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In The Magazine February 16 Issue. In The Magazine. Finally, here are other ways to keep event catering costs down. Soups, spruced up canned goods, and all manner of delectable roasted creations combat common colds and ward off overspending on event food.

Check out these light, refreshing, and floral ideas for some spring event food and beverage inspiration. Next, be sure to brush up on your catering preparation plan. Then, get unique budget-friendly centerpiece ideas or summer event decor ideas. The cheapest food to cater is any rice or noodle-based cultural cuisine.

Pizza is also a reliably cheap option. Catering costs can vary widely depending on cuisine, location, and level of service. Webinar Spotlight: New Year, New You: Discover Tools to Make Your Events Better Than Ever! Register now. The iceberg lettuce wedge is another budget buster on the menu.

In the s and 60s, people thought iceberg lettuce was suave and sophisticated so the lettuce wedge became a popular salad in restaurants. Even though it's made a comeback now, it's basically a head of lettuce that is mostly water, drizzled in ranch dressing.

For the best salad value, choose one that you couldn't create at home, with ingredients like fresh lobster or sirloin to justify the cost.

Relaxing with a glass of wine is a reason many patrons enjoy dining out, and restaurateurs enjoy you enjoying that. And why not? The markup on wine is usually around percent, and it's not uncommon for it to be higher. How do restaurants justify that markup?

Well, a food critic for the San Francisco Chronicle said that a markup of at least 2. Also, the profit margin on wine by the glass is sometimes higher than by the bottle because the restaurant may be left with opened bottles that they have to use quickly or throw away.

For some, paying that high price to have a glass of wine is part of the package, but if you want to avoid this budget buster, see if you can bring your own wine. Many restaurants allow this and simply charge a corkage fee.

Many people order seafood in restaurants because it's perceived as a higher value, healthier choice than other proteins. We think that seafood is better quality, more exclusive and therefore worth the expense.

Sometimes this is true, but sometimes, seafood is just another menu budget buster. We'd not only expect that, we'd pay it.

Then, you have the issue of quality. Maryland crab cakes are delicious, but "Maryland-style" crab cakes mean those crustaceans hale from another, less exclusive locale though you'll pay a Chesapeake Bay price.

Another example where you might not get what you're paying for is a seafood medley or fruits de mer fruits of the sea dish. Your shellfish -- shrimp, lobsters, mussels, oysters and clams -- are your high dollar items, but you'll probably also have other swimmers mixed in to give the dish quantity and help the restaurant manage raw food costs.

So, what do you do if you want to enjoy some good quality seafood? Ask where it's from. If you want shellfish, order the lobster, mussels or clams and leave the other fruits de mer out at sea. Whether it's the Blue Plate Special or the Chef's Special, almost all restaurants have that limited-time- only dish.

But is this a truly unique dish from a creative chef, a pricing scam or something the kitchen need to get rid of before it expires? The answer could be all three. A daily special is often a way for the chef to get creative, and spice up the menu for the restaurant's regular diners.

But, it can also be a way to establish a pricing structure and manage diners' perceptions. Specials can also be ways to get rid of surplus.

If the salmon is not moving quickly enough, it may end up as a "Salmon Surprise" that week. Additionally, if that particular restaurant does catering or hosts special events, they may have leftovers they need to use. Specials also give restaurants pricing flexibility.

Specials are a temporary item on the menu, if they're listed at all, so the chef can change prices based on changing costs or low sales. To avoid busting your budget on a daily special, ask some questions about the preparation to help determine how special things really are.

Once upon a time, desserts were a way for restaurants to make easy money. But, with the popularity of the pastry chef today, every fine dining restaurant in town features signature desserts, complex tarts and labor-intensive delicacies. So, if you want a little value for your dollar, order the dessert and watch the restaurant work for it.

Breakfast is a favorite pastime, especially on the weekends. But, unless you order the omelet stuffed with crab and lobster, you're probably spending too much. How do most people begin their breakfast? With a cup of joe. The mark-up is about percent and a profitable item for a restaurant, regardless of refills.

