Dinner for Two: $94.60 plus $18.92 cash tip

I live an old-fashioned life(style) with the marked exception of my tender. I pay for most everything with a credit card. Cash only comes out when I tip. The tip is usually a straight 20% which gets rounded up or down to the nearest dollar.
My union president used to like to give gift cards to the CHEESECAKE FACTORY during the holiday season. After one or two times, I had asked her to stop. She asked why. I told her that the restaurant was very expensive and even with the card credit (which was GREATLY appreciated) I would still have to pull money from my wallet (or card holder) and pay the balance of a(n) hefty tab. So, she opted to offer me gift cards from LUCILLE'S BBQ. Last night I took a friend to the restaurant. We shared an appetizer (breaded and fried cauliflower) and had an entree. We had to ask for the complementary biscuits.
The meal--without beverage other than iced tap water--came to nearly $95. I tipped with cash.
Were it not for the generosity of the card(s), I would never find myself in such a place. The food was rich and the sauces were infused with sweeteners that exceed my normal consumption limits. I had learned a long time ago that dressings and gravies and sauces can be wiped up with a fork and then the fork can be used to eat whatever morsel had been spiked upon it. This works well for salad dressing, ketchup, duck sauce...
I was glad to be able to share a meal with a dear friend. We each had leftovers that were more than ample for another meal or two. Unfortunately, the food seems to have a high fat content, and I am just not resonating with that level of lipids flowing through my gastrointestinal system.
Guess I've grown to like my own home cookin'