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As a New Yorker, I have been surprised when I travel that food isn't cheaper many places... For instance, I searched "Brunch" in Google Maps for Jackson and om

As a New Yorker, I have been surprised when I travel that food isn't cheaper many places... For instance, I searched "Brunch" in Google Maps for Jackson and omelette plates are $10-16 at Google's top result[1]. Labor costs certainly impact prices, but restaurant pricing isn't totally formulaic outside of maybe "market price" fish dishes. Kenji Lopez Alt has written about this[2]: Here's where one of the first intricacies in menu pricing arises: Menu prices have to make sense to the customer. Placing a $15 carrot entree and a $20 chicken dish next to a $40 mushroom dish and a $45 steak doesn't compute; the range is simply too big. Either the latter two dishes are far too expensive, or the first two are far too cheap. Which sceniaro seems true largely depends on the atmosphere of the restaurant and pricing at similar restaurants, but both cases can be disconcerting. Because of this, most successful restaurant owners fudge the numbers a bit. "You're willing to lose money on some things because they're important to keep on the menu," says Maws. [1]https://www.elviesrestaurant.com/day https://www.elviesrestaurant.com/day [2]https://www.seriouseats.com/menu-pricing-vegan-vegetarian-meat https://www.seriouseats.com/menu-pricing-vegan-vegetarian-me...

thaumasiotes 5y ago
> As a New Yorker, I have been surprised when I travel that food isn't cheaper many places... Some of that may be on you, choosing to eat the expensive food. My experience in Shanghai was that I could eat basically the same things I'd eat in America, and it would cost basically the same amount of money. Or I could eat local food for 5-10 times less than that. But you know, if I go to 老外街 ("foreigner street") in Shanghai to eat at the Mexican restaurant there, it's not exactly a secret that I may be willing to pay more for food than a normal Chinese person. And they price accordingly.
- kritiko 5y ago
  Sorry my original comment was unclear. I was strictly talking about traveling within America. Internationally there are huge price differences.
colinmhayes 5y ago
I've noticed that Manhattan restaurant prices(other than pizza) are much higher than Chicago restaurant prices. Hard to find non-counter serve for less than $15 in manhattan. Chicago $10 is easy to find.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  Chicago tipped minimum wage is $8.4 to $9 per hour, NYC tipped minimum wage is $15 per hour. Rents are probably considerably higher in NYC too, especially restricting to Manhattan.

thaumasiotes 5y ago

> As a New Yorker, I have been surprised when I travel that food isn't cheaper many places... Some of that may be on you, choosing to eat the expensive food. My experience in Shanghai was that I could eat basically the same things I'd eat in America, and it would cost basically the same amount of money. Or I could eat local food for 5-10 times less than that. But you know, if I go to 老外街 ("foreigner street") in Shanghai to eat at the Mexican restaurant there, it's not exactly a secret that I may be willing to pay more for food than a normal Chinese person. And they price accordingly.

kritiko 5y ago
Sorry my original comment was unclear. I was strictly talking about traveling within America. Internationally there are huge price differences.

colinmhayes 5y ago

I've noticed that Manhattan restaurant prices(other than pizza) are much higher than Chicago restaurant prices. Hard to find non-counter serve for less than $15 in manhattan. Chicago $10 is easy to find.

lotsofpulp 5y ago
Chicago tipped minimum wage is $8.4 to $9 per hour, NYC tipped minimum wage is $15 per hour. Rents are probably considerably higher in NYC too, especially restricting to Manhattan.