The Cat Dish
  • Musings
  • Food
  • #CatTravels
  • #BabyFox
  • #40trails
  • Videos
  • About Me
  • Contact

Hawaii diners eat less but pay more

By Catherine Toth Fox • May 9, 2011 • Food, Musings, The Daily Dish

You don’t have to tell me how expensive it is to eat out.

I eat out at least four times a week — thought it was more, didn’t you? — and the cost adds up. A $3 burger here, a $7 plate lunch there. By the end of the month, I could easily spend more eating out than what I spend on groceries.

But here’s the thing: despite what seems like constant gorging on my part, I don’t actually eat that much. But I sure spend a nice chunk of my paycheck on food.

No surprise, then, that Zagat’s Survey of the Hawaiian Islands showed exactly that: we eat less but pay more.

The average number of meals out per week dropped from 3.2 in the last survey to 3.1 this year — but we spent an average of $37.66 per meal, $2.04 more per meal than the national average. The average price for a meal in Seattle, for example, was $29.33; in Los Angeles, it was $34.85.

The good news is, though, that 74 percent of us prefer our food locally sourced, organic or sustainably raised, with another 62 percent saying they would be willing to pay more for it.

Zagat’s survey — which covered 389 restaurants across the state as voted on by 2,942 avid Hawaii diners — came up with its list of best restaurants in various categories.

Roy’s Restaurant (its popular meatloaf appetizer shown above) was named the Most Popular, with Alan Wong’s in Honolulu coming in second and Mama’s Fish House on Maui rounding out the Top 3.

Sushi Sasabune in Honolulu earned the top award for best food and La Mer at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki was voted to have the best decor and top service.

Here’s the list of top statewide winners:

Top Food
1) Sushi Sasabune (Oahu)
2) Hiroshi Eurasion (Oahu)
3) Alan Wong’s (Oahu)
4) La Mer (Oahu)
5) Mama’s Fish House (Maui)

Top Decor
1) La Mer (Oahu)
2) Lodge/Koele Din. Rm. (Lanai)
3) Orchids (Oahu)
4) Pahu i’a (Big Island)
5) Kauai Grill (Kauai)

Top Service
1) La Mer (Oahu)
2) Chef Marvro (Oahu)
3) Lodge/Koele Din. Rm. (Lanai)
4) Michel’s (Oahu)
5) Orchids (Oahu)

Most Popular
1) Roy’s (multi)
2) Alan Wong’s (Oahu)
3) Mama’s Fish House (Oahu)
4) Merriman’s (multi)
5) Sansei (multi)

You agree with the results?

Alan Wong'sdinersHalekulaniHawaiiLa MermealsrestaurantRoy's restaurantSushi SasabuneTothZagat Survey of the Hawaiian Islands
Tweet
10
Today's happy shot
Today's happy shot

About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

You Might Also Like

  • Anyone Else Feeling Like You’re Failing at This?

  • It’s Hard To Say Goodbye—So I Won’t

  • Was 2020 Really That Bad?

  • Here’s What Happened To My Dog Indy

10 Comments

  • Reply Annoddah Dave May 9, 2011 at 6:12 am

    CAT: I wondered when this site would have a regular comment section instead of the facebook/twitter thing. Anyway….Aaaiiiyyyaaahhh! Fuud Pix! Tenks!

  • Reply Catherine Toth May 9, 2011 at 7:19 am

    Thanks for stopping by! I think people can’t find me anymore… 🙁

  • Reply M May 9, 2011 at 8:01 am

    Hello Cat,
    I’m eating out less than before not only because it’s more expensive but I’m changing my diet and eating more healthy. No sugars, no fat, less carbs, no fried fuuds, brown rice, more fruits and salads, no red meats, no fast fuuds. As I get older I have to eat healthier. If I do go out the eat, I’m more selective where I go.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 9, 2011 at 1:05 pm

      *sigh* I gotta change my eating habits, too… I don’t eat THAT badly, but I don’t eat enough veggies and fruits. (Can you tell!) I don’t know if that will change if I cook more at home — but it would be way less expensive!

  • Reply WildeOscar May 9, 2011 at 8:43 am

    Having followed the FUUD pictures and entries for about 3 years, and having made eating something of a habit myself, I must say that your choice of restaurants and the available eating-out options are exceptional. I don’t personally know any money-is-no-object diners, and it takes a combination of splurging only once in a while and being careful about what I order the rest of the time.

    I found the new blog based on a short item (teardrop at the corners of the eyes) at Nonstop by Diane Seo about your decision. Regarding the new blog, I like what you’ve done with the place; it looks nice.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 9, 2011 at 1:08 pm

      Aw, thanks for the props! But man, I’ve chosen poorly for sure — like the last time I was coerced into going to Chili’s and I had about eight bristles from the cleaning brush in my margarita. That was awful.

  • Reply Eric May 9, 2011 at 10:47 am

    Cat, I think that more people will start to visit and post on this site once you disconnect from NSH. The site looks great.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 9, 2011 at 1:07 pm

      I hope so. I feel like I’m in the wild unknown right now — which is actually a lot of fun. Thanks to Brian Dote (@tokidote) for designing my site and John Garcia (@johngarcia) for pulling my content over and kicking my ass into doing it! Finally!

  • Reply matt May 9, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    do they only count “restaurants” in there or are all the plate lunch type places included, too? seems like the frequency should be higher and the cost/bite should be lower. also, is that 37 buck meal for one or for two?

  • Reply Tam May 9, 2011 at 1:58 pm

    It’s so hard to spend less on meals when Hawaii just has such yummy places to eat. But wow, $37 — that’s a lot!

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

Latest Posts

  • Anyone Else Feeling Like You’re Failing at This?

    March 8, 2022
  • It’s Hard To Say Goodbye—So I Won’t

    January 29, 2021
  • Was 2020 Really That Bad?

    December 31, 2020
  • Here’s What Happened To My Dog Indy

    December 10, 2020
  • I Did Noom For a Month and Here’s What Happened

    October 7, 2020

Made with in Seattle

© 2013 Solo Pine Designs, Inc. All rights reserved.