Anonymous wrote:Agree. If I’m going to eat out, it needs to be special or something I can’t make at home. I never get fast casual or even one step up type of restaurant unless it’s a social outing.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Safeway's single bagels went from $0.60 to $1.15. Almost doubled.

This isn't inflation. This is gouging.

That part!! You can't have record profits if it's inflation.

So true. You are leaving out the most important part of the story if you don't talk about the record profits...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm dreading it a bit in a few weeks when all of my kids are back in the house from college.

They were all home for Easter and we ordered Chinese - it was $116 plus tip. We got our usual family order that we've always gotten in the past but it used to be around $70.

3 egg rolls $6
1 sm wonton soup $6
1 sm hot & sour soup $6
1 lg shrimp lo mein $14
1 lg chicken & pineapple fried rice $14
1 dinner portion chicken & broccoli $16
1 dinner portion mixed veggies $14
1 dinner portion kung pao pork $16
1 dinner portion beef & string beans $16

Who puts pineapple in fried rice ?

The chef does silly

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Safeway's single bagels went from $0.60 to $1.15. Almost doubled.

This isn't inflation. This is gouging.

Yup. Up up up prices go.

I feel this, OP. We still go out but usually sneak in our own appetizer and drinks.

How do you sneak appetizers and drinks into a restaurant and eat them without the waitstaff noticing?

Cheapest dcum poster ever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prices have been crazy, both for grocery but so much worse with restaurants. We used to eat out at least 3 times weekly.

We rarely eat out anymore. I don't like the excessing tipping culture on everything either so until we are back to the gold old days pre-Covid, I don't see us eating out as often anytime soon.

I don't think things are going back.

I think these high prices will be our norm until more people can't afford them and then we'll hit a recession.

Sounds likely. That’s when I’m gonna take out the money I am saving now and travel and eat out

Anonymous wrote:I definitely notice it more at the fast casual and cheap places. At a good restaurant it seems like a small increase. At the casual places like five guys, I just don’t think it’s worth it.
The challenge is figuring out what to do with my teen that eats a ton and wants to hang out with his friends at the mall or similar. He can now drop $40 on fast food without even trying since he eats double or triple portions (and no soda!). We’ve told him he needs a budget but I don’t know what a fair budget is at this point.

I'm not sure I agree. I still think the fast casual places are a decent deal, because of how much food you get. Yes, it now costs more like 12-13 for a meal with a drink, instead of 8-9. But I can afford to spend an extra 3 dollars, plus I am not expected to tip. I know at least some of that money is going to pay workers since the a lot of these places are now paying a standard 15-17 per hour. So to me there is still a decent value proposition.

At nicer restaurants, the markup is now like 30-40% on each item, sometimes more on alcohol. Plus a service charge. So a dinner with one appetizer, two entrees, two drinks, and a dessert might have cost 100-120 at the sorts of restaurants we go to a few years ago. Now that meal costs $200-250. And then we still sometimes get suggestions or encouragement to tip on top of the service charge. When you factor in that for a meal like that we are also generally paying for a babysitter, it's astronomical. My pay did not double in the last three years.

Add to this situation the fact that service is not as good as it used to be. Restaurants, even higher end restaurants, are often short staffed or have lost a lot of their more experienced staff. Staff are more stressed and less patient for a variety of reasons. All of the worst service experiences I've had in my life have all happened in the last year or two.

So yeah, paying a few more dollars for a burrito or a burger doesn't bug me that much. Paying double for a nice meal out, only to feel pressured to tip even more for service that is often curt and surly? Sorry, I'd rather either cook at home or grab some sandwiches or burgers (my preference is for a local restaurant or chain for these, but Ill do Chipotle or something too) and then going home and relaxing in my own house with my family or friends is more enjoyable. For a fraction of the cost.

Restaurants keep talking about how they are still struggling post-pandemic, and I get it. But I think at this point, they need to be asking themselves what they are offering to customers. More restaurants will close, and if this is what they are offering, I'm not that sad about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm dreading it a bit in a few weeks when all of my kids are back in the house from college.

