I see generational differences, not so much income differences. My Boomer parents cook at home mostly and eat out rarely. I’m Gen X and cook at home 75% of the time (but often Blue Apron as I like cooking but hate shopping). My Gen Y son cooks at home 50% of the time, and my 3 Gen Z kids cook at home only 25% of the time. They have little $$ but are context to waste a lot of it on DoorDash.
Mrs DoodleBob can cook up a storm and it has to be done right.
I'm an Eagle Scout who learned to cook on camping trips where a little dirt or sand never killed anyone.
I do the dishes. And our crock pot has a liner that separates from the heating source that cleans up perfectly in the dishwasher.
That optimized range of skill sets, equipment, and comparative advantages - combined with a Deplorable attitude that likes local farmers and money more than a waiter that has an Antifa button for flair - can lead to weeks of home cooking and no eating out.
I don't count eating a bag of carrots and organic ham and cheese from the grocery store while driving to be eating out. Go figya.
THAT SAID, local diners (it's a Northeast thing - imagine a menu with burgers, fries, soup, sandwiches, pork chops, Greek salad, lobster tail, and everything you'd want for breakfast served 24/7) and fast food joints have their place. When I lived in North Jersey we had a Chinese Food takeout place with a DRIVE THRU WINDOW...if you ever had toddlers, you know the most virtuous Conservative is no match for little whippers who won't stop crying. That place got a LOT of DoodleBob family business.
What is missing from this article, is the changed food landscape from the pandemic. If people voluntarily get shots or mask up, that's all well and good; I don't know what health issues lurk behind my fellow man's public image. But some restaurants and or towns that imposed mandates won't get my dollars. Similarly, some grocery stores that went above local municipality guidance and treated me like a war criminal if wasn't bubble wrapped are now off-limits. Meanwhile, local farmers opened their doors wide open, didn't take my terpertaure to gain entrance, and helped America deal with scarcity and supply chain etc problems at the store.
If the hidden message is that it is your Civic Duty to get a shot and wear a mask while you eat at Fauci's Tavern, while dining with your unclean family at home is an act of selfishness, then I failed civics.