I'm not sure how $200-300 is "saving money" unless you're not enjoying your trip at all with a $50 restaurant. Maybe your friend that spent $5 on pizza was on

I'm not sure how $200-300 is "saving money" unless you're not enjoying your trip at all with a $50 restaurant. Maybe your friend that spent $5 on pizza was on the trip for something other than food? Also depending on destination, $200 / night on dinner is usually higher than my total daily incl amortized flights, and I don't really cut corners on anything (ie flights, hotel, activities, meals). Your friend with the $5 pizza could proportionally save a lot of money compared to me. Of course, food poisoning is a pretty extreme example, doesn't make sense to order from anywhere if it seems undafe.