You seem to think that the cost of eating at restaurants would/should not reflect the cost of housing in the general vicinity of the restaurant. The other exam

You seem to think that the cost of eating at restaurants would/should not reflect the cost of housing in the general vicinity of the restaurant. The other example you were quoted was from Philadelphia which is a (relatively) cheap east coast city with fairly stable house prices. Nobody is denying your experience, they are pointing out that your experiences come from an "outlier" location.