And, we're not even discussing the skinny, soy-milk, and whipped cream specialty coffees. Orange juice isn't much different. Imagine a 64 ounce 1. You don't have to be a math genius to know this is a triple digit markup.

On to the food: The majority of breakfast items like pancakes and egg dishes are highly profitable and cheap to make. Syrup, especially if it's a fancy specialty, may be the costliest part of your meal. Omelets are no different. Bacon, ham, turkey, peppers, tomatoes -- regardless of the type or style are still very inexpensive ingredients and unless specified, fairly generic and purchased in bulk.

In other words, don't expect gourmet mushrooms or organic tomatoes in that omelet. With appetizers and side dishes, restaurant-goers have a hard time determining a good value.

Subsequently, these items are more profitable for the establishment. The entrée is your main focus and that's what sets the standard. Jody Pennette, the founder of CB5 Restaurant Group, told Forbes in October that the prices on appetizers and side dishes had increased disproportionately to the raw food costs of these items.

This gives restaurants a nice cash cow. Another trick of the trade -- use mysterious ingredients that your average person doesn't eat or use.

If you don't cook with lavender, use truffles or Beluga caviar in your recipes, you won't know what they should cost.

$1 $2 $3 Dollar Menu* · Sausage Biscuit · Sausage McMuffin® · Sausage Burrito · Hash Browns · McDouble® · McChicken® · Chicken McNuggets® · World Famous Fries® 72 Cheap Dinner Ideas for Weeknight Meals · Inside-Out Stuffed Cabbage · Teriyaki Chicken Thighs · Easy Tamale Pie with Peppers · Hearty Pasta Fagioli 76 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Don't Skimp on Taste · Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup · Hearty Vegetable Soup with Parsley Gremolata · Slow Cooker

Video

Bargain menu options - Sonic disguises its value menu by calling its especially cheap items "Everyday Deals." The list includes the Chicken Slinger, the Quarter $1 $2 $3 Dollar Menu* · Sausage Biscuit · Sausage McMuffin® · Sausage Burrito · Hash Browns · McDouble® · McChicken® · Chicken McNuggets® · World Famous Fries® 72 Cheap Dinner Ideas for Weeknight Meals · Inside-Out Stuffed Cabbage · Teriyaki Chicken Thighs · Easy Tamale Pie with Peppers · Hearty Pasta Fagioli 76 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Don't Skimp on Taste · Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup · Hearty Vegetable Soup with Parsley Gremolata · Slow Cooker

It's a common perception that seafood is more of a delicacy and it's healthy, so we're willing to pay more for it. However, there's a good chance that the shrimp in a Caesar salad are not the large, high-cost Atlantic shrimp but low dollar product that's not much more expensive than chicken.

The iceberg lettuce wedge is another budget buster on the menu. In the s and 60s, people thought iceberg lettuce was suave and sophisticated so the lettuce wedge became a popular salad in restaurants.

Even though it's made a comeback now, it's basically a head of lettuce that is mostly water, drizzled in ranch dressing. For the best salad value, choose one that you couldn't create at home, with ingredients like fresh lobster or sirloin to justify the cost.

Relaxing with a glass of wine is a reason many patrons enjoy dining out, and restaurateurs enjoy you enjoying that. And why not? The markup on wine is usually around percent, and it's not uncommon for it to be higher.

How do restaurants justify that markup? Well, a food critic for the San Francisco Chronicle said that a markup of at least 2. Also, the profit margin on wine by the glass is sometimes higher than by the bottle because the restaurant may be left with opened bottles that they have to use quickly or throw away.

For some, paying that high price to have a glass of wine is part of the package, but if you want to avoid this budget buster, see if you can bring your own wine. Many restaurants allow this and simply charge a corkage fee. Many people order seafood in restaurants because it's perceived as a higher value, healthier choice than other proteins.

