Why does a $5.75 bowl of pasta cost $32?
Jul 19th, 2006, 11:22 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,974
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Why does a $5.75 bowl of pasta cost $32?
Find out at the link below. Interesting article about the prices in Manhattan Restaurants from today's New York Post.
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/...eve_cuozzo.htm
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/...eve_cuozzo.htm
Jul 19th, 2006, 11:37 AM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,594
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I just looked at the article. Clearly some of those menu prices are really excessive ($20 for a meatless, basic lettuce salad) and do not necessarily correlate to the cost of doing business.
However, you really can't cry if you choose to pay those ridiculous prices. The only cause for complaint are undisclosed charges.
However, you really can't cry if you choose to pay those ridiculous prices. The only cause for complaint are undisclosed charges.
Jul 19th, 2006, 12:15 PM
#7
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,912
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Last week on House Hunters Suzanne Wah (sp?) mentioned rent in NYC is $1,000 a sq foot--that is impressive! Excluding salary, hiring employees is expensive, too. I forget what & where I read about the expenses associated with hiring someone--I had no idea.
Give me the check, if it means I don't have to cook I'll pay $32 for a bowl of good pasta!
Give me the check, if it means I don't have to cook I'll pay $32 for a bowl of good pasta!
Jul 19th, 2006, 12:50 PM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 589
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
That is why, when I am on a real foodie vacation like a trip to Paris, I visit the fanciest restaurants at lunch instead of dinner. Of course these days places like the French Laundry in Napa charge the same amount at lunch as at dinner...
Jul 19th, 2006, 12:53 PM
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,763
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Why are they picking on the restaruant business...which is labor intensive.
Maybe the post should call a plumber to install a 10 cent washer ....or an electician to replace a $1. switch and see what they charge
Maybe the post should call a plumber to install a 10 cent washer ....or an electician to replace a $1. switch and see what they charge
Jul 19th, 2006, 12:55 PM
#10
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 734
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Every menu/restaurant has items that do not make as much profit as other items. They are all costed out differently with a percieved value in mind. The food cost for a steak will be much higher compared to a bowl of pasta. Every menu needs a few items that do not cost a lot to make compared to the other items. Its called balance. Even Fast Food places do it.
Jul 19th, 2006, 12:59 PM
#11
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 31,036
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Part of the plumber or electrician's service call is TRAVEL time! BTW to get a Masters Plumbing License in my state now requires 4 years of school, 4 years of apprenticeship, and more hours on the job plus yearly class to keep up to date. And guess what health insurance etc costs nowadays.
Jul 19th, 2006, 01:47 PM
#13
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 19,419
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
When I was going to Switzerland a year ago, I was warned by Fodorites, the food is very expensive there compare to the US. Now, reading this, it would be cheaper to fly to Switzerland to have the same dinner 
Are there any low-cost options in Manhattan? There are plenty in SF financial area.
Are there any low-cost options in Manhattan? There are plenty in SF financial area.
Jul 19th, 2006, 02:23 PM
#14
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,087
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Of course there are a lot of low-cost option in Manhattan. They may not be as low, in absolute terms, as those in SF, but they are low in terms of our high cost of living here in NYC.
BTW, this article has to be taken with a shaker full of salt. The writer, Steve Cuzzo, ain't exactly regarded in the same caliber as, say, Frank Bruni of NYTimes or even Michael Bauer of SFChronicle (not that I think highly of his reviews). The newspaper in question is the New York Post. As far as culinary assessment is concerned, this paper is just a notch above the freeby tabloids that they give to subway commuters every morning.
BTW, this article has to be taken with a shaker full of salt. The writer, Steve Cuzzo, ain't exactly regarded in the same caliber as, say, Frank Bruni of NYTimes or even Michael Bauer of SFChronicle (not that I think highly of his reviews). The newspaper in question is the New York Post. As far as culinary assessment is concerned, this paper is just a notch above the freeby tabloids that they give to subway commuters every morning.
Jul 19th, 2006, 02:38 PM
#15
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,107
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Interesting question, but doesn't everyone already know the answer?
Whether high or low prices, restaurants experience some the highest rates of failure of any new business, so owners are not often "rolling in the dough".
Finally, for the o.p., and any other reader ... when you want to post a L o n g u r l, try going to http://tinyurl.com where you can enter the long url, and a short one is returned: in the case of the above NY Post website one gets: http://tinyurl.com/qpqow
It prevents the crazy reformatting of the page this thread has experienced.
Oh yes-- no one is forced to those restaurants. Wendys, McD and BK still have 99 cent menus, even in most Manhattan locations.
Whether high or low prices, restaurants experience some the highest rates of failure of any new business, so owners are not often "rolling in the dough".
Finally, for the o.p., and any other reader ... when you want to post a L o n g u r l, try going to http://tinyurl.com where you can enter the long url, and a short one is returned: in the case of the above NY Post website one gets: http://tinyurl.com/qpqow
It prevents the crazy reformatting of the page this thread has experienced.
Oh yes-- no one is forced to those restaurants. Wendys, McD and BK still have 99 cent menus, even in most Manhattan locations.
Jul 19th, 2006, 03:00 PM
#18
Guest
Posts: n/a
From the article:
"Of course, nobody goes out to eat expecting to pay as little as if you cooked at home. But how much is too much? Even though restaurants busier than ever and money seems limitless, customers say they're taking a beating."
This is idiotic. The customers as victims? Stay home or go somewhere else if you don't like the prices, don't bitch about how much it costs while you're gulping it down. Last I checked the prices weren't kept secret until the bill arrived.
"Of course, nobody goes out to eat expecting to pay as little as if you cooked at home. But how much is too much? Even though restaurants busier than ever and money seems limitless, customers say they're taking a beating."
This is idiotic. The customers as victims? Stay home or go somewhere else if you don't like the prices, don't bitch about how much it costs while you're gulping it down. Last I checked the prices weren't kept secret until the bill arrived.
Jul 19th, 2006, 04:59 PM
#19
Guest
Posts: n/a
If you want to complain about the cost of something, let's talk about how you can buy a gallon of gas which goes through many stages of shipping, refining, and distribution for around $3.00, but few people seem to complain about buying bottled spring water (essentially water that is bottled coming out of a tap without any processing) and paying about $10 to $15 a gallon for it.
