It is no secret that I love eating in 'fine' restaurants but with inflation and little money I can only afford those places once or twice a month not to mention restaurants prices are going through the roof! It is not easy to find a full-service restaurant for lunch less than $20 per person---and I am not a drinker!


Most restaurants today are somewhere between full service and fast food and though I prefer the former I do go to many of those 'in-between' places also known as fast-casual! You place your order at a counter, in most cases get your own beverages, and in some you pick up your orders or someone will bring them to your table.


Though some people (I am NOT mentioning names, but you know who you are!) sneer at the fast-casual restaurants I have found two I like with one being Arbey's as they have a Reuben sandwich that while not quite like a NY deli Reuben is excellent and for $9.84 you get the sandwich, fries and a soda. In many cases you will get coupons once a month in your 'junk mail' that offer up to 6 Reubens for $6 each and, yes, I have become a coupon clipper!


One full-service family restaurant that I like is IHOP, especially for their omelets and side of pancakes. Recently they introduced some new omelets and I had the cheeseburger omelet ($11.49) that, yes, has all the makings of a cheeseburger minus the bun, in omelet style. It was HUGE and good except next time I would tell them to not put on the mustard and/or ketchup! Throw in the pancakes and you have a MEAL!


When I want wings---not I am not talking about those phony chicken strips sold as wings--I will usually go to the Wilton Wings full-service restaurant where they have a daily special of 10 chicken wings in a choice of 5 different sauces and fries for $13.79 and they are good!


It's no secret I like trying new places and one that opened recently was the Tropical Smoothie Cafe, though it is more of a fast-casual place than a cafe. There were only two other people when we walked in by the time we left there were 14 people waiting for their orders and we eat a late lunch. There were only 2 people working with one taking the orders and making the smoothies while the other was doing the cooking!


I asked the order taker for her recommendation and to be honest here it is 4 days later and I don't remember what it was except it was small and expensive which is okay if only it was good!


Last, but not least, I got a batch of 'buy one get one free' Baskin Robbins coupons and just a few doors down from the cafe is a combination DD (used to be Dunkin Donuts!) and Baskin Robbins sharing a store with each on one side. One time we went for a one scoop sundae and after the Tropical Cafe we went for 3 scoops of ice cream in a cup. The latter cost $7.95 for both which, with what ice cream costs today, was a good deal.


A few restaurants we go to quite often including full service, fast-casual and fast food places are: The Quarterdeck, JMarks, Big Louie's, Tequila Sunrise, Subways, Jalisco, among others.


Now starts my search for a 4-5 star restaurant for my 22nd birthday on Thursday, February 29, 2024!!