We think that seafood is better quality, more exclusive and therefore worth the expense. Sometimes this is true, but sometimes, seafood is just another menu budget buster. We'd not only expect that, we'd pay it. Then, you have the issue of quality. Maryland crab cakes are delicious, but "Maryland-style" crab cakes mean those crustaceans hale from another, less exclusive locale though you'll pay a Chesapeake Bay price.

Another example where you might not get what you're paying for is a seafood medley or fruits de mer fruits of the sea dish.

Your shellfish -- shrimp, lobsters, mussels, oysters and clams -- are your high dollar items, but you'll probably also have other swimmers mixed in to give the dish quantity and help the restaurant manage raw food costs.

So, what do you do if you want to enjoy some good quality seafood? Ask where it's from. If you want shellfish, order the lobster, mussels or clams and leave the other fruits de mer out at sea.

Whether it's the Blue Plate Special or the Chef's Special, almost all restaurants have that limited-time- only dish. But is this a truly unique dish from a creative chef, a pricing scam or something the kitchen need to get rid of before it expires? The answer could be all three.

A daily special is often a way for the chef to get creative, and spice up the menu for the restaurant's regular diners. But, it can also be a way to establish a pricing structure and manage diners' perceptions.

Specials can also be ways to get rid of surplus. If the salmon is not moving quickly enough, it may end up as a "Salmon Surprise" that week. Additionally, if that particular restaurant does catering or hosts special events, they may have leftovers they need to use.

Specials also give restaurants pricing flexibility. Specials are a temporary item on the menu, if they're listed at all, so the chef can change prices based on changing costs or low sales.

To avoid busting your budget on a daily special, ask some questions about the preparation to help determine how special things really are.

Once upon a time, desserts were a way for restaurants to make easy money. But, with the popularity of the pastry chef today, every fine dining restaurant in town features signature desserts, complex tarts and labor-intensive delicacies.

So, if you want a little value for your dollar, order the dessert and watch the restaurant work for it. Breakfast is a favorite pastime, especially on the weekends.

But, unless you order the omelet stuffed with crab and lobster, you're probably spending too much. How do most people begin their breakfast?

With a cup of joe. The mark-up is about percent and a profitable item for a restaurant, regardless of refills. And, we're not even discussing the skinny, soy-milk, and whipped cream specialty coffees. Orange juice isn't much different. Imagine a 64 ounce 1.

You don't have to be a math genius to know this is a triple digit markup. On to the food: The majority of breakfast items like pancakes and egg dishes are highly profitable and cheap to make.

Syrup, especially if it's a fancy specialty, may be the costliest part of your meal. Omelets are no different. Bacon, ham, turkey, peppers, tomatoes -- regardless of the type or style are still very inexpensive ingredients and unless specified, fairly generic and purchased in bulk.

In other words, don't expect gourmet mushrooms or organic tomatoes in that omelet. With appetizers and side dishes, restaurant-goers have a hard time determining a good value. Subsequently, these items are more profitable for the establishment.

The entrée is your main focus and that's what sets the standard. Jody Pennette, the founder of CB5 Restaurant Group, told Forbes in October that the prices on appetizers and side dishes had increased disproportionately to the raw food costs of these items.

This gives restaurants a nice cash cow. Another trick of the trade -- use mysterious ingredients that your average person doesn't eat or use. If you don't cook with lavender, use truffles or Beluga caviar in your recipes, you won't know what they should cost.

The presence of that exotic element in your appetizer or side dish justifies the higher price, regardless of the quantity or quality used in the recipe. So, skip the appetizer or extra side dish, and not only for cost reasons. Ordering them leaves you less likely to finish your entrée.

That's leaving money on the table. Another thing leaving money on the table? Most people enjoy pasta , and what's not to love? It's filling, it's tasty, it works with seafood, meat or primavera and it's one of the more affordable items on the restaurant menu.

But appearances can be deceiving. Earlier we mentioned that food costs average between 30 and 42 percent of menu prices, average being the operative word. Pasta, for example, brings that number down which is why restaurant owners love you to choose the penne over the beef.

