Author sounds insane.
Go buy $50 worth of stuff and grill it.
I spent $47 at the grocery store tonight and have enough to feed three people dinner for the next 5 days and enough leftovers for my lunches.
Since we live in the same area, this should be easy. Just drive past a Joe’s Crabshack. There is absolutely nothing about Joe’s that’s upscale. It’s not only middle class, but the downscale side of middle class. Last week, the wife and I had dinner there. Granted, it was the full course, appetizers, drinks, dinner, desert, but the result is the same, $200+, gone, poof. One meal at a truly upscale place like Dallas Chophouse can set you back twice that.