Always hit the grocery store for my breakfast and lunch if breakfast not provided by hotel. When breakfast provided I’ll grab a bagel, yogurt and banana for lunch.
On the cheap for dinners. My per diems are well over $100/day and I’ll maybe spend $25/day.
My company only compensates for what is charged on the corporate credit card. Probably leads to more restaurant meals than necessary.
I work for the government. Taxpayer dollars are audited, as they should be. We are told not to maximize and always pick the most affordable option and have receipts to back them up.
Costco hot dog. $1.5.
There are hotels that will comp dinner in addition to breakfast if you look around. Often they’ll make up for this by charging the full per diem rate for your stay. That’s the pro move, if you can find it at your destination.
Otherwise? Honestly, I’m past those ‘squirrel away my per diem’ days. But I’ll still always get a place with a fridge, and leftovers from tonight’s dinner is tomorrow’s lunch. Between that and the comp breakfast, you’re paying for one meal a day. So then just…I guess find a cheap spot for dinner that still has solid servings.
The most annoying for me was when I had an (inflation adjusted) $350 per diem on a use it or lose it basis…
Breakfast was included in our corporate rate at the hotel (and it was a Four Seasons so no reason to search elsewhere) and then the campus I was visiting had a heavily subsidized restaurant with excellent food so it was about 1/3 the cost of eating out at an equivalent restaurant.
Spending $250+ in one night in Midwest cities is surprisingly difficult… there’s only so much dead cow and adult grape juice you can drink in a week…
@Rin
$350…per day? Wow.
@Rin
“inflation adjusted” ???
How much and what year?
Miller said:
@Rin
“inflation adjusted” ???
How much and what year?
My guess: $100 in 1981.
Ha! I wasn’t close to being alive in 1981 
.
It was $250 in the late 2000s.
@Rin
Ha! I don’t think I’ll even be alive in the late 2000s .
That is a ‘do whatever you want’ level per diem.
Just be careful of changing your diet too much and try to stick to as close to your regular diet as possible. Business trips can seriously affect your gut adding all the stress and overstimulation in general.
I usually arrive in the afternoons and go to the supermarket to buy my light dinner (a salad or so). I skip most of the dinners with colleagues as they are usually too heavy and the peer pressure for eating and drinking is sometimes too much for me. I am trying to manage my stress better this year and avoiding dinners or leaving early enough helps. I carry my own set of travel (camping) cutlery and sometimes if I take a morning train I bring my own overnight oats or protein milkshakes for breakfast.
The key is preparation 
Free hotel breakfast, bring Tupperware to pack some away for lunch. Grocery shop at site for cheap dinners.
Sam said:
Free hotel breakfast, bring Tupperware to pack some away for lunch. Grocery shop at site for cheap dinners.
Agreed. Hotel breakfast for the win! Big lunch at a cheap place. Something small for dinner.
Sam said:
Free hotel breakfast, bring Tupperware to pack some away for lunch. Grocery shop at site for cheap dinners.
This is the one that inspired me to ask this question. I just recently discovered the Tupperware for free lunch after traveling for 3 years 
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Canned tuna and Ramen. If you can, score breakfast, lunch, and dinner sides (like bread and hardboiled eggs) from the breakfast bar. Add in tea, cocoa, from the hotel and buy a water flavor enhancer like Mio.
I’ve gone a solid week and spent $15 before.
Pocket the per diem and buy toys.
If you’re Gold or Diamond with Hilton Honors, they provide a daily Food & Beverage Credit benefit in the US.
Dell said:
If you’re Gold or Diamond with Hilton Honors, they provide a daily Food & Beverage Credit benefit in the US.
Gold plus generally gives you access to the lounge anyway for complimentary breakfast and evening drinks.
Everything on the credit card to maximize the rewards and eat cheaply for one meal, and combine 2 allowances for 1 meal, if you can skip breakfast do it. Also, if work provides food during shift, pocket extras.
So I pocket like 40% of my per diem at the end of the trip.
I have a credit card that gets me into lounges, I never pay for food or drinks in the airport and it has saved me hundreds of dollars.
Also, depending on where you go, street food is a great way to eat cheap and experience the local culture. I always try to do that at least once when I travel internationally for work.