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Forum Thread

Does it now cost $25 for lunch?

937 292 March 17, 2013 at 10:41 AM in Rant (3)
I always wondered when I was a kid about how old people would complain about how expensive stuff had gotten. Yet as a kid it didn't seem that expensive to me.

I think it has to do with our memories of how much stuff used to cost vs how much it costs now.

I went to a mesican resturant with my son after Church today and the bill for both of us was $24. Is that how much it costs for lunch anymore? Maybe. Even a meal at McD seems to be 6-7 dollars.

The interesting thing about this is the meal while OK was not worth $25 to me. I think the problem a restaurant faces is that of perception. My guess is it is really expensive to own a restaurant anymore. Food is higher, energy, taxes, insurance, etc.

Then joe citizen (or Richard) comes along and eats there and says, well that was OK but was it worth $25?

It seems to me the answer for restaurants is the fast casual concept like panera bread or panda express. Have a limited menu of items that can be served fast without a wait staff. At panera or panda my son and I eat for around $17. This seems to be the way to go IMO.

Thank you for reading my rant. wave

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R U an ultracrepidarian?
> bubble2 77,001 Posts
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iconian | Staff
03-17-2013 at 04:04 PM.
03-17-2013 at 04:04 PM.
Restaurants are very expensive to operate. But, you forget something. Restaurants are not there to sell you food but there to sell you the experience, whether it is authentic Mexican food or whatever, so you're not only paying for food but for atmosphere.
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Joined Mar 2013
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> bubble2 53 Posts
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babblinghost
03-17-2013 at 04:09 PM.
03-17-2013 at 04:09 PM.
I go to Corner Bakery for lunch (like Panera/chain coffee shop) frequently with friends and for 2 people I can never seem to escape with less than a $30 tab for 2.
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Joined Dec 2006
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Original Poster
rhornback
03-17-2013 at 04:39 PM.
03-17-2013 at 04:39 PM.
Quote from Iaaaiws :
How much of a tip did you leave?

Did the $24 include the tip?

This is all very important information in any Lounge restaurant thread.Nono1
Yes $24 with the tip
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Joined Nov 2006
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> bubble2 3,941 Posts
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zhelder
03-17-2013 at 05:29 PM.
03-17-2013 at 05:29 PM.
Mr. T's lunch cost $35 seven years ago, so $24 today doesn't sound too bad.

Seriously, I think the cost of eating in restaurants, especially sit-down restaurants, has gone up faster than overall inflation over the past several years. You just have to keep your eyes open for deals and coupons.

And if you want a great cheap lunch, Popeye's loaded chicken wrap (a chicken tender in a wrap with red beans and rice) gives pretty good bang for the $2 or so it costs.
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Joined Jan 2008
HER SPOILED HIGHNESS
> bubble2 9,504 Posts
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ALVSGIRLY
03-17-2013 at 06:44 PM.
03-17-2013 at 06:44 PM.
Where's Sunshine when you need him?

Is the dollar menu busted or something?
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Joined Jun 2006
Jambi-rific in Seattle!
> bubble2 31,436 Posts
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Zoe Moon
03-17-2013 at 07:59 PM.
03-17-2013 at 07:59 PM.
Quote from Iaaaiws :
How much of a tip did you leave?

Did the $24 include the tip?

This is all very important information in any Lounge restaurant thread.Nono1
Not another tipping thread! Facepalm
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Joined Jan 2008
L3: Novice
> bubble2 170 Posts
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FrugalSandy
03-17-2013 at 08:15 PM.
03-17-2013 at 08:15 PM.
Quote from rhornback :
I always wondered when I was a kid about how old people would complain about how expensive stuff had gotten. Yet as a kid it didn't seem that expensive to me.

I think it has to do with our memories of how much stuff used to cost vs how much it costs now.

I went to a mesican resturant with my son after Church today and the bill for both of us was $24. Is that how much it costs for lunch anymore? Maybe. Even a meal at McD seems to be 6-7 dollars.

The interesting thing about this is the meal while OK was not worth $25 to me. I think the problem a restaurant faces is that of perception. My guess is it is really expensive to own a restaurant anymore. Food is higher, energy, taxes, insurance, etc.

Then joe citizen (or Richard) comes along and eats there and says, well that was OK but was it worth $25?

It seems to me the answer for restaurants is the fast casual concept like panera bread or panda express. Have a limited menu of items that can be served fast without a wait staff. At panera or panda my son and I eat for around $17. This seems to be the way to go IMO.

