Restaurant vs. Home Cooking Costs

You are in a setting native tribes used for hundreds of years, with a view no restaurant in the area can match. Incredibly fresh local ingredients and a professional kitchen are all you need to make amazing, memorable meals. Restaurants are expensive, noisy, and sometimes not that great. I am frequently left thinking, “I could have done that better for a fraction of the cost.” So when we are at Mystic, we eat most of our meals at home: the local ingredients are fantastic, the view beats any restaurant, the kitchen is a great place to cook and gather, and we can drink good wine at a reasonable cost.

Here is a real price comparison for six people.

At a popular Mystic restaurant: $465

(including a 20% tip)

• Six appetizers (clam chowder, salad, mussels, squash soup, tuna, bruschetta): $76
• Six main courses at about $30 each: $180
• Three desserts at $8 each: $24
• Nine glasses of wine at $12 each: $108

A full, over-the-top meal at 26 Schoolhouse: $275

• Appetizers (artisan cheese platter, charcuterie, jumbo shrimp): $75, plus two bottles of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc ($30)
• Main course (prime Angus steaks with local shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, and roasted red potatoes): $85, plus two bottles of Pinot Noir ($40)
• Dessert, from the bakery: $20, plus Taylor Fladgate 10-year Tawny Port ($25)

A really good meal: $145

• Appetizers (artisan cheese platter, charcuterie, olives): $50, plus Sauvignon Blanc and a regional IPA ($20)
• Main course (smoked-and-baked Black Pearl salmon on wilted baby spinach): $30, plus Sauvignon Blanc and a regional IPA ($20)
• Dessert (ice cream with flourless chocolate cake from the bakery): $25

And go ahead, pay someone to clean up the dishes afterward. You have still spent far less than a night out.

“But how do I cook all that?”

Easier than you would think. The appetizers are mostly bought ready to go. The steaks are oven-roasted until the internal temperature hits 130°F, then finished on the grill; the potatoes and asparagus roast on foil in the oven. The shiitake mushroom sauce takes a few minutes but is easy. With a few instructions, the right utensils, and a thermometer, anybody can pull this off. The recipes here walk you through the trickier parts.