They were all home for Easter and we ordered Chinese - it was $116 plus tip. We got our usual family order that we've always gotten in the past but it used to be around $70.

3 egg rolls $6
1 sm wonton soup $6
1 sm hot & sour soup $6
1 lg shrimp lo mein $14
1 lg chicken & pineapple fried rice $14
1 dinner portion chicken & broccoli $16
1 dinner portion mixed veggies $14
1 dinner portion kung pao pork $16
1 dinner portion beef & string beans $16

Who puts pineapple in fried rice ?

Many people. Haven’t you ever had Thai pineapple fried rice?

The prices at Giant have gone up a lot and they no longer bag your groceries, so l go to Wegman’s and TJs now. Only Giant if l need something for baking the other 2 don’t have.

Anonymous wrote:I'm dreading it a bit in a few weeks when all of my kids are back in the house from college.

They were all home for Easter and we ordered Chinese - it was $116 plus tip. We got our usual family order that we've always gotten in the past but it used to be around $70.

3 egg rolls $6
1 sm wonton soup $6
1 sm hot & sour soup $6
1 lg shrimp lo mein $14
1 lg chicken & pineapple fried rice $14
1 dinner portion chicken & broccoli $16
1 dinner portion mixed veggies $14
1 dinner portion kung pao pork $16
1 dinner portion beef & string beans $16

Who puts pineapple in fried rice ?

Anonymous wrote:I definitely notice it more at the fast casual and cheap places. At a good restaurant it seems like a small increase. At the casual places like five guys, I just don’t think it’s worth it.
The challenge is figuring out what to do with my teen that eats a ton and wants to hang out with his friends at the mall or similar. He can now drop $40 on fast food without even trying since he eats double or triple portions (and no soda!). We’ve told him he needs a budget but I don’t know what a fair budget is at this point.

You need to become the teen hangout spot. Make your basement cool and get the good snacks.

Anonymous wrote:I just paid $12 for Subway sandwich today. No more $5 foot-longs I guess.

Those are now the good old days we will tell our kids.

Anonymous wrote:We only go out to eat now at high end restaurants. If I’m going to pay a lot of money, I want it to be on a good meal. I have no desire to overpay for terrible fast food or equally terrible midgrade/chain restaurant food

I agree mostly but it’s barbell for me. Still going to McDonald’s and Subway along with high end restaurants. Nothing in between.

Anonymous wrote:Safeway's single bagels went from $0.60 to $1.15. Almost doubled.

This isn't inflation. This is gouging.

That part!! You can't have record profits if it's inflation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Safeway's single bagels went from $0.60 to $1.15. Almost doubled.

This isn't inflation. This is gouging.

You want to pay people 15.00/hour, this is the result of that including the current inflationary times we are in. I was traveling a couple of weeks ago and drove through and Einstein's Bagels and ordered a bagel with cream cheese, nothing more, I already had water in the car. They charged me $8 for a bagel with cream cheese. I asked the manager if that price was correct and she smiled and said yes, and in the same breath, "I'm sorry." I will not purchase from an Einstein's again, in fact paying $20+ dollars for a dozen bagels (flour and water), not gonna happen. English muffins in our house at this moment. I am confident I am not the only one who will walk away from favorites because these prices are absurd.

I find this difficult to believe. I live in NYC and a bagel with cream cheese at my local bagel shop is $5. $8 for a shitty Einstein bagel?

I’m in Silicon Valley where everything is more expensive than the DMV. Einstein’s is Noah’s out here and a regular bagel toasted with butter or cream cheese is under $5. Really curious where she found an $8 bagel.

I will say that paying $9 .95 for a five guys burger and 7.95 for French fries is a bridge too far for us.

We only go out to eat now at high end restaurants. If I’m going to pay a lot of money, I want it to be on a good meal. I have no desire to overpay for terrible fast food or equally terrible midgrade/chain restaurant food