Floating down to Camelot

I see you've had US people here to comment with more first-hand experience, but I was going to say I thought it probably was at least partly a UK/US difference, and for a reason not yet mentioned. When we were visiting Kargicq and Neuromancer in the US, one of the things that really struck me was how much cheaper and more plentiful the opportunities were for eating out. I mean that there seemed to be a much greater variety of quickly-served and affordable options - you weren't stuck between either fast-food burgers or a 'proper restaurant'. It really was barely more expensive to buy a simple, promptly served, sit-down meal than to buy a ready-meal or even ingredients to make your own meal from a grocery store. Given this, eating out regularly seems much less extravagant than it would here, and the wide choice of cuisine and speed of service makes it a more convenient option than it would seem if we are just thinking of what's available here.