Are you addicted to eating out?

Today, our boss was taking the TCU Press staff (three of us) to a celebration lunch, celebrating a triumph that had to do with a troublesome publishing project. There was great angst about choosing a restaurant. I suggested an Italian/Lebanese place that I really like, because today they had a vegetarian buffet, and Melinda eats no red meat whilie Susan claims to be "not much of a meat person." They both said vehemently that they didn't like that restaurant, though I've seen them eat there with apparent enjoyment. And then they said not to take them to the local Jewish deli--it was too meat-driven for either of them (there are lots of chicken, etc., items on the men and it's my absolute favorite lunch spot). Besides, I remember when Susan used to love to eat there.  As we waited for June to pick us up, I suggested a local Japanese restaurant, and they both said they didn't like it much--again, I've seen them eat there with pleasure, or else they're really good at covering up. Then these picky restaurant people jumped me because I don't like Thai food, never have, never will. They often go for Thai at lunch, and I politely decline. But that's a three-to-one ratio--I really think I'm the cosmopolitan one here.
We ended up at Lili's Bistro, one of my favorites, but I gave way to impulse and ordered the gorgonzola burger on a sourdough bun--it's huge and comes with bacon, tomato, gorgonzola, and salad dressing--very messy. I ate half and sent the other half to Jordan for her supper. She called tonight to thank me for ruining her diet, and I know if I'd eaten in I wouldn't have absorbed that many calories.
I have the solution for fussy eaters and dieters. Next week, Feb. 22-28, is the Week of Eating In challenge, sponsored by Huffington Post Green. The challenge is to eat in (or bring a sack lunch to work) for a week--no restaurants, no take-out, no street-food (well, that's not a problem in Fort Worth but I imagine it would be in New York City). I could easily do the evenings, but lunch is my social hour--and at this point I think I have lunch dates all five days next week. But I may try that challenge on my own sometime. I'd probably invite a lot of people over to eat various meals, but I'd enjoy all that cooking.
The challenge week is an outgrowth of Cathy Erway's blog, "Not Eating Out in New York." She devoted two years to the experiment, years during which she proved to herself she could do it and created some interesting recipes, which she posts on the blog. She also posts reasons to eat in, such as the hair in your food is your own. The main reasons, however, are that you know what goes into what you're eating and you save unbelievable amounts of money.
Five bloggers with active food blogs are participating in the challenge, and as I prowled around on the web today I realized that "eating in" is one of the new food movements in this country. With even Wal-Mart beginning to go green, maybe it all signifies a trend. (See http://repletelife.blogspot.com/) I like the idea. I just don't want to eat all my meals alone.
The results of Cathy's experiment will be published in The Art of Eating In, due out tomorrow, February 18. It is not, she promises, a rehash of her blog. I plan to read it and will report back when I've finished it.