I’ll never really understand people who go out to eat for chipotle or burgers or stuff like that. It’s cheaper and better tasting if you make it fresh yourself. The only time I really consider it worth it to go get food from a restaurant is if it’s too much hassle to make it yourself, like fried foods that require a pot full of oil and breading stations and other more complex dishes.
But like a burger or a rice bowl? I can whip that up in my standard kitchen in like 15 mins, which is faster than it would take to drive into town, order, eat, and drive back, and I’m just an amateur home cook, but I’m confident I can make a better rice bowl or burger than I can get in town.
Cost is another factor too. Sure, the upfront cost of buying ingredients may be more than you’d pay for a single meal, but you have leftovers or other things you can cook with all that food, so your cost per meal is cheaper