i track consumer prices. i am the nyc food critic for bloomberg news. i am ryan sutton.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Single supplement. These two words strike dread — not to mention resentment — in the heart of a solo traveler. Consider for a moment the cost of a superior ocean-view room on a Royal Caribbean International seven-night Alaska cruise. For two adults, it’s $1,539 each. For a single traveler, the cost is $2,843 — an additional $1,304.
Stephanie Rosenbloom pens a fun little piece for the New York Times about how singles are charged more on cruise ships, as most accommodations are priced for double occupancy.
But here’s a different way of looking at things. If you’re taking your significant other on a cruise, it’s entirely likely that one of you is paying, and the other one isn’t, unless you want that to be your last cruise. Which means for couples the price is never $1,539 each, it’s really $3,078 for one of you. So perhaps Royal Caribbean could bill this as a single’s discount of $235. And can you really put a price on the peace of mind you get while being alone?
Midtown Media Powerspot Michael’s Drops Price of $35 Hamburgular to $18, Son.
Jeff Gordiner of The New York Times today reports that Michael’s, a staple of midtown media power dining, is updating its menus with in vogue dishes like duck confit sliders, Korean fried chicken and — wait of it — SMALL PLATES. The changes come courtesy of chef Kyung Up Lim. But that’s not all folks. We at The Price Hike noticed that some of the prices have dropped by a few dollars or more.
The Caesar salad, once $16, is now $12. The Long Island duck breast, once $38, is now $25. And the burger, which was $35 this past autumn, is now $18. Will these lower prices attract larger crowds, especially during dinner, when the room can be significantly less than full? We’ll see. And is Michael’s a BUY HOLD OR SELL with thee news dishes and prices? Your call world. But let’s recall Frank Bruni’s zero-star review from 2008:
- “[Michael’s] certainly charges like a serious restaurant, levying a tariff of $35 for a lunchtime burger that’s not Kobe and doesn’t ooze foie gras. So it should perform at the level of a serious restaurant. These days, it usually doesn’t.”
BEFORE:
AFTER:
(second screenshot via New York Times)
Americans Are Stealing Hay From Each Other Because It Costs Too Dang Much. No Joke.
The New York Times reports on this disturbing trend, which pretty much threatens to upend all the civil and romantic notions we have of life in the America West. This societal plague apparently has a name too: Hay Rustling. Observe:
- “Across the West, ranchers, farmers and county sheriffs are grappling with a new scourge: hay rustling. Months of punishing drought and grass fires have pushed the price of hay, grain and other animal feed to near records, making the golden bales an increasingly irresistible target for thieves. Some steal them for profit. Others are fellow farmers acting out of desperation, their fields too brown to graze animals and their finances too wrecked to afford enough feed for their cattle.”
There you have it. People are stealing iPhones in New York, and hay out West.
Pete Wells on Why Restaurants Can Be More Important Than Post Offices
New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells makes a profound point about the importance of restaurants and fundraising in our post-Hurricane Sandy New York. Here’s what he has to say:
- “A good restaurant can be more important to its neighborhood than the post office. I suspect that’s why so many people have been donating to the many fund-raising sites set up by flooded restaurants. I can’t think of many for-profit businesses that people would pay to subsidize without getting a direct return on their investment. But if the place where families go to celebrate birthdays just disappears one day, it can leave a big hole in the community.”
What Wells is saying reminds me of the way society, particularly the wealthy, subsidizes artists. Whether through foundation-supported grants, or direct gifts from high-net worth individuals, artists depend on our support to do what they do. And I’m not just talking about buying their paintings or photos; I also mean simply giving them money, without the expectation of something immediate or tangible in return, because we know that doing so will let the artist continue his or her lifestyle, and hopefully make our world a better place.
Sometimes, members of the culinary cognoscenti tend to think of restaurants in very transactional terms; just look at my blog, The Price Hike, dedicated to tracking the minute (and sometimes not-so-minute) price changes at restaurants across the U.S. You really don’t get more transactional than that, and I’m okay with that, because, well, that’s what I do, and we only have so much money to spend!
