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I just came from a lunch party at a very pricey local joint; a small lunch with iced tea, no dessert, was nearly 19 simoleons.
But here's the thing. The service was really friendly and the Brussels sprouts were so good they made my eyes roll up in my head in ecstasy. It just might have been worth the price of admission.
My youngest son recently took the whole family out to dinner at a Brazilian restaurant here. Just under 400 buckarooni's for 6 adults and 2 little kids. Absolutely ridiculous and there's no way any sort of food is worth that to me. It was an experience but extravagance and a meal can only be worth so much.
When my kids were younger they loved Red Lobster. They would get so excited to eat there. The smiles and the happiness was well worth it. It's not high dollar, but what you get for the money...yep overpriced. IMHO.
I think who your with, the occasion, and your own happiness has more to do with the experience than anything.
I think a high-end steakhouse is worth a splurge every once in a long while. I can't age beef at home they way these places do, I don't care what Alton Brown says!
I just came from a lunch party at a very pricey local joint; a small lunch with iced tea, no dessert, was nearly 19 simoleons.
But here's the thing. The service was really friendly and the Brussels sprouts were so good they made my eyes roll up in my head in ecstasy. It just might have been worth the price of admission.
Is any overpriced place worth it to you?
Any overpriced place? No. Not necessarily worth it. But if I feel the food and service are that outstanding, I wouldn't consider it overpriced anymore.
The biggest single cost for a restaurant, food establishment or any business for that matter is labor. The food itself makes up only a small portion of the cost. Having said that, most places will mark up the cost of the food at least 300% or more to make up for all the overhead and turn a profit. So if you are going to compare their price with preparing it at home, there will be never be a comparison. The only way places can sell something cheap (fast food) is that they make up for it with volume.
That's considered "very pricey"? Do you live in a small town? Just curious.
It's all about perspective. In my terms, here in the greater L.A. area, any restaurant where dinner and non-alcoholic drinks for two comes out to under $100, isn't pricey/fancy dining. Alinea is not in the same orbit with Red Lobster, afaik.
I'm not saying this in a pretentious way either - I would never waste my time and money at a restaurant like Alinea, where a team of kitchen staff place microscopic greens atop smears of baby poop looking skid marks with precious little tweezers on a plate that dwarfs the food arrangement, like they are jewelers setting stones in a ring. And they charge you $60 for a morsel of something. Give me a break with that nonsense.
I would never waste my time and money at a restaurant like Alinea, where a team of kitchen staff place microscopic greens atop smears of baby poop looking skid marks with precious little tweezers on a plate that dwarfs the food arrangement, like they are jewelers setting stones in a ring. And they charge you $60 for a morsel of something. Give me a break with that nonsense.
by definition any place that is overpriced is not worth it. But on the flip side there are places like Masa in NYC where you will pay a min of $450/person for sushi and they have no problem filling the restaurant. So that and many other places are pretty expensive but I doubt any of the people that can afford to eat there would call it overpriced
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for 6 adults and 2 little kids. Absolutely ridiculous and there's no way any sort of food is worth that to me. It was an experience but extravagance and a meal can only be worth so much.