What food do you avoid ordering when out of the home, because you make better at home?

[IzzyGone]

What do you not order when you go out to eat as you know you'll make a better version yourself and therefore pick something else?

Mine is banana loaf, nothing flash but mine is better than coffee shop version.

Cauliflower cheese (as a side) because the cauliflower is invariably overcooked and not drained properly, so it makes the cheese sauce watery, and they NEVER put enough cheese in the sauce anyway.

I got the worst scone ever at Patisserie Valerie, they had toasted it to disguise the staleness (no wonder that business folded) - I agree with you - they need to be fresh out of the oven and that's rare for most cafes.

A cheese scone, at any rate at any National Trust cafe! I’d be surprised if the one I had, had even been shown a piece of cheese.

Agree with both of these - overcooked scrambled egg is just awful.
However, it must be nigh impossible in a café or restaurant setting to get it from pan, to plate and then mouth in less than 30 seconds as I do at home.

Also tea- in these days , when you’re offered oat milk, soya milk et al , WHY do so few places have skimmed milk available ?

Properly made cauliflower cheese should be fully deserving of being a main, not a side dish. If it's light enough to be a side, it's not proper cauliflower cheese in my opinion.

I always put double the cheese in! So much better!

Yes, this! I rarely have a roast outside the home, and then only if it’s a carvery so I choose what I have. I like making a roast on a Sunday, and do a pretty good one after half a century of doing them!
i don’t order Lasagne either as I have worked in restaurants and it’s always microwaved and rather sad looking. Portions are tiny, too! One exception was an Italian place in Glasgow where it was properly made and absolutely massive!

Lasagne, bolognese, fish pie, beef stew. I prefer my own versions of those every time! Also trifle... I like mine really boozy and I don't like cream - so best to make it myself.

On a slightly different note.... Has anyone noticed how practically impossible it is to get a good Ploughman's lunch anywhere nowadays? Rather than some poncified version (if you can get one at all) with brie, 'leaves' and balsamic vinegar drizzled over it? And half a ciabatta if you're lucky?

And what about a good, simple plate of a good rustic pate with plenty of toast or crusty bread? If I'm going out at lunchtime I don't necessarily want a big meal I would like something simple, and something that is NOT soup or a sandwich.

I don’t go to restaurants that are not as good as me! What’s the point? I want something special so I avoid nothing. I’m not going near somewhere offering a beef stew or a lasagne. The greatest treat is eating something I cannot make
myself.

We tend not to eat Italian out as it’s so easy to replicate at home.

I’ve stopped ordering hot chocolate when I’m out as nobody makes one as good as DP’s.

Fajitas

Yes, at home we have it as a main, with baked potatoes. 😋

Sticky Toffee Pudding. Its such a risky dessert to order- when done well its amazing but I've had too many lacklustre STP's from otherwise good restaurants and my trust is forever broken. I learnt to make my own which I make very well.

Victoria sponge cake - never as light and tasty as when baked at home

Agree, one reason I don’t like roast dinners out is that they tend to serve cauli cheese with them which is all sorts of wrong, it is a main meal and far better home-cooked.

To be honest I make most food better at home so don’t eat out much.

@Fishwife2 Have you ever been to a Michelin starred restaurant? Forgive me, but unless you have, I don’t believe you are a better cook! I’d take a top chef’s offering any day.

Yes many actually and still prefer my own cooking.

@Fishwife2 Not much point in you going then. You don’t appreciate what they do. Do you serve that high quality every night? Where have you been?

I agree with most pasta - unless it is a really good Italian restaurant, I find it overpriced for what you get.

Pizza I never order to eat in, for me it’s a takeaway with a movie kind of food. In a restaurant just feels wrong!

I go for brunch a bit, always go for eggs and/or something a bit interesting. Avoid avocado toast and yoghurt bowls, just feels like a waste to me. Hot chocolate inevitably disappoints as either insipid and watery or pretentiously bitter.

Almost everything I could order is better than I make, BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE IT! I love being catered for. I buy supermarket roast chicken, though a chicken roasted at home has better flavour/texture, because the nice people in a factory made it and all I have to do is eat it 🤗

We've reduced our entertainment budget so eating out is extremely rare. On the odd time we eat out, I have been disappointed with the food now that I have learned to enjoy cooking and baking in a move away from processed food. Now that I've nailed Pizza from scratch, it's mainly Indian, proper slow roasted BBQ, Chinese and shellfish that I would order because I can't make it as nice at home.

Why is everyone ordering pizza and pasta when they are out? Go once a year and have something far better! Thats a real treat.

Really great pizza is a real treat, filled fresh pasta is a real treat.

I can have as much (often more) fun at a great speciality restaurant than a Michelin starred fine dining - which can feel a little too stuffy at times. We eat out a lot though. Chefs who specialise and excel at one food type - like rotisserie chicken, sous vide flat iron steak, really filthy burgers that require 10 napkins, pizza etc are my current source of joy.

Better for me is food that tastes great - and that can be from a street vendor or a fine dining restaurant. Best is not the most expensive or the fanciest - taste is king!