4 ms·
In the US*. In Europe, cooking is still by far how most people eat. It's one of those things where our cultures drifted apart over the years.
by apexalpha 9y ago
In the US*. In Europe, cooking is still by far how most people eat. It's one of those things where our cultures drifted apart over the years.
- sanderjd 9y agoI think "eating out is the default" was hyperbole? If it's meant literally, it seems simply untrue in the US as well. I can believe that we eat out more, but most people I know eat breakfast and dinner at home and take leftovers to work for lunch. Are there statistics about this?
- stephenhuey 9y agoA huge percentage of Houstonians would eat out for lunch and maybe after work as well, even with a family. In a city of countless inexpensive restaurants, eating out might be the default for a lot more people here.
- sudhirj 9y agoThere are very few fast food chains that originate in India - people either cook at home or eat home cooked food out of roadside stalls if they don't have the time to cook. There are a very few indigenous restaurants, even fewer chains. It's simply not part of the culture, in the way that McDonalds is in the US. Only the rich and upwardly mobile go into a restaurant / fast food joint on a regular basis. To put this in perspective, a meal at McDonalds is affordable to most, if not all Americans. But the cheapest meal at a fast food joint (outside of a roadside stall) is affordable only to a minority.
- jessaustin 9y ago...eat home cooked food out of roadside stalls if they don't have the time to cook. I have loved this option, when I've visited places that have it. Much better than "McDonalds", every time. Life in USA is poorer because we don't have this.
- wycs 9y agoMuch of this is regulation, though some higher average wages, I suppose.
- newen 9y agoYeah but you are rolling the dice every time you eat from those roadside stalls. Most would never even have heard of food safety inspectors
- jessaustin 9y agoFood safety inspection is a relatively recent innovation. Somehow our ancestors survived. Diarrhea isn't fun, but one can generally avoid it by avoiding liquids that haven't been boiled. Most foodstuffs don't require near as much refrigeration as an American might imagine.
- roel_v 9y ago"Somehow our ancestors survived" Well, most of them did. This is the most literal example of 'survivor bias' imaginable. Look up 'sausage disease', to just name one. EDIT: this line of thinking is similar to people saying 'let children roam free, most abductions are done by people the victims know anyway!' or the anti-vaxxer 'why vaccinate when measles is so uncommon!'. Well yes, all of those things are the way they are exactly because of the thing those people are railing against.
- sanderjd 9y agoI think your point only holds for abductions if you can demonstrate that there were more prior to the cultural change in attitude towards roaming. Is that demonstrable? I don't think it is. On the other hand, diseases like the measles were definitely a widespread problem before vaccinations were developed.
- jessaustin 9y agoSure, my ancestors survived, and so did I, every time I've eaten at such establishments. Why should I care about some hypothetical person? She can take care of herself. Your EDIT undercuts your argument completely, because it makes clear your utter innumeracy. Abduction is not a thing that USA parents should worry about. Automobile accidents? Childhood obesity? Absolutely they should worry about those, but you don't care because automobiles and lack of physical activity are integral to your comfortable suburban lifestyle.
- kurthr 9y agoExactly, dhaba are the definition of fast food! They aren't chain restaurants, but it seems like everyone loves them (or has an opinion) and goes to them ...
- dsr_ 9y agoRemember that HN readers are demographically unrepresentative. Incomes are higher, urbanization is higher, professions are wildly skewed towards software, age is, I think, lower. In my experience, most people eat most of their meals at home, and lunch is the most likely meal to be eaten out. But some people eat out all the time. For most of my 20s I went out for lunch every day. Now I do so once a month or so on average.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- drieddust 9y agoPerhaps it's not everywhere. I have lived in UK, California, and Netherlands and my experience comes from there. My point still hold though. Indians still have a value oriented view to buying. Something is not bought just because you fancy it.But I think this is changing slowly. New generation is much more willing to spend for fun.
- cr1895 9y agoYou’ve lived in the Netherlands, and you experienced people eating out there as a default? That is entirely opposite to my experience. I’m genuinely struggling to understand how you’ve drawn that conclusion.