Pasta costs around 18 percent of menu price, so restaurants can make a killing. Even served with shrimp, veal or fancy mushrooms, there is still a nice profit margin factored into most pasta dishes. So, if pasta is a restaurant rip-off, what should you order?

According to Clark Wolfe, a restaurant consultant from New York in a Forbes article, "Choose labor-intensive, time-consuming complex dishes that call for hard-to-find ingredients.

Wolfe added, "If you can whip it up yourself in 20 minutes with stuff from your kitchen cupboard -- do that. In other words, go hard or go home. And we think that especially applies to the next item on our list. If you're familiar with comic strips, you know Popeye, the spinach-eating sailorman.

One of Popeye's friends, Wimpy, was a bit of a mooch with an insatiable appetite for hamburgers. Today's restaurant patrons are no different. However, the new gourmet burgers are enough to make anyone, including Wimpy, reconsider his options. But, today's restaurants have found ways to spice up the standard hamburger, and in doing so, command a higher price tag.

Chefs add unique burger toppings like foie gras, special mushrooms or truffles; stuff patties with lobster or gruyere cheese or make them with Kobe beef, ostrich, or salmon. Spices and spreads like pesto, curry or wasabi are other ways to jazz up this standard fare.

In the minds of customers, this also elevates the burger from the sandwich category into fine dining. But, with these sophisticated ingredients, you get a very small portion relative to the price. How many truffles fit on a burger? How much wasabi do you need on the bun?

So, instead, let's see where a Lincoln can take you. We rolled around to ubiquitous chains like McDonald's, Subway, and Chipotle to find the best meal that can be cobbled together for about five bucks.

To eat on a budget, you need a system. Here are the three principles driving the food selection for this list:. We're looking for the best food the joint offers on a budget. It's not about the most food you can get.

It's about the best meal you can construct. It's a little bit about the most food you can get. It's a meal, right? Also, we're not paying attention to limited-time offers that won't be around in a few weeks.

Sorry, Nacho Fries and unicorn thingamajigs. Build your own combo. What to order: It's a little tricky to get the price down while filling up at your favorite mall-based restaurant.

Nonetheless, you can get pretty close, especially if you opt to skip a soda and get some water. You probably need to hydrate anyhow, right? It's pretty damn solid all things considered. While this meal is put together with menu prices, you can pretty reliably find a deep discount in the Wendy's app and occasionally even land a free burger.

Nonetheless, to get your meal, skip the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and grab two Jr. You haven't really eaten at Wendy's until you've dipped your fries in a Frosty.

The money goes to charity and you wind up getting free Frostys for an entire year. What to order: If you're looking to maximize your caloric intake for the buck, the Sausage Egg and Cheese on a croissant has a whopping calories.

The bagels at Dunkin' tend to survive life before your mouth a little more intact than the croissant. No, you aren't getting a coffee, but Dunkin' isn't fooling anyone with the name change.

You still came there for the donut. What to order: Chipotle is not the go-to spot for a budget-conscious eater. You really can't get anything there's a kid's menu. The same thing less the juice box from the adult menu costs slightly more. However, it's entirely possible if you think outside the Mountain.

Yeah, the Jamocha Shake is only available here, but these are the best damn fries in the game. It's also worth checking if they're offering anything for signing up for the Arby's email list. Sometimes handing over your email lands you a free sandwich or gyro.

What to order: If you've ever been to a White Castle or have seen a film with the words "Harold and Kumar" in the title, you know the drill.

What to order: No, the Colonel still isn't bringing back the long-dead Double Down. Though, the nuggets would substitute well and keep you in the same price range.

Plus, you'd be getting those sweet, sweet sauces. Sometimes the classics are classics for a reason. What to order: Jimmy John's hasn't always been the best place for a super-cheap lunch. However, in late , JJ added the Little John.

Plus, there are seven varieties of the Little John, which gives you options, but the 6 is a solid choice if you're looking to get the most out of the smaller sandwich. The vegetarian sandwich comes with avocado, provolone, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.