Or enough for a second meal. DH and I went out last night. We both got HUGE and delicious salads at a restaurant. Total bill was $33 BUT we each ate less than half of what was served and brought the rest home for tonight. So…way less than $12 considering we got a complete other meal out of the bill.
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@thumper1 this is the reason that I always order the dressing on the side when I get a large salad when eating out. I hate to bring salad home that is covered with dressing as I never think it is very good the next day.
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Another option along those lines is to ask for a “to go” container early on, put the portion you won’t be eating away and then enjoy the the portion you will consume at the restaurant.
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Well, we can get some great food for $12 or less around our neighborhood: Mexican, Greek (including Greek-owned American-style diners), pub food. Spouse eats unlimited and tasty lunch almost every workday in the university dining hall.
Despite other options, spouse and I often pick Taco Bell anyway 
. We’ve eaten at Taco Bell for our anniversary, father’s day, mother’s day, our birthdays, etc. S23 wanted to have his senior pics done there, but didn’t end up even doing senior pics.
What can I say, we love Taco Bell. Even though we cook delicious food and usually eat pretty healthy. It was the last meal we shared together as a family (breakfast) before S23 went to college. Our younger child is not a big fan and spouse and I haven’t made it back yet because we’re a little too sad. Dangit, how is Taco Bell making us feel sentimental?
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I got one of my favorite Breakfast burritos for free at the CU football game on Saturday. Free is so delicious, but I’m willing to pay for them too. I think they are about $4 each, except the first Sat in October which is national burrito day and they are $1.25.
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Waffle House is always an experience and definitely under $12!
Go after 12 am, and it’s dinner and a show for <$12 
You can supersize it.
This is a long thread, so this may have already been pointed out. Certain restaurants will run deals on off nights early in the week, Monday or Tuesday, like a burger night. You can likely find a local online site where restaurants promote these specials. Also, a less expensive option sometimes can be a composed salad, like a Greek salad or Cobb salad, where the protein is part of it. It’s a profit center for restaurants. When you order a Ceasar, add chicken or salmon. And all of a sudden, your 12-buck salad is 20.
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I’ve noticed that same trend here with adding protein to salads. But I can see how that helps a restaurant have more variety, provide vegetarian options (though often I choose the no-protein option to keep costs down).
When ordering a salad at a restaurant, I’ll always try to order the salad with the protein already a part of the salad.
Yes, the optional protein options are a huge profit center for the restaurant, but protein is also so very important to the diet. We need lots of protein. If I can get ALL my protein elsewhere during the rest of the day, then I’ll avoid the expensive optional proteins, but eating out is often expensive and it is what it is.
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Last night, my DD and DH took advantage of the Tuesday night special at our local pub and split a large pepperoni pizza for $10. They ordered water to drink, so it was a cheap meal.
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Just beware of the Monday Night seafood special. Most restaurants get their fish delivered on Tuesdays and Fridays. Some of it’s getting long in the tooth by Monday night, so either use it or toss it. Sometimes, a salad can be a good way for a chef to cover up that the fish may be past its prime.
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We went with D2 and some of our friends and her friends to Trivia last night at a restaurant/bar. Trivia started at 6:30 and happy hour didn’t end until 7:00. We ordered the popcorn chicken with dips and coleslaw ($7), chicken tenders and tots ($7), large house salad $10, 2 glasses of wine ($12) and a beer ($5). This came to $41 for 3 of us which is over the $12 per person, but included alcohol. All items we ordered were on the happy hour menu. The 3 of us shared the food and it was enough without being too full. The best part was we came in 2nd at Trivia and won a $15 credit to our tab (split with our friends).
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@abasket, I suggest the rules of this thread be $12 without splitting.
There is still a happy hour somewhere??? Rarely run across those anymore!
We are almost at 200 posts in this thread - people can post what we they like! 
But I will say… you’re more likely - or lucky - if you can go out and split a meal. You aren’t going to do that while dining alone on a business trip or probably not when going out with someone other than immediate family.
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The only way that I’m splitting a meal is if “we” go by the old rule of thumb of “what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine.” 
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Last night my husband and I went out for a late dinner. We had water and split a shaved prime rib sandwich with fries. We knew the sandwich was huge.
Came out on 2 plates. Half sandwich, a little basket of fries, dipping sauce for the sandwich.
$16. Left a $5 tip, thanked the waitress for 2 plates.
I know sharing is cheating but it was plenty of food.
We went to dinner at another restaurant last Saturday. Asked to split a side salad and he brought one plate. Two entrees, water and a side salad was over $100. Service wasn’t great.
We were so pleased with dinner last night and will add it to our rotation
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New favorite pub in the neighborhood. Chicken sandwich $11.99 but added tax and employee health and tip of course over $12.
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