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There's an interesting story in the New York Times this morning about how restaurants are dealing with soaring food costs. Some Chinese places are no longer automatically delivering rice to the table, others are subtly trimming portion sizes, some are simply raising prices. One proprietor even admitted to tacking tax onto the check rather than upping prices on the menus. A brunch spot has started charging $2 for the walnut-raisin topping that used to come free with the French toast. Frozen blueberries have begun replacing fresh. With rice, flour, beans, tofu and milk prices through the roof, we're likely to see more penny-pinching maneuvers everywhere. Food costs in the New York area are up 5.3 percent this year, says the article, but the problem's nationwide.
So have you all noticed any changes in your favorite restaurants? Prices up? Hidden taxes? No more free green tea?
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6-04-2008 @5:16PM Julie said... Food prices are skyrocketing in every area but I have also noticed that some places are giving you alot less rather than raise the prices. One of my favorite pizza places is now removing about 50% of the amount of toppings it use to give me but just keeping the price the same as it was.
http://www.noshtalgia.blogspot.com/
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6-04-2008 @5:54PM lizandrsn said... It's like the old bait and switch tactic -- the smaller quantity at the same price maneuver.
Have you ordered french fries lately? The serving comes from a single potato the size of a gonad. Potatos are one of the few food items not hitting the roof, but you'd never know that.
Too bad the Presidential Candidates ignore this subject, also.
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6-04-2008 @9:49PM KF said... The lunch spot in my building is falling on hard times and I fear it's only a matter of time. She's from France, originally, and used to make superb soups, all homemade. First, a few months ago, I noticed the very industrial flavor of canned soups. I knew she'd hit rock bottom when this Frenchwoman changed her recipe for French Onion Soup. It's no longer homemade, and you no longer get a toasted baguette with gruyere cheese on it. I ordered it and was shocked -- it's canned soup with small tell-tale perfectly square little onion bits (rehydrated of course), and she sprinkled with salad croutons and then a shake of parmesan cheese. Sacrilege. She started closing at 3 pm, and now it's 2 pm, and now she's closed on Mondays. The Coffee house two doors down from my home is now closed on Saturdays and Sundays. A Coffee House -- closed on weekends! Sign of the times.
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6-04-2008 @10:10PM pink_lemonade143 said... At the Chinese cafe that I often eat at for both lunch and dinner, they serve plate lunches with two scoops of rice. As a Chinese-American that has eaten rice almost everyday since she was born, I noticed that they simply switched to a lower quality rice. Not as fragrant, more mushy...just blah.
Also, many specials that used to be on the menu have just disappeared.
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6-05-2008 @11:18AM rebekah.turner said... our Thai restaurant is charging $1 for extra rice.
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6-05-2008 @11:56AM kevjohn said... That seems like it should be illegal in some way, fiddling with the taxes. The guvment generally doesn't take too kindly to people fudging around with its tax scheme(s).
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6-05-2008 @8:58PM Adriane said... I'd much rather have them put it out there and hike the prices rather than trying to be sneaky and clipping the portions. We all know what's going on, so be honest. It costs more for the business, so in turn it costs more for the consumer.
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6-05-2008 @7:35PM Kim said... My favorite local Thai place used to give us all the rice my boyfriend and I could eat (two regular bowls usually) - I went the other day - they had quartered the usual portion (to about 3 or 4 spoonfulls) and when I requested more it was an additional $1.75 =/ I love the place and will continue to go - but was a tad dissapointed.
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