Is it just me, or have (local) restaurant prices gone way up?

[PcflEZFlng]

My recent eye-opener was last month at a deli in Palm Springs (not Sherman's) where the price was way out-of-bounds even by today's standards. I had a sandwich (and not a very good one at that) and a soda. With tax and tip - $26. Yup, twenty-six bucks. For a sandwich and a soda.

 

[Icc5]

And that is the difference!

Having previously worked in food service for several years, I know for the most part even those wait staff working in the U.S. as a career in high-end restaurants are paid the state/Federal minimum wage for tipped employees. The Federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13/hour. Those employees have a career, own their own house and are productive workers because of the tips left by patrons. And that is why you are able to get a food server with 20+ years of experience at a particular restaurant when dining.

My niece worked as the Hostess at 4 Seasons in Santa Barbara,California while going to school there. She was only working about 25 hours a week and making much more then I made as a full time grocery clerk.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

INot that we order alcohol ever, but why should one tip more for a $100 wine than for a $25 wine? Does it take more time to pour?

I agree, we do typically order wine, and I do adjust the tip if i have an expensive bottle of wine.. of course if the waiter or staff helps me select the wine then i may adjust the tip to account for the extra service...

 

[1Kflyerguy]

Just to add another story to the weirdness that is current menu pricing these days:

Stopped at a local Burger King recently.
Cost of Whopper (the sandwich itself, no side items): $4.50
Cost of Impossible Whopper (the sandwich itself, no side items): $5.39

Keep in mind the Impossible Whopper is the beef-free option (plant based burger....) and yet costs more than the beef option.

Add to this point the size of many sandwiches (Whopper included) has decreased over the years.... SMH

I think the key with the Impossible Burger and other similar items is that people are not choosing to skip the beef due to cost considerations, they are ordering the impossible burger because they want to reduce or avoid beef consumption. I have not tried these yet, but you do appear to pay a premium for this option. Actually the premium price probably helps sales... people see the higher price and figure its higher quality..

 

[VacationForever]

I think the key with the Impossible Burger and other similar items is that people are not choosing to skip the beef due to cost considerations, they are ordering the impossible burger because they want to reduce or avoid beef consumption. I have not tried these yet, but you do appear to pay a premium for this option. Actually the premium price probably helps sales... people see the higher price and figure its higher quality..

For many years I ate Boca burgers instead of beef burgers when I was dieting to lose weight. I find Beyond meat so gimmicky wrt marketing that I elect to pass on trying it.

 

[am1]

My cows are grass fed. Much better for the then grain fed and feed lots. Better for my fields as well.

 

[Luanne]

For many years I ate Boca burgers instead of beef burgers when I was dieting to lose weight. I find Beyond meat so gimmicky wrt marketing that I elect to pass on trying it.

As long as you don't expect the meat substitute patties to taste like beef you can enjoy them for what they are. I really like the Morningstar Black Bean patties.

 

[Brett]

For many years I ate Boca burgers instead of beef burgers when I was dieting to lose weight. I find Beyond meat so gimmicky wrt marketing that I elect to pass on trying it.

As long as you don't expect the meat substitute patties to taste like beef you can enjoy them for what they are. I really like the Morningstar Black Bean patties.

I tried the impossible burger at Burger King. pretty good, tasted very similar to a real beef hamburger

 

[geist1223]

"Now he is very good looking and personable." Did he use to be ugly and arrogant?

 

[WinniWoman]

And that is the difference!

Having previously worked in food service for several years, I know for the most part even those wait staff working in the U.S. as a career in high-end restaurants are paid the state/Federal minimum wage for tipped employees. The Federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13/hour. Those employees have a career, own their own house and are productive workers because of the tips left by patrons. And that is why you are able to get a food server with 20+ years of experience at a particular restaurant when dining.

My son works in a brewery for extra money and it's the same $2.13/hour. He makes his money on the tips.

 

[Rolltydr]

My son works in a brewery for extra money and it's the same $2.13/hour. He makes his money on the tips.

The link below is to a Dept of Labor graphic showing which states require an employer to pay tipped employees the full minimum wage. Only 9 states do so and they are all in the western US, with the exception of Minnesota. The remaining states are fairly evenly split between those that enforce an hourly wage above the $2.13 minimum for tipped employees and those that require only the minimum of $2.13. There seemed to be a belief among some that most, if not all states, now paid servers the federal minimum wage of $7.75. That is not true! In most states, restaurant servers and other tipped employees could not support themselves without our tips.

https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm

While most of us TUGgers are probably not what we consider rich, we are financially secure enough to own timeshares in addition to our homes. Please don’t assume people serving you are getting paid enough by their employers. As you can see by the chart, in most states, they clearly aren’t.

End of sermon and sorry if I sounded too preachy!


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[bluehende]

"Now he is very good looking and personable." Did he use to be ugly and arrogant?

\

I assume this was directed at me since I used those words. If you knew him when he was 13 you would know your joke is way too close to the truth.

 

[chalee94]

I guess they need to tent it or sleep in their car as rents are going up a lot too along with the house prices. Hey, I wonder if you can rent out your garden shed?

Yep - that's starting to turn into a thing in CA. Put a tiny house (/shed) in your backyard and rent it out to help pay your bills.

But I guess that still beats renting a bunk for 1200 a month...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/05/success/podshare-co-living/index.html

 

[rapmarks]

We went to a restaurant for breakfast this morning
You used to get quiche, a muffin fruit and potatoes for less than quiche and sliced tomatoes cost now.
We used to eat out a lot, but now my husband won’t eat meat, it spoils the fun of going to certain weekday specials . He gets salmon every time, every place.

