by Janet Wilson
posted October 15, 2009
Can two people enjoy a nice dinner out for $20 or less? That is a question that has been presented to us several times. During this economic down-turn, we have noticed a lot of restaurants (and other businesses as well) offering special deals to attract customers and decided this might be a good time to check out some of those deals to see exactly what is offered.
Keep in mind, I said, “nice dinner” (not lunch), so this does not include fast food, buffets, cafeterias, or order-at-the-counter establishments, which you could surely get for less than $20. This is dinner at a full-service restaurant, where you are seated, your order taken, and you are served. Most of these are chains and we really prefer to do local, but for this special project, it took us back to some restaurants we haven’t visited in quite some time.
Numerous restaurants are offering “twofers”, where two people eat for one price from a select menu. Of course, at some of the restaurants you have to give up a little to get the cheaper price.
Kanpai of Tokyo – Two dinners for $13.99, Monday through Friday - includes soup, salad, and entree with steamed rice (fried rice is an extra $2.10 per person, which I thought was a bit high for the exchange). What you give up is you get none of the side veggies (and dessert) you would have gotten had you sat at the hibachi table. That’s another thing; you must sit either in the bar or the sushi room, so if you’re looking for the hibachi experience you won’t get it, but if you’re just going for the food, no problem. The food was good, our server was excellent, I had plenty of rice to take home and was out sooner than had we been at the hibachi! I ordered the scallops and Wayne ordered the steak. We both felt the scallops were smaller as they appeared to be cut cross-wise, making two from one. Some of your choices are hibachi chicken, shrimp, scallops, steak, vegetables, Yakiniku, steak kabobs, and quite a few other items including sushi. We decided if you really want the vegetables, one person could order a meat selection and the other vegetables, then share. For the price it’s a great deal. Two people - $15.28.
Logan’s – Two eat for $13.99, all day Monday through Wednesday, and from 3:00 PM until 6:00 PM the rest of the week. We’ve been here twice and were pleased with the numerous items to choose from. I have tried the Southern fried catfish and grilled meat loaf (both of which I really enjoyed and would definitely order again) and Wayne has ordered two of the 6-ounce sirloin (teriyaki and blue cheese). He said the blue cheese was much better than the teriyaki for his taste. Also offered are grilled chicken, grilled pork chop, chopped sirloin and grilled salmon (among approximately sixteen entrees), all served with fresh rolls and your choice of two sides from their regular listings. Two people, including one soft drink - $18.86.
Shoney’s – Two eat for $10.99, Monday through Friday. This is a great offer. Choices are country-fried steak, ½ lb. beef patty, shrimp, chicken, liver & onions, baked spaghetti and fish & chips. If you prefer the dinner buffet and happen to be over 55, go on Tuesday, when you can have the buffet for $4.99. The one thing you give up for the deal is the accompanying salad bar. Two people including one soft drink - $14.73
Applebee’s – Two eat for $20, all day, every day. This special offers you an appetizer (four) and two entrees (twelve) for the price. The entrees have a lot of variety from Oriental chicken salad, burgers, shrimp and Fiesta Lime Chicken. We ordered the Spinach & Artichoke Dip (which was very good). For our entrees Wayne ordered the ½ rack double-glazed baby back ribs and I ordered the Three-Cheese chicken pasta. We both enjoyed our orders and I definitely would order the pasta again – I thought it was delicious! With tax and one soft drink, this did take us a bit over the $20 mark - $24.24
Texas Road House – The special is $7.99 per person, Monday through Thursday until 6:00 PM. This is a very good deal as you have some variety selections such as a 10 ounce chopped steak, country fried chicken, grilled chicken salad, grilled pork chop and several others. I went with the grilled BBQ chicken and Wayne ordered a pulled pork dinner. Two sides of your choice and fresh made rolls accompany your entree. Tax and soft drink brought the total to $19.85.
O’Charley’s – $14.99 for two entrees, Sunday through Thursday. Wayne wasn’t impressed with the menu. He felt they didn’t offer enough plated entrees as opposed to sandwiches. The total menu for this meal is fish ‘n chips, grilled chicken, Cajun shrimp & grits, Cuban sandwich, Meatballs & Spaghetti and a burger. You have no choices on sides. He went with the burger and I ordered the shrimp & grits. I thought the shrimp and grits were really very good even though it was overboard on the bell peppers (simply way too many). Wayne said the burger was juicy and flavorful, while the fries were standard frozen fries. But remember, we were looking for bargains. Only problem here is that you get your one item and it wasn’t really that filling. I’m one who always takes part of my meal home – here I did not. Total price with one soft drink - $18.98. We even got “dinner and a show”! A car caught on fire outside the window and the fire department had to be called to the rescue.
