Normal people’s guide to visiting the US

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	$