But the reason this quote by Mr. Wells strikes a cord with me is because he’s encouraging us to contemplate the joy of restaurants in terms that transcend “I pay $58 for a steak and I get twenty-two ounces of USDA Prime in return,” or even, “I’m donating $500 to this GoFundMe account and hopefully the restaurant will give me a signed cookbook as a present.”
This quote is about restaurants not just as businesses but as community centers, places that make us happy for reasons we can’t necessarily put a finger on, and sometimes it’s hard to put a quantifiable price on that.
As opera, dance, theater, film and journalism strive and sometimes struggle to adapt to the decreasing attention spans (and tight disposable incomes) of Twitter-addicted millenials like myself, it’s heartwarming that the culinary arts are having a boom of sorts in their expensive, long-form incarnations.
That’s me, Price Hike Editor & Bloomberg Food Critic Ryan Sutton, responding to a fine piece by Pete Wells that largely laments the recent proliferation of expensive tasting menu-only restaurants.
Wells sees a bit of an epidemic in this trend. I argue that it’s just another wrinkle, and sometimes a positive wrinkle, in our increasingly diverse culinary world. Agree/Disagree? Let us know in the comments.
Is There an Epidemic of Tasting Menu-Only Restaurants? Not Necessarily.
- “Across the country, expensive tasting-menu-only restaurants are spreading like an epidemic…A high-end anomaly a few years ago, three- or four-hour menus now look like the future of fine dining.“
So writes New York Times food critic Pete Wells in his largely skeptical take on tasting menu-only restaurants, an odd, albeit interesting world where meals last over three hours, where bread courses are dictatorially delayed until mid-meal, and where dining rooms are filled by “big game hunters,” eager to spend a thousand dollars per couple for the privilege of feasting at a trophy establishment. Instagrams of the now-closed El Bulli must be the ultimate taxidermy, non?
Smart eaters will read the NYT piece in its entirety because it’s a fine lament on an expensive & idiosyncratic slice of modern gastronomy.
But what I focus on here at The Price Hike are prices, and it’s Mr. Wells’ statement about this “epidemic” of expensive tasting menus that piques my interest, as well as another one of his musings: “I can’t feel good about watching great restaurants that were already serving an elite audience taking themselves further out of reach.”
The NYT critic raises good questions. As much as I love American Omakase spots like Alinea, Blanca and Brooklyn Fare, committing the necessary financial resources toward a pricey tasting (or dealing with the subsequent gastro-intestinal distress) isn’t exactly my regular brand of bourbon.
YOU know a movie is in trouble when a voice-over narrator has to explain the plot that the combined efforts of screenwriter, director and editor failed to make clear. Something like that is going on at Eleven Madison Park, which just eliminated its $125 prix fixe option and now offers only one menu, a $195 blowout that lasts about four hours.
The New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells argues that the stories and “homilies” at the (weeks-old) Eleven Madison Park 3.0 is undermining the fine cooking of Daniel Humm.
We at The Price Hike believe that any dish with multiple components deserves a proper explanation, just as a nice painting has a little placard next to it, offering novice and advanced viewers alike with some much needed context. That said, no diner ever wants a didactic experience, at any price point.
We’ll report back on EMP 3.0 in the near future. Meanwhile, check out the fine column by Mr. Wells, or read our own musings on the higher entry-level price point, here and here.
"Alinea in New York" at Eleven Madison Park Will Cost $495 Per Person Before Tax & Tip
Wine pairings are included in the price of the one-week-only event.
After tax & service charge, you’re at $647, or $1,293 for two. That’s almost $300 more than what you might spend on dinner for two at Alinea proper. In Chicago, the tasting menu typically starts around $210 (it can range from $185-$265 depending on your reservation) and wine pairings generally start at $165 or thereabouts.
So after 20% service charge and 11.5% Chicago sales tax, you’re at $502 for one or $1,004 for two.
If you’re ordering the $265 “prime time” menu at Alinea, your meal can cost around $575 or $1,151 for two. So Alinea, even at its most expensive, is still a lot less than what Alinea at Eleven Madison is charging. That all said, we’d expect a few tricks up the sleeves of Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas when they show up at EMP. And when you factor in the cost of plane tickets to Chicago and a night or two in a hotel, yeah you’re actually saving a few bucks by doing it The Big Apple.
Is this a BUY HOLD OR SELL? Your call, world. But we might give this one a try.
