Gourmet Burgers With All The Fixings
You might think throwing together a burger at home is always the cheapest option, but that changes when you try to replicate those restaurant-quality gourmet burgers. Premium ground beef alone can cost more than an entire restaurant burger meal, and creating restaurant-quality burgers means buying small-batch condiments, artisanal cheese, and bakery-fresh brioche buns.
Don’t forget the truffle aioli, caramelized onions, and thick-cut bacon that make gourmet burgers special – a homemade burger adventure can tally up to nearly nine dollars per patty before counting sides or drinks, while many restaurants offer complete gourmet burger meals with fries for twelve to fifteen dollars. When restaurants can buy specialty condiments by the gallon and artisanal cheese by the wheel, they pass those savings on to customers while home cooks pay premium prices for small portions.
Specialty Pizza With Premium Toppings
Attempting homemade pizza can cost nearly triple what local pizzerias charge, with specialty flour, fresh mozzarella, and those tiny jars of toppings adding up fast. Think about it – you’re standing in the grocery store staring at individual topping containers that cost more than an entire large pizza from your neighborhood spot.
Most home cooks can’t match the efficiency of restaurants that buy ingredients in bulk, and achieving that perfect crust requires either expensive equipment or years of practice. Pizza orders from restaurants can easily reach twenty to twenty-five dollars for two people, while the cost of ingredients like oil, flour, yeast, cheese and tomato sauce can come in at under six dollars for a basic homemade pizza. But here’s the catch – that calculation doesn’t include all those specialty toppings or the waste factor when you buy full-size containers for just one pizza.
Authentic International Dishes With Specialty Ingredients
Authentic pad Thai requires a combination of specific ingredients, including tamarind paste, fish sauce, rice noodles, dried shrimp, tofu, bean sprouts, and peanuts – some of those specialty ingredients can be difficult to find, and even if you skip some traditional ingredients, the specialized sauces alone make it a costly dish.
Ordering a made-to-order portion from a Thai restaurant is a bargain by comparison and will give you that authentic flavor you are looking for. While a restaurant charges maybe fifteen dollars for a curry, homemade versions can cost nearly forty dollars after buying cardamom pods, fenugreek seeds, and asafoetida – unless you’re cooking this cuisine weekly, those specialty ingredients will likely expire before you use even half of what you purchased. The math simply doesn’t add up for occasional home cooks who want authentic flavors.
Fresh Seafood Specialties Like Lobster Rolls
Fresh lobster prices can be shocking when trying to recreate restaurant favorites – the seafood counter charges around thirty-eight dollars per pound for lobster meat, which provides enough for just two modest rolls. Restaurant suppliers get volume discounts that home cooks can’t access, and they utilize every part of the shellfish efficiently, something impossible in home kitchens.
Homemade rolls can end up costing nearly twenty-five dollars each when factoring in the special split-top buns, mayo, and lemon, while seafood shacks charge around eighteen dollars for a generously stuffed sandwich with chips and slaw included. Similar economics apply to fried chicken – between the cost of quality chicken, flour, buttermilk, spices, and the oil required for deep frying, homemade fried chicken is rarely worth it financially, and a bucket from your favorite joint is often cheaper per piece.
