that is still available to us. We've been doing it since restaurants opened here in mid June. We feel it's important to support our local restaurants as best we can and will continue to both dine in and take out on a regular basis.

BTW, I hate to cook and DH does most of it!

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

Johnnyeager — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 16:34:31 GMT

New York City currently allows indoor dining at 25% capacity (except in the new hot zones.)

I am still dining outside at my favorite places since the weather had been nice.

I've dined inside at numerous upstate restaurants where capacity is 50%.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

MildredM — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 16:43:53 GMT

In the lower desert of AZ it is still over 100 F. during the day. Too hot to sit and eat on an outside patio. Waiting for the weather to cool down.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

Icegoddess — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 16:48:13 GMT

We never stopped eating out. Of course, for awhile we just had to pick it up and take it home, and I did try to cook a bit more. But, I don't enjoy cooking and it interferes with the things I do enjoy doing. In the summer, I spend a lot of time working in the yard and planning a meal, buying groceries, and cooking would be a big hindrance for that as I am often spent by the time I'm done in the yard.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

amyb — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 17:31:20 GMT

I like to cook, but miss going out to restaurants too...which we used to do a couple times a week..including at the casinos we have here, with some of the best restaurants around. We've ordered take-out from our favorites during this time...and once things are back to normal we'll be back to eating out occasionally. It is a big expense though...so who knows...maybe it'll be more of a treat than all the time as much as before.

I will say, in our tri-state area...everyone flooded our shoreline CT towns over the summer, took up residence etc, as NY, NJ remained closed. So our outdoor restaurants were packed, all the time. And now CT has moved into phase 3, indoor will allow more people...I'm not sure it's safe or not...just saying...the popularity is still there. A lot of people like to eat out vs. cook at home, especially ALL the time. But...that's in my area...we have a lot of wonderful restaurants, and much as I like to cook, and can cook well...I still can't replicate some of my favorite places, and love to go out, feel the social atmosphere etc. I think that alone, after such isolation...will be a big draw. Just my opinion, based on our area and lifestyle habits.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

Kachina624 — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 18:04:36 GMT

For me, eating out becomes old very fast. I often have no one with whom to eat and I HATE to eat alone in a restaurant. Many of our restaurants have already gone out of business.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

Grouchomarx — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 18:07:28 GMT

In the beginning I was cooking a lot. We did some takout now and again but the options aren't exactly perfect in my area. Once restaurants reopened we go every weekend Fri, Sat and sometimes Sunday. I don't mind cooking but I sure prefer dining out. It's not just the food, it's a social experience for us since we are very friendly with all the restaurant staff in the various places we go. I like to dress up too. so there's that. If it were economically feasible, I'd happily eat out 5 times a week. But it does add up, the way we eat and drink. Indoor dining has been wonderful, lots of space around us and we don't have to talk loudly to be heard. However, this will be coming to a close very soon with the onset of fall and winter. On rainy nights the indoors gets full and it gets back to being loud. Once it's freezing out, this will be every weekend. At least we enjoyed it while we could.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

RedTop — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 19:19:11 GMT

Any restaurant that depends on my dollars to stay in business is doomed from the get-go.

Eating out is a rare happening for me, and I'm most familiar with foods from Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans, Outback, KFC, and Arby's.

Several times a year I crave a burger and fries from a local diner, but my family prefers my cooking and I trust the food prepared in my kitchen over food from any restaurant kitchen.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

4kitties — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 19:31:41 GMT

Unless we are traveling or it is a special event, we rarely eat at restaurants. There are certain ones that offer a specialty that I cannot duplicate at home. We do go to them occasionally.

Restaurant food is usually not healthy. Way too much sodium, fat and calories for me. I have googled nutrition info in anticipation of going to a certain restaurant and trying to decide what I can safely eat. The sodium levels are out of site.

I prefer to cook and eat at home. I know exactly what is in my food and where it was purchased.

Re: Home cooking vs. restaurants

homedecor1 — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 19:34:48 GMT

Our restaurants are open 100% but the few we always ate & re-visited we just didn't like it☹️. The service was poor but the food tasted "old" -- I mean how can a cook mess-up omelet & home fries🤷‍♀️.

Then we went to Applebee's for a burger (spouse wanted to try it) yuck..brown/grey meat (and that's cooked) didn't appeal to me...I sent mine back.

I feel there aren't enough people eating out for the restaurants to go thru the food supply fast -- at our fav place at dinner there

were only 4 other couples & Applebees it was us and a other couple.

Not sure but I think a lot of restaurants (other than chain ones) are going to close☹️

Funny request from spouse can you make the broccoli and noodle recipe (@zhills) you haven't made this in awhile! I enjoy cooking and during shutdown tried some new things -- now it's just easy meals.

🙂