In each episode, Ray takes a one-day trip to an American, Canadian, or European city with only $40 US, to spend on food.

While touring the city, she finds restaurants to go to (often based on local recommendations), and usually manages to fit three meals and some sort of snack or after-dinner drink into her small budget.

According to Ray, visiting a fast food restaurant, particularly those of national chains, is considered cheating (she says so explicitly in the Orlando episode).

On occasions, she has had to get creative to stay on-budget; for example, she accidentally blew half her budget on her second meal in her first Miami episode.

On her first visit to Las Vegas during the first season, Ray began with dinner and stayed overnight, ending with breakfast.