Six-cent subsidy helps kill a school lunch program recruiting some of NYC's best chefs
The school lunch program, which relied on Michelin-starred chefs like Gramercy Tavern’s Michael Anthony, didn’t meet “federal nutritional guidelines,” The Times reports. Compliance with those rules is required for in a six-cent-per-meal subsidy, so NYC discontinued the program.
We at The Price Hike believe that having good chefs plan & prepare good meals for our children is worth an extra six cents. We also believe that ambitious chefs are better equipped to keep our children healthy than any federal regulations are.
California Restaurant Charges $21 for Toast
Yes, there’s a reason for this. Chef Adam Pechal at restaurant Thir13en sends out a “complimentary” order of foie gras and duck liver panna cotta to accompany that pricey brioche. It’s all part of an effort to (legally) skirt California’s foie gras ban, The New York Times reports.
Eleven Madison Park Eliminating $125 Menu
Eleven Madison Park, which boasts three Michelin stars and four Bloomberg News stars, is about to get more expensive — for some. ”Not long after Labor Day,” according to Jeff Gordinier of the New York Times, dinner will start at $195 per person. That’s the same price as the current tasting menu, but it’s a 56% price hike for those who previously opted for the shorter $125 menu, which is being eliminated.
Under Eleven Madison Park’s new format, the entry-level cost of dinner, after tax and tip, will be $502 for two, or $1,004 for four. Previously, EMP’s starting cost for two was $322, or $644 for four. Is Eleven Madison still a STRONG BUY at these prices? We don’t see why not; some of our best experiences occurred while enjoying the longer menu and its excellent clam bake.
Then again, it will be incumbent upon Eleven Madison to convince regulars that spending at least an extra $180, for two, per visit, will be worth it. And if this 56% price hike of sorts results in some guests restricting their visits to once or twice a year instead of three of four times, Eleven Madison will have to work even harder to make sure those “occasional” diners still feel like coddled “regulars,” and that the increasingly expensive experience brings increasingly rarefied pleasures amid increasingly scare reservations.
The Times also reports that the longer option will be the only option at lunch. We’re very curious to see what owners Will Guidara and Daniel Humm have up their sleeves (which, according to the New York Times, might be a few magic tricks… ) We’ll offer more musings on the new menus at Eleven Madison in the coming weeks and months (Last Update: 7:55pm, 27 July 2012).
The worst drought in the United States in nearly a half-century is expected to drive up the price of milk, beef and pork next year, the government said Wednesday, as consumers bear some of the brunt of the sweltering heat that is driving up the cost of feed corn. Poultry prices are expected to rise more immediately.
The New York Times reports on food inflation fears for later this year and next. Let’s see what this does to the $79 chicken at Will Guidara and Daniel Humm’s The NoMad.
[Mission Chiense] could almost certainly charge twice as much as it does on Orchard Street, where currently the most expensive dish is $15 and where four people can eat like pashas for less than $100. The prices (like those at Pok Pok Ny, in Brooklyn, opened by another out-of-towner) should give some proprietors of other loud, cramped, chaotic local restaurants a shiver of guilt, and cause them to glance nervously over their shoulders. Charging fine-dining prices in a dive may bring you gold, but it won’t buy you a stairway to heaven.
Pete Wells contemplates the prices at Mission Chinese in his two-star New York Times review of the restaurant. A few weeks ago, in an interview with Chef Danny Bowien, we at The Price Hike also wondered out loud whether Mission was undercharging for its spicy fare. For further reading, consider checking out the Bloomberg News review of Mission Chinese by Ryan Sutton (that’s me!).
Oceana was prix-fixe-only when New York Times critic Frank Bruni reviewed it in 2008. Then Oceana became a la carte-only when it moved to the McGraw Hill Building in 2009 (“theater menus” don’t count, in case you were wondering). Now, three years later, the Michelin-starred venue finally gives us a more extravagant option: The “New Orleans-inspired Big Easy Tasting Menu,” which Chef Ben Pollinger has been offering for about a month or so.
The five-course menu includes blackened shrimp, oyster-stuffed quail, gulf red snapper and cherries jubilee. The price is $95 per person or $145 with wine pairings. That results in a real cost of $245 for two after tax and tip, or $374 after wine pairings. So what say you