Room only USA - food tips needed!

[Jazzmin]

We are going to California at Easter. We are staying room only for 2 weeks. Breakfast at the hotels is about 20 dollars each, I have 2 teenagers so they would pay full rate which will soon add up. I was thinking of packing cereal bars etc for a quick breakfast on some days ( obviously can buy from supermarkets there, but particularly thinking about start of holiday as we get our bearings.)
I have never been on this sort of holiday before - does it get time consuming constantly eating out? Do people eat out 3 meals a day? I have budgeted for lots of eating out, but not 80 dollars a day just for breakfast!

Any other tips on what to take which will travel well, or ways to manage having no self catering facilities much appreciated! ( I am really looking forward to the sightseeing, and love eating out, but don’t want to kick myself for not thinking of something obvious!)

We’re doing a month in NYC and New England. Planning on eating a shedload of crab rolls and pizza.😂

Do those Peets pods fit in the Keurig machines? Silly question but do hotel rooms have mugs/ cups in them as standard?

We have a Keurig at home. Yes, the Peet's pods work. They are called K-Cups. Be sure you are getting K-Cups.

Hotels in the US always have coffee making and drinking supplies in the rooms. The cups will normally be paper cups unless it's a high-end hotel, in which case you will have mugs. Same for drinking glasses.

We drink Lavazza espresso at home. Couple of shots a day ditto one of the teens. Will be quite expensive if we keep buying coffee out.Are the Peets quite strong and do most hotels have the Keurig machines? Thinking of taking our stove top and a couple of bags of Lavazza for the 2 weeks we have a kitchen.

Also, the hotel might also have a cheaper snack bar-type place. The ones I’ve stayed in have, so you can get a breakfast bagel/muffin/cereal and a coffee cheap. You’ll have a great time.

We like strong coffee, too. Peet's Major Dickason is a dark roast.

Hotels differ in the type of coffee making equipment provided. Some have Keurigs; some have other types of pod machines that are made especially for hotels (my experience is that these are the least satisfactory because the pods are never strong enough for me), and some have electric drip coffee makers with ground coffee in pre-packaged large sachet type things. When I travel, I usually check with the hotel in advance of the trip to find out what the coffee making arrangements are.

That is a good suggestion about the possibility of a hotel snack bar or coffee kiosk type thing. More and more hotels in the US have these now.

Also another difference with the UK: the default dairy product for putting in your coffee in the US is "half and half" which is a mixture of whole milk and cream. If you want milk for your coffee, you will need to specify that or buy some for your hotel room.

We stayed in LA (Santa Monica) in 2017 and the hotel has no facilities at all - and it was upmarket. No fridge, kettle etc. We had some fabulous lunch picnics from the supermarket (watermelon to die for!). Some days we had Denny's pancake breakfast or similar and didn't eat until an afternoon snack. Have fun!

We tend to eat two meals a day - hotels tend to have complimentary coffee but we then head out for a brunch typically around $15-20 a head but it will fill the hungriest teenager! Then we manage until evening buying drinks and snacks if need be in a supermarket. The USA is really into coupons so prepare for your trip looking for buy 1 get 1 free vouchers for restaurants in the area you are staying or national chains (check out Denny's). Another tip is wholefoods who have hot food to go, and I don't mean hot chicken, was amazing and you can eat there or take back to your hotel if nearby for dinner, other supermarkets have hot food too. Bagel stores make excellent breakfast options. Eating out in the US is not cheap as you have to add tax and tip to the menu price but portions are crazy huge so sharing is common. We mix it up with cheap meals eg tacos and full restaurants to keep in budget....

Ps they id you at 50, and won't accept a British drivers licence as id so you need to carry your passport if alcohol matters to you - not everywhere was that strict but it was a shock to be asked for the first time in 15 years!

Ha ha, yes alcohol matters! Will ensure I always have id.

When we spent time in the US DH and I often split a meal or took half for lunch the next day. It’s quite common so don’t feel uncomfortable about asking.

Wholefoods- superb fresh food market with deli, sandwiches soups etc.,, you can find it everywhere.
California is absolutely amazing - enjoy, where are you going in California?

Is Whilefoods in the US as expensive as the UK one?

I didnt find anything in US cheap particularly. Cereals were $7 or $8 a box where ever we went. Wholefoods probably a little bit dearer than Walmart, I love Whole foods in Piccadilly here .
Walgreens were good for snacks etc,a bit like our Boots.

We found wine very expensive in restaurants comparatively and would often have a beer or soft drinks instead.

Walgreen's own Boots.

Not read the full reply but lived there for a few months.... Starbucks filter coffee and a bagel with jam or soft cheese was a go to breakfast when we were driving between places and didn’t want to pay for breakfasts.. Safeway and Walmart (and others probably but they were what we found) both do good filled rolls or salad pots for lunch and if you want to do dinner cheaply find the nearest shopping mall to the hotel and try there... mostly fast food options but can mix it up with other options.. most hotels have fridges so we found we had a little cardboard box we’d carry round and refrigerate overnight, I just remember to pack a knife in my suitcase these days..

Where will you be staying in California?.

Where ever you are in the USA you can do a fine breakfast for under 10 dollars a day. We always breakfast like kings, skip lunch and then have something at about 3.

There are so many great food options in California, I think you’ll be glad you’re not tied to the same old hotel breakfast every day.

. We always breakfast like kings, skip lunch and then have something at about 3.
Thats what we did on our road trip and most holidays we go on as well anyway.

Done this lots - we disregard normal meal times and just eat when hungry - normally 2 meals and a snack. We find initially due to jetlag dc aren't hungry in the evening so have more during the day and picnic snack evening.

I like Trader Joe's for lunch and picnic food - am addicted to their salads. In and out burger is very cheap for quality fast food.
Find a good BBQ place or chain - they do that well in the US.

As per pp we sometimes ate in the morning and then a meal at 3pm and that was it. Unlike the UK there will always be people eating mid afternoon. Stock up on snacks and go with the flow - you are never far from food in CA!

We are staying half and half LA and San Diego. I am going to email the hotels and ask for a fridge and a kettle.

We loved San Diego - you must go to La Jolla cove and try to get to the baseball too. The USS midway was really good - leave yourself lots of time so you don't feel rushed there is lots to see. The audio tour is great. Kids can earn gold wings - as about these at info desk, is easy to miss and a fab souviner for them.
I would move to San Diego in a heartbeat....