I have a weird thing happen every time we eat in a restaurant. About half way through, I start sneezing and my nose starts running. I had eggs bacon and toast this morning . So what can it be that is causing it?

 

[bluehende]

We went to a restaurant for breakfast this morning
You used to get quiche, a muffin fruit and potatoes for less than quiche and sliced tomatoes cost now.
We used to eat out a lot, but now my husband won’t eat meat, it spoils the fun of going to certain weekday specials . He gets salmon every time, every place.

I have a weird thing happen every time we eat in a restaurant. About half way through, I start sneezing and my nose starts running. I had eggs bacon and toast this morning . So what can it be that is causing it?

An absolute guess would be some industrial cleaner that is common.

 

[clifffaith]

We went to a restaurant for breakfast this morning
You used to get quiche, a muffin fruit and potatoes for less than quiche and sliced tomatoes cost now.
We used to eat out a lot, but now my husband won’t eat meat, it spoils the fun of going to certain weekday specials . He gets salmon every time, every place.

I have a weird thing happen every time we eat in a restaurant. About half way through, I start sneezing and my nose starts running. I had eggs bacon and toast this morning . So what can it be that is causing it?

My dad has for years suffered (actually we are the ones that suffer) from snatiation -- sneezing over and over (and over and over) after a meal. Supposedly this is actually a gastric issue, and several small meals rather than large meals, make it less of a problem. When I was a kid we had a cat that would run to the back of the house crying when Dad started the sneezing. It irritates the hell out of everyone because he makes no effort to stifle himself, just sneezes at full volume over and over (and over and over). Embarrassing as all get out in a restaurant.

 

[PigsDad]

It irritates the hell out of everyone because he makes no effort to stifle himself, just sneezes at full volume over and over (and over and over). Embarrassing as all get out in a restaurant.

He was doing the right and safe thing:

Don’t Stifle That Sneeze! You Could Get Hurt

Kurt

 

[rapmarks]

My dad has for years suffered (actually we are the ones that suffer) from snatiation -- sneezing over and over (and over and over) after a meal. Supposedly this is actually a gastric issue, and several small meals rather than large meals, make it less of a problem. When I was a kid we had a cat that would run to the back of the house crying when Dad started the sneezing. It irritates the hell out of everyone because he makes no effort to stifle himself, just sneezes at full volume over and over (and over and over). Embarrassing as all get out in a restaurant.

I am told I have a tiny little sneeze,at least

 

[amycurl]

I would rather pay more and ensure that those working are earning a living wage. Tipping in the US has a disturbing history, and I would rather it go away entirely.
https://time.com/5404475/history-tipping-american-restaurants-civil-war/

 

[Ken555]

I would rather pay more and ensure that those working are earning a living wage. Tipping in the US has a disturbing history, and I would rather it go away entirely.
https://time.com/5404475/history-tipping-american-restaurants-civil-war/

Among other interesting points, I found this appropriate to some of the earlier posts in this thread:

A common explanation for gratuity’s prominence in the restaurant industry today is the incentive it provides for servers to work harder. But modern research questions the validity of that assumption. For example, Michael Lynn of Cornell’s 2001 paper “Restaurant Tipping and Service Quality: A Tenuous Relationship” highlights various ways restaurateurs rely on tips as a marker of server performance but posits that using tips as a measure of effort or as motivation for hard work is ineffective, and that there is little to no correlation between tips and performance. “Restaurant managers need to find and use other means of accomplishing those tasks,” he wrote.

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[Sugarcubesea]

I brown bag my lunch, when we go out it’s usually via GC’s purchased via Costco or via deal.
I’m trying to save as much as I can for retirement

 

[Teresa]

If we REALLY relied on supply and demand the prices would gravitate to what is 'acceptable' (if you go to a restaurant and pay the going rate there then that's 'acceptable' to you) and what is not 'acceptable' (don't eat there because you think the prices are too high or the food isn't good enough for the prices). Whenever a restaurant (or any business, really) closes, it's because not enough people went there and spent their money enough to keep it open. We do have one 'head-scratcher' in our area - a Chinese buffet restaurant which hardly has anyone in there and the food isn't all that good most of the time. We think (only think - no proof) that it is laundering money.

ANYWAY ..... for an eye-opening experience read 'Whatever Happened to Penny Candy' by Richard Maybury. He wrote it MANY years ago and it's a simple read (he wrote it so a middle-schooler could understand it - economics for this book). It was out of print for awhile but I believe they've started printing again and updating it (last I'm seeing is 2009ish). You'll learn 'way more than you want to know' about how the economy works including inflation, money policy, etc. Lots of history on money and usage too (from all over the world). Half-way through you'll want to buy a copy for all the Policy Makers (Congress, Senate, etc.). And THIS book will answer the initial question. It won't fix it = it will just answer it. Your life will be different.

 

[Beachclubmum]

Another enjoyable lesson in pricing and economics: check out Planet Money’s (npr) podcast about the price of Coke.

 

[geekette]

Food costs have gone up. Natural disasters, whack weather, tariffs... many things contribute. I don't dine out often, but I have seen the escalation at the grocery store. Target and Kroger have both held the line on milk and eggs, choosing popular loss leaders.

I would be scared to have a Noble Roman's deep dish delivered, I fear it might be over $30 by now.

 

[geekette]

Just last night enjoyed dinner at a moderately price restaurant in San Diego. Added a cup (not bowl) of their tortilla soup to my order. Was excellent, but was surprised it was an additional $4.95. This brought about discussing how even a meal of fast food will cost $10 or more if you order a beverage.

I am assuming that you meant fast food meal For One will cost $10 or more. I think a party of 2 that is happy with "discount menu" can get out under 10, but agree, ditch the beverage.