Eating in, eating out.

The dance between home and restaurant dining is like the kid's game of musical chairs. Consumers are finding their way home, pleased with the money they are not spending at restaurants, enjoying the sacrifice, and hoping to get to a point where they can actually save the difference. Some say they will keep eating at home even if the recession ends. Others aren't sure. Those who are enjoying being at home may stay there for a long time before getting back to eating out often. Eating at home, even every night, is a lot easier than it used to be. There are so many shortcuts and so much takeout that the idea of inescapable kitchen drudgery seems kind of antiquated.

ABOUT EATING AT HOME MORE

* "Cooking dinner is now a matter of boiling some pasta and opening a bag of salad. Since I've discovered pesto, I don't even have to heat pasta sauce. A few spoons of pesto from the jar, and bowl of salad and a glass of wine - it's poetry without cooking!"

* "I may return to restaurants when I feel safer than I do now spending money on 'unnecessary' items. I'm fixing more meals at home and don't mind it a bit. I may just leave it this way and 'bank' the difference!"

* "We've pretty much stopped eating out. Almost every Friday I pick up a pizza on the way home from work. That is our big 'treat'. The only times we go out these days are special occasions or vacations (and we take 2 vacations a year). I cook regular meals for dinner sometimes, but during the week we are eating cereal, soup, tuna sandwiches, toasted cheese sandwiches, etc. I don't mind because it is a lot cheaper and a lot healthier than going out. "

* "We rarefy go out for dinner now - it's been over a year now. We do enjoy going out for breakfast after early church on Sunday or an early lunch once every week or two. But I cook dinner every night I am home and continue to enjoy doing it. "

* "Have really been tapering off, prior to the economic meltdown, as the old 7 or 8 dollar meals started to send us to an 'early bird' status avoiding the 16 to 20 dollar menu changes. Now that we are accustomed to this change we are continuing 'early bird' reduced prices."

* "Meals at home for two people is a culinary apocalypse. Try finding quarts or pints of milk or smaller quantities of perishables at reasonable prices." (Note that "culinary apocalypse." If one- and two-person households don't feel they belong there, supermarkets are losing a lot of sales.)

EATING OUT, BUT DIFFERENTLY

* "Eating out as often, but spending less."

* "We still eat out but share more and have dessert at home."

* "Beyond my husband throwing something on the grill (weekends only, as weekdays we can't rely on when he'll be home for dinner), I'm not thrilled about cooking. It's hard to plan meals when recipes have to be modified for my husband for calories and fat, mostly dairy free for me, and we won't even discuss my daughter's eating habits. Plus we have 2 more family members that can (and would like to) eat normally. Yes, it's much easier and more enjoyable to eat out!"

* "What has happened is that some businesses have been forced' to cut back! I work for a bank, and they live in mortal fear of some local reporter thinking they will be the next reportorial superstar by being able to print that the bank took some clients and board members out for a nice dinner and a working session. Who suffers? The local restaurant - the chef the wait staff, the bus boys, the food purveyors, etc. Not the bank! We're doing just fine, but our former habit of supporting some of our local businesses with our patronage has dried up. So much for the economic stimulus!"

* "I'm sure we're not part of the norm, but we're eating out as much as we always have. Given conflicting schedules, diets, food intolerances and allergies, and a picky eater, it's easier and often more cost effective to eat out. We tend to eat at chains (Panera, 99, Boston Market) and local family style or sandwich restaurants that are not too expensive and serve all day."

* "Rarely eat at 'fine dining' places because of their cost, their limited serving hours, and how difficult it can be to control calories. I've noticed that several of the fine dining' restaurants in our area have gone out of business."

* "The restaurants in the western suburbs of Chicago are seeing a bit of a downturn in business, but not a whole lot. There are evenings when some of these 'white tablecloth' restaurants are full and doing well."

* "Hot restaurants are still hot on weekends, but people have cut back We go wherever we feel like during the week without a reservation. We couldn 't do that last year."

* "Since I was laid off, I am eating out less. Clearly, no client meals right now, which accounted for 2-3 outings a week, and less personal lunching out, for sure. My social time with friends is the same as always, and I am certainly going out for dinner at least 2-3 times a week Some places are packed and lively; others, not so much."

* "We are VERY lucky! Both retired with ample income and good investments, we have always watched our expenditures, thus we do not worry about money. We eat out several times a week but at moderately priced restaurants where the food and service are good. Fixing meals at home is little drudgery since so many prepared items are available at the markets."

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