The New York City restaurant scene was so very good to my tastebuds, but far more unkind to my wallet.
Perhaps I haven’t been quite fair, because I was on a trip. And on this trip I ate out almost every single meal (a few of my friends also very generously treated me to dinner). Perhaps if I actually lived in New York full-time, I would not be quite so indulgent with myself.
On second thought, I would most likely continue eating out every meal. It’s just so easy to do so. A great new restaurant is around the corner, every corner. Going out is a much more involved, calculated process in a car-dependent locale (i.e. 98% of America) than in New York City. The subway makes it so convenient to just drop in at a restaurant somewhere, and all your friends are probably doing it too. The ease of ordering drinks without scheming and worrying about designated drivers (as is the case in almost any other city in the country) is another major factor.
While I was working, I would be so tired after work that I didn’t want to drive anywhere at all. Once I made it home, inertia made it far easier for me to whip up something quick than to battle traffic for a nice dinner. Now that I am in between jobs, I’ve taken to cooking more and holding dinner parties because I’m trying to stick to a budget, I’ve discovered that I love to entertain at home, and I have a lovely outdoor space to do (three plump birds, one big stone!).
At home, I measure an activity’s worthiness in terms of the time it would take to drive there and the stress I would endure through traffic and parking. Is Restaurant ABC worth driving 30 minutes? 60 minutes? What if I can’t find parking and it takes an hour-and-a-half? If I plan to have a few drinks, do I have someone to take me home? If I have to get my car in the morning, did I make sure to park it somewhere there’s overnight parking allowed?
In New York City, no such math is necessary. I haven’t quite realized how many of my dining decisions were based on drive time and parking availability… New York City makes it so easy to go out to eat (and I imagine the small apartments and lack of outdoor spaces also contribute to the dining-out tendencies), and the food is so good.
But what NYC giveth (delicious food of every stripe and variety), NYC also taketh away (money). For this week at least, I suppose it was a fair trade. 
Related posts:
All I can say is… I agree
[Coming back to SoCal... I wish we had a subway. And a bazillion amazing restaurants. I guess I'll enjoy the sunshine!]
Great post! When I lived in Singapore I felt the same way. Tiny apartment, tiny kitchen. It’s difficult to carry groceries on the metro, so you only buy the necessities and because of all this, you eat out at every meal. And the food was so good…so much selection. It’s just more convenient.
@Money Maus
I really truly wish we had a subway that’s convenient to use. But I also have a new-found appreciation for sunshine, warm breeze, and proximity to the beach.
I have friends in NYC and they have commented that they eat out EVERY SINGLE MEAL. I wanted to take leftovers home once while visiting them, and the waiter didn’t even ask me for that option. Apparently, they just ‘don’t do that’ in NYC, according to my friends (one of whom was a struggling med student).
Great little post about the realities on NY dining and your reassessment of your time, money, etc., that revolve around your local dining experience. More dinner parties? That can’t be a bad thing right?:-)
so true, not having to drive makes a BIG difference in your plans, not only ease of getting places but also whether to go to places off the bus/train route! also in SF public transportation isn’t 24 hrs, so you have to plan your return on the late night…
Well there are walkable parts of LA. I used to live in WeHo – car unfriendly but not bad in terms of walkability. I could walk to Trader Joes, the drug store, Starbucks and dozens of clubs and restaurants. But yes life in LA means adapting to the traffic, whether that means limiting the places you’ll visit or just generally avoiding the roads at certain times of day.
I imagine in NYC you would eat-in out of economic necessity, it’s not just restaurants that are expensive, the overall cost of living is high. But saving on car expenses would definitely help, even our paid for cars cost a lot each month. I hope you are having a great time.
There are quite a few New Yorkers that never use their kitchens. I have friends that have no clue how to cook. I’d be a huge blob if I ate out every meal and honestly I’d rather spend my money on other things. (Not that I don’t indulge, just not every day and rarely at work.) Thankfully I enjoy cooking and am quite good at it, so I mostly stick to that.
The walkability does seem to contribute to the increase of eating out and drinking out. It’s so nice to not have to worry about drinking and driving. I take it for granted and am reminded every time I go to my parents’ when I’m borrowing the car to go meet up with old friends. It is a tradeoff, because not having a car can be a huge pain at times. One of the things I miss most is singing at the top of my lungs along to the radio on my commute to work…that just wouldn’t fly in the subway.
I live in Boston. Even though Boston basically has the same accessibility as NYC, I don’t just pop in and out like that. I do the same thing you do when I travel by subway as when you travel by car – I calculate the time it will take me to wait for the T or bus plus actual travel time. You have to leave extra early for everything. I love it, but sometimes it’s a real pain in the ass to depend entirely on public (and foot) transport. We eat in most nights.