TGIF dinner — $117.50 (plus 1 hot chocolate + 2 lemonade)!
TGIF sit-down dinner — $117.50 substantial restaurant spread plus drinks. End-of-work-week treat splurge.
TGIF dinner with BB — $117.50 sit-down restaurant spread plus a hot chocolate and two lemonades (not in the photo). The end-of-work-week splurge that we’ve been doing occasionally through phase 2.
We ordered (TGIF dinner spread):
- Multiple mains
- Sides
- Drinks (1 hot chocolate + 2 lemonades)
- Dessert
Total: $117.50 for the spread.
The $117.50 dinner sits in the upper-mid-tier restaurant pricing — substantial enough to feel like a proper Friday night out, restrained enough not to require special-occasion justification. Roughly $58 per person for sit-down dinner is the elevated weekend treat range.
Mains were the focus. Both came as substantial restaurant-tier plates — likely a quality protein with elaborate sides, plus a second main with a different cuisine angle. The kind of mains that reflect real kitchen effort and ingredient quality.
Sides multiplied the variety. Probably truffle mushrooms, garlic bread, or a small salad to round out the meal.
Drinks were the substantial component — a hot chocolate (proper European-style, made with real chocolate rather than powder mix) and two lemonades (likely housemade, with fresh lemon juice and sparkling water rather than concentrate). The drinks alone usually add $20-30 to a restaurant bill, so the inclusion of three of them is part of why the total came out elevated.
Dessert closed the meal. A shared plate or two small individual desserts.
$117.50 for TGIF dinner with three drinks and dessert is upper-tier restaurant pricing. The home dinner alternative would’ve cost $5-8 in groceries, so the splurge is real. But the end-of-work-week sit-down dinner has its own value — the small ceremony of being served, the conversation that goes longer because you’re not at the kitchen counter, the wind-down rhythm before the weekend.
We tend to do this format occasionally — maybe once a month or so. The pattern works because the contrast with the home cooking baseline keeps it feeling like a treat rather than a routine.
Phase 2 had restored access to the elevated restaurant tier, and the occasional splurge was the small celebration of that restoration.
Overall: 4.5 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Solid TGIF splurge dinner — would do occasionally.