Chili’s – Three courses, two people, $20 – All day, every day. You do have quite a few choices that include appetizer, entree, and dessert. This was a great bargain, although with tax and drink it put us over. For our appetizer we ordered the Onion String & Jalapeno Stack. These were really good, but I could only handle a few of the jalapenos! They were great, but lit me up! For his entree Wayne chose the bacon burger (which was huge), and I ordered the Cajun chicken pasta. Wayne said he would definitely order the burger again; he really liked it (served with fries). The pasta was good, but not near as good as the pasta I ordered at Applebee’s. I did take part of it home for later. For dessert you could have one to share from any on their menu, other than the shake. We ordered the White Chocolate Molten Cake, which was delicious – warm white chocolate cake with a white chocolate filling, topped with vanilla ice cream and a crunchy white chocolate shell and berry sauce. I did splurge and have a drink here – strawberry lemonade sounded so good. Total for two meals and two drinks - $27.18.
Smokey Bones – They have a “More Bones for Your Buck” menu where the items are priced from $5.99 to $12.79 – so you can’t look at the items above $9.99! Some of the items to choose from while keeping within your limit include smoked beef brisket ($8.79), ¼ BBQ Chicken ($8.79), Fish & Chips ($6.99) and Smokehouse Chicken ($8.99). You get your choice of two regular sides with most of the entrees. Wayne ordered the pulled pork and I ordered the smoked turkey breast. We both enjoyed the food (although our server didn’t seem to have us on her mind), and the turkey was excellent (even a bit juicy!). Our meals with one soft drink and tax - $21.38.
Abuelo’s – Two eat for $12.99, Monday through Thursday – This includes quite a list to choose from – well worth the $12.99 – and it also includes dessert – Sopapillas. Just a few of the items are Chile Relleno, Durango Burrito, Stuffed Chicken Medallions and Grande Burrito. Wayne chose his favorite menu item, the Fajita Tacos, while I ordered my “regular” – a Mexican Stack. I love that stack! Part of the deal on this special is that you both have to order a drink – so price for two, including a soft drink, tea and tax - $18.98.
There are several other restaurants offering “twofers”, but they are over the $20 limit. A few, such as Imperial Garden and China House, have menus for family sharing that come in at less than $20 for two and are well worth the price. The dinner family meals at these two restaurants usually include egg roll or fried wontons and soup (and sometimes hot tea) and are freshly prepared. I always have food to take home at either.
Sweet Basil, one of our favorites, has a Tuesday special featuring one appetizer and two entrees for $19.99. This isn’t something you select from the menu, but a special they offer each Tuesday, so you may want to call in advance to see if it is something you might like if you’re only going for the special.
Of course, we did have a few complaints during this “Meal Deal Adventure”. The first time we went to Logan’s, we decided to order an appetizer and asked that we not get the salads until the appetizer was almost finished. As soon as our server sat the appetizer down, he said, “Do you want your salads now?”. We said later; which to him was five minutes because that’s when they showed up, followed closely by our entrees. When he asked how everything was, Wayne told him we got everything at once so something was going to get cold or warm, as the case may be. With that the server broke into hysterical laughter. It was at that point that his tip started taking a nosedive. A similar situation happened at Chili’s, but our server didn’t laugh, she just ignored us.
The Acropolis wasn’t on our list of cheap eats, but we did visit there during this period and were seated at one of the really small tables, then had an appetizer, salad and entrees all at the same time! We finally divided the appetizer onto our bread plates so we could get rid of the larger one. We have this same problem almost every time we go to Red Lobster and recently had it at Bluewater, which was a surprise, because their timing has almost always been perfect for us.
Wayne said to me, “If we wanted fast food, we’d go to a fast food restaurant or TGI Friday’s where we know we will get everything at once no matter how many times we tell them no.”
Also, you will notice at almost every restaurant there was just one soft drink. I prefer to only drink water; we were not trying to be so cheap as to share a drink! I simply couldn’t resist the strawberry lemonade at Chili’s.
So, in answer to the question, “Yes, a nice dinner can be enjoyed at a reasonable price - $20 or less.”
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