There’s a pretty good article in the New York Times this morning about the way people are economizing on their food budgets. The shocking part, to me anyhow, is that the article cites several families who were eating out four to five nights a week. What? Perhaps I’m old, or cheap, or a misanthrope or something, but this seems really shocking to me.

Of course, it might be different if you live in a big city. We have a very limited number of restaurants here in town, and I remember when I was young and broke and working two jobs in New York City that I’d grab a cup of hot and sour soup and an egg roll from the Chinese joint on the corner when I’d get off the bus after job number two. But the families cited in the NY Times article are grad students, and a mom with small kids. Anyhow, eating out all the time like that seems very strange to me, perhaps because I like to cook and I like my own cooking. I remember flying home from Paris once dying for a roast chicken in my own kitchen. Maybe I’m just weird that way.

On the other hand, there was a piece on the front page of our local paper about how the restaurants in town are struggling which makes me think I need to make a little bit more of an effort to keep them afloat. I’m as broke as anyone right now, but I like my friends who have restaurants, so I guess I should try to go out once a week or so to see if we can’t help them survive the winter.