2 burgers and 2 cokes at 5 Guys in Orlando, Fl yesterday $28

[DFW]

23. We're on vacation in the USA, so we don't eat out much

Here on Cape Cod, fish and veggies are as fresh as can be, and my wife is a master chef. We have a lot of visitors, so we usually cook for four. A fancy meal with salad, fresh corn cobs, sautéed potatoes and onions, the fish main course, and some kind of pastry dessert my wife dreams up on the spot ends up costing maybe as much as $30 for the four of us, if you include the salad dressing, spices, butter for the corn. The same thing in a decent Cape restaurant would probably run $170 or more including a 20% tip. We have to buy the ingredients, of course, but the fish markets and farmers roadside stands are everywhere, so we just stop off on the way back from Long Nook Beach.

It’s really a two-tier dining system here. Either you do it yourself and pay attention to the food budget, or you say what the hell, I’m on vacation, and leave a couple thousand to cover your restaurant adventures if you’re here for a few weeks, which we are. Since my wife is a gourmet chef and has fun cooking, we usually opt for the cheap solution. Not everyone does (and not everyone can). Since red meat is on my taboo list, I only have one “burger” a year, anyway. It’s at a place called “Local 186” on Commercial Street in Provincetown. It’s called “The Bird” because it’s all ground turkey meat with sautéed mushrooms, sautéed onions, cheese optional, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and the optional k&m. It’s about $18 plus tax and tip, so figure $25 out of pocket. It’s really good, and we don’t regret the money once a summer, but we don’t need it every night.