10 Ways to Save Money On Eating Out

We tend to eat out at restaurants probably more often than most people simply because we live in Las Vegas and there are restaurants everywhere.  Plus there are only two of us so it isn't like we are hauling the entire family out every time we go to a restaurant so it isn't that expensive.  There are, however, many things we do to cut down on the cost of eating out...

1. We always order regular water to drink instead of soda (we don't really drink soda) or alcohol (we don't drink alcohol at all).
2. We don't order appetizers (the entree itself is already more than enough food) or dessert (usually way overpriced and I can bake better than most frozen then unfrozen restaurant desserts).
3. We often split one entree--and still have leftovers to bring home.  These days an entree isn't a single serving of food but a 2000 calorie extravaganza that would feed an entire family in most poor countries.  
4. We go out for lunch instead of dinner.  The food and the portions are usually about the same but there is a significant price increase for the same meal at dinner time!
5. We use coupons and ask for discounts (senior discount, military discount) when available.  Why not take advantage of a good deal?
6. We generally eat for free!  This is pretty specific to Las Vegas but hubby likes to play poker and for each hour he plays, he gets one or two dollars worth of "comps" to spend at casino restaurants which means most of the places we eat at are casino-related and paid for by comps.
7. When someone wants to give us gifts, we ask for restaurant gift cards instead of knick knacks.  These are much more useful and when buying these cards at certain times of the year, the purchaser can get their own free bonus gift card for themselves.
8. We don't go to high end restaurants.  There are plenty of places here where people pay $100+ per person for a meal.  I simply am too cheap (frugal?) to spend that much on one meal.  First, I'm not a foodie, as long as something is reasonably edible I'm happy with eating it, and second, for $250--the cost for both of us to go to one of these high end restaurants--I could buy an entire month's worth of food at the grocery store!
9. We save more "expensive" restaurants (like $15 to $20 per person...that's expensive to us) for special occasions.  Yes, we can afford to eat at these places more often but spending so much money is like a major purchase to us so we save these sorts of places for birthdays and anniversaries. 
10. We generally try to avoid fast food.  There are fast food restaurants on every corner here but, while the food may be cheap, it really isn't healthy to eat on a regular basis so we tend to make food at home and bring it with us when possible (sandwiches, wraps, tacos, even pizza is simple enough to make at home).