Thank you for reading my rant. wave
My husband and I went to lunch last week at a Pizza Restaurant that we patronized in the old neighborhood (it has since moved out to the boonie suburbs). Since I always loved their pizza I ordered a 7" personal pan pizza (cheese/sausage) and a pop and my husband ordered a chicken sandwich (fries were extra) and a pop. Unfortunately, the pizza was not as good as I remembered it and my husband said his sandwich was just OK. I had a 10% coupon and the bill was still $20.xx and I left the waitress a $4.00 tip. I normally buy Groupons, Groupon-like coupons, restaurant.com vouchers, and peruse the newspaper for higher value coupons. We both agreed that this lunch was on the bottom of the list as far as value was concerned. So much for nostalgia!
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Joined Jun 2008
And I Love Asian Girls :)
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tennisplayer888
03-17-2013 at 10:08 PM.
03-17-2013 at 10:08 PM.
Quote from chewspam :
I won't get in to in detail, but this is the reason the cost of food and gas is left off of the inflation index. Those are the best gauges at measuring how the economy affects consumers, and as one goes up so does the other. This is why the media constantly says how much better the economy is doing while 86% of people say they are spending me for the same foods this year over last.


Iagree At least once a week.
I do know about it, I just wanted to voice my opinion about the cost of the restaurant. As having our family own(ed) a couple restaurants before I know all about the costs and such. That's why we got out before it got worse, i.e. now, and why you see Sushi places springing up everywhere... cheaper to make, while making people think it is high quality and charging a lot for it. And why you do not see many buffets anymore, and even if you do expect to pay $10+ usually.
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Joined Jun 2008
And I Love Asian Girls :)
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tennisplayer888
03-17-2013 at 10:12 PM.
03-17-2013 at 10:12 PM.
Quote from rhornback :
Yes $24 with the tip
Next time drink water as well... drinks run on avg. about $2 per, so that would have shaved $4, and it would be much healthier too...

That CO2 and syrup continues to go up...
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Joined Mar 2009
Schrödinger's Frog
> bubble2 19,435 Posts
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Frogstar
03-18-2013 at 07:09 AM.
03-18-2013 at 07:09 AM.
Quote from chewspam :
I won't get in to in detail, but this is the reason the cost of food and gas is left off of the inflation index. Those are the best gauges at measuring how the economy affects consumers, and as one goes up so does the other. This is why the media constantly says how much better the economy is doing while 86% of people say they are spending me for the same foods this year over last.
I would think it's left off the index because the price of gas has much more to do with the oil speculation market than inflation Scratchchin
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Joined Jan 2008
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ALVSGIRLY
03-18-2013 at 07:14 AM.
03-18-2013 at 07:14 AM.
Quote from tennisplayer888 :
Next time drink water as well... drinks run on avg. about $2 per, so that would have shaved $4, and it would be much healthier too...

That CO2 and syrup continues to go up...
I agree. Soda is garbage. Don't put that in your body Yuk.
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Joined Jan 2009
I’m evil.....
> bubble2 12,738 Posts
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cupcake42
03-18-2013 at 07:48 AM.
03-18-2013 at 07:48 AM.
Quote from ALVSGIRLY :
I agree. Soda is garbage. Don't put that in your body Yuk.
But I like garbage. Frown
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Kabn
03-18-2013 at 07:50 AM.
03-18-2013 at 07:50 AM.
i normally expect to pay around $16-19 for a normal lunch for my wife and me with tip at a sit-down restaurant; a few bucks less without the tip. we both get water since soda is ridiculously overpriced nowadays and neither of us needs the extra sugar. $25 is more of a normal dinner range for us.

we keep our eyes out for coupons/specials, but with many of those (especially Groupons), it seems like the promotional value is more than we would spend without tip anyway, so we end up getting more food to hit the target, then have to tip on the total bill, so we end up only saving a buck or two (if anything) at the end of the day. i feel like we can do better from both a money and health perspective by going to non-tipping places that have decently-priced food.
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ALVSGIRLY
03-18-2013 at 07:51 AM.
03-18-2013 at 07:51 AM.
Quote from cupcake42 :
But I like garbage. Frown
It's so bad for you though. I used to drink coke. Thank God I stopped. I probably average a coke every 6 months now. I do like sprite when my tummy is upset. That's the only time I like it for some reason.
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I’m evil.....
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cupcake42
03-18-2013 at 07:54 AM.
03-18-2013 at 07:54 AM.
Quote from ALVSGIRLY :
It's so bad for you though. I used to drink coke. Thank God I stopped. I probably average a coke every 6 months now. I do like sprite when my tummy is upset. That's the only time I like it for some reason.
I will drink 3 or 4 coke zeros a day sometimes. I do it when i'm stressed out. Frown
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