Recently I was given the task to plan a US visit for 10 people. My family and some family friends decided to come and visit me in the US for about a week or so as well as make trips to Niagara Falls, Washington D.C. and New York City – pretty much the most common destinations on the East Coast for all tourists. I had to plan their trip to the smallest detail and while doing it I had to answer a lot of simple questions like – where should we eat without breaking the bank and wasting time, what is a decent hotel that we can stay at, etc. Most guides already answer these questions but they do it assuming people want to go all out and try nothing but fancy dining. While this is true for some people, others like my family and friends don’t like shelling out $100/person every time. Don’t get me wrong – fancy food is okay every once in a while but simply not 3 times/day.
In this guide I will try to post some things that I thought were very helpful to them
Part 1: Food
This table will give you the basic idea about the most common places you could eat. It is being constantly updated so keep checking for new stuff. The number of “$” signs corresponds to the approximate amount you will pay per person per visit ie. 1 “$” sign = $10, 2 “$$” signs = $20 etc. This is a very rough figure and it will go up and down depending on what you actually order and how much you tip. While many of the full-service restaurants advertise cheap specials they are mostly during the day and without drinks and tip included. The cost here reflects both drinks and tip.
My suggestion is to print this table and when you get hungry and don’t know where to go – simply find the logo and get the details.
| Name | Logo | Type | Service | Breakfast | Alcohol | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applebee’s |
| American | Full | Yes | $$ | |
| Arby’s |
| American | Self | No | No | $ |
| Bob Evans |
| American | Full | Yes | No | $$ |
| Burger King | | American | Self | Yes | No | $ |
| Cheesecake Factory, The |
| American | Full | Yes | Yes | $$$ |
| Chili’s |
| American | Full | Yes | Yes | $$ |
| Denny’s |
| American | Full | Yes | No | $$ |
| Domino’s |
| Pizza | Delivery | No | No | $ |
| Eat’n Park |
| American | Full | Yes | No | $$ |
| KFC |
| Chicken | Self | No | No | $ |
| Long John Silvers | | Seafood | Self | No | No | $ |
| McDonald’s | | American | Self | Yes | No | $ |
| Outback Steakhouse |
| Australian | Full | Yes | $$ | |
| Perkins |
| Perkins | Full | Yes | No | $$ |
| Pizza Hut |
| Pizza | Full | No | No | $$ |
| Ponderosa |
| American | Full | Yes | No | $$ |
| Red Lobster |
| Seafood | Full | No | Yes | $$$ |
| Ruby Tuesday |
| American | Full | Yes | $$ | |
| Subway |
| Deli | Self | Some | No | $ |
| Taco Bell |
| Mexican | Self | No | No | $ |
| TGI Friday’s |  | American | Full | Yes | $$ | |
| Quiznos |
| Deli | Self | No | No | $ |
| Wendy’s | | American | Self | No | No | $ |
