After cooking all day or all week, when you get a night out, what type of place do you frequent? Just curious.

[cape chef]

Believe it or not,When I have a day off I love to cook a simple dinner for my family,open some wine and just relax. If and When I do out...again I like simple,well prepared food. Nothing to fancy. My wife and I love northern Italian and asian ,viatnamise,thai,japenese etc. We do on occasion go the the "high end" places in New york and have had some of my most memorible meals there.But in general..I like to go to places that have good food,don't drain my wallet and have a friendly feel to them
cc

[momoreg]

I would say my dining habits are about the same. When I lived in the city, I went out almost every night, but nowadays, we try to limit our spending, so we only go to a fine restaurant every couple months. Normally we try to eat at home, or in diners or sushi joints.

When we're on vacation, that's a different story!

Capechef :

Ahah , i do the same thing just like you , tatse , and feel free......

but some times when bringing girls out , still need to go " high end..."

i just sent the email to you, pls read.
10 Q

[m brown]

Home cooking is the rule but when i go out i like to go to friends restaurants and international cooking joints. Last night was pizza night and it was so good to eat where strangers cook and clean!!!
When i cook at home i like to make 20 min meals as tasty and simple as possible. Roseanne Gold has a great series called 1, 2, 3. You need only three major ingredients and salt pepper and water. great for family dinner ideas.

[Pete]

I love to cook at home and entertain friends on my days off, often times. But if I am going out to eat, usually I choose low-end ethnic places or diners. Being in Chicago, there are lots of great, out-of-the-way places with inexpensive food. We try to limit our fine-dining adventures to once every 6 weeks or so (though I would love to do it more often).

After spending 40+ hours cooking, I still love going out to eat. Can't pass up REAL Mexican resturants (not corporate chains) or places that make homemade crab cakes and New England clam chowder. Got to drive a little bit to find those kinds of places around here!

At Two Fat Pigs we feel the best place to dine is with us. It's simple: a few friends, some fresh ingredients and some fine wine and we're golden. Eating is all about being social.
If it's last-minute, we're totally up for anything ethnic. It has to be good and inexpensive because we're in a resort town where food is presented like a purse at Saks Fifth Avenue and is claimed to be better than the descriptions in a Needless Markup catalog. The tourists will gobble it up faster than it can be served. Go figure.
Cooking at home with friends is where we'll be. When one rarely gets a night off, one has to take advantage.

[Nicko]

Just got a review copy in of Chef's Night Out. Covers most major cities and asks top chefs there favorite stops from a good beef sandwich to French food.

Great book, and a little more fun than Zagats.