The really crushingly ironic thing is that all the major fast food places would be where you could reliably get something substantial for just a few bucks-— these places were an absolute BOON in lower income babes with a high black p[opulation-—gradually these menus changed and what used to be the half dozen cheap staples got squeezed out onto a special cheapo value menu” off on the side. Meanwhile every conceivable “Combo” of burger, fries, chicken, etc. with meaningless high-profit extras like chips, and drinks were thrown into the mix.The price tags expanded dramatically with this concept of the “combo” Remember seeing a TV thing at least 15 years ago where a largish Hispanic family (maybe 3 kids, mom and dad) would pile into their car, and load up at the drive-in window for mass-produced dreck and expect to pay $35 or more-—it’s even more $$ now,. A sad state of affairs-—far better to get creative and do your cooking at home, “family-style” getting them involved in the economics of “food” and taking care of themselves and each other-—that’s the way it should be.
We can relate to your parting “get creative” advice. We ate many a time at Chili’s. We order their fajitas. I began experimenting at home, trying to emulate their ingredients and flavor. I nailed it and when we have the family over, I make a big pot of it and it’s always a hit. We get everthing except the sizzling-hot cast iron on wooden tray serving plate.
So yeah, we’ve got to play it smart, stretching our bucks and having good food, good times, to boot.