Photo by Liliang.
By DCist Contributor Victoria Finkle
D.C. is an expensive place to live, and feeding yourself is no exception. Follow Capital Cheapskate each month for a look at the cost side of the ledger, and for tips to enjoy the city’s burgeoning dining scene without breaking the bank.
Eating out in D.C. has become an embarrassment of riches. The city boasts more than 2,000 restaurants, and the industry is projected to earn more than $2.8 billion in sales this year.
The truth is that many of us will continue to dine out on a regular basis, whether we can afford it or not. Enjoying a delicious meal is how we celebrate promotions and anniversaries. It’s what you do when your parents are visiting town. And it’s probably one of the most common ways to socialize with friends.
Given that the average diner here spends roughly $340 eating out a month, I got to thinking that there must be some better ways to curtail spending on a classy restaurant meal without sacrificing the experience.
Below I offer what I hope is a veritable buffet of tips for stretching your dining dollars just a little bit further. Please feel free to share your additions in the comments.
Don’t forget the basics. Consider getting an appetizer or two instead of a more expensive entrée. Or plan to split your entrée with a buddy.
Budget-conscious dining advice also tends to involve preaching abstinence to save a few bucks—skip the drinks, apps, and dessert! Yes, those are surefire ways to save on your bill, though in many cases it may sap the fun out of the experience, too. If you’re happy to stick with water and an entrée, you can rest assured you’ll probably come out a few dollars ahead. I did my best to find some workarounds for the rest of us.
Explore the piecemeal approach. Experts often suggest eating more slowly, both to draw out the taste of a particular food and to avoid consuming too much. It seems like that advice can apply to the whole dinner experience, too. Take the evening one bite at a time by changing up venues. Pop some champagne at home before dinner if you’re celebrating a big event or birthday. Or hit up a nearby dive bar ahead of your meal.
Similarly, grab some fancy gelato at the grocery store for a sweet treat when you get home instead of scoping the dessert menu. Or go for a walk after dinner and grab an ice cream cone along the way. The extra time between dinner and dessert might even help you avoid overeating, and you’re less likely to order additional drinks while you wait, which can quickly inflate the bill.
If you find yourself jonesing for just a bite or two of something sweet to close out the meal, consider stashing a small bar of dark chocolate in your bag to beat the craving. Cheap and easy.
Opt for the bottle when you order wine. Try stretching your vino bucks a little further and go for the whole bottle, even if you and your dining companion aren’t feeling particularly boozy.
Individual glasses of wine are a high-margin item for restaurants, with a single serving easily costing $10 or more at many places. In fact, a glass of wine is sometimes priced to match the cost the restaurant paid for the whole bottle. Yikes.
The good news is that it turns out you can take the bottle to go if you don’t finish it—even better than your typical doggy bag.
Embrace the novelties. Sure, it’s fun to go for the fussy, high-priced cocktail when you’re out for a night on the town, but consider taking a look through the whole drink menu for the best deals. Rose’s Luxury (717 8th St SE) for example, has much cheaper High Life beer on offer—and they’ll serve it to you in a champagne glass, to boot.
Experimenting with some of the more radical entrées on the menu can also be a way to get the most for your money.
“The weird stuff isn’t on the menu to bring in big profits—it’s there because someone in the kitchen just thinks it’s awesome,” Zagat advises.
Don’t be afraid to split the check. For whatever reason, there seems to come a point in life where people have enough disposable income and enough hatred for basic math that they start going halfsies on everything whether the bill is even or not.
This can lead to the dreaded “diner’s dilemma,” where some people are spurred to consume more because the cost is spread out over the group. Tragedy of the commons, all right!
Sure it’s a little more work, but if you know you’re trying to budget carefully when eating out, don’t waste all that effort. Raise the issue with your buddies at the get-go and ask the your waiter to split the bill. You can also tap one of the many apps that assist the truly numbers-averse when it comes time to settle up.
Opt for the early-bird special. If you’re looking for the full three-course experience, try being flexible with your timing. A number of D.C. restaurants, including Rasika (633 D St NW) and Jaleo (480 7th St NW), offer pre-theater menus for a reasonable, fixed price. (See here for a comprehensive list from Open Table.) Some local spots are even starting to give diners a voucher to come back for dessert after the show—a dining “intermission” of sorts.
The earliest birds may be able to find even better deals by hitting popular restaurants for lunch instead of dinner. This pairs great with a post-lunch nap.
Be strategic when it comes to Restaurant Week. Skeptics have questioned the value of this popular citywide program, and it’s at least worth noting that you’ve got to be careful if your goal is to score a bargain. Don’t assume off the bat that this fixed-price option is always your best course of action, and take the time to do the math and consider possible extra charges before diving in.
Gamify your budget. There are tons of ways to think big picture about how you want to spend your money and where dining out fits in.
If you know you’ve got a big restaurant trip on the horizon, brainstorm how you can cut back on other spending ahead of time. This doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. For example, if you typically buy your lunch, push yourself to brown-bag it for just a week or two, and you could easily save $50 or $100 toward that nice meal.
For the more committed, consider trying a 30-day restaurant-free challenge ahead of an expensive date night, and save up even more.
Meanwhile, diners that simply accept they are social butterflies—with restaurant meals and drinks inevitably comprising a hefty chunk of the budget—should look into a credit card that will maximize rewards around your habits.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the popular deal sites, like Groupon and Restaurant.com, though there seems to be a growing backlash against some of these companies as consumers contend with “daily-deal fatigue” and hear about the consequences for local businesses.
What have I missed? If you’ve read this far, congrats! You’re clearly committed to putting your money to work in the pursuit of frugal dining opportunities. Go forth and eat well. And don’t forget to add your own best advice for nabbing a good deal in the comments below. The name of the game isn’t resisting all that D.C. has to offer, but being strategic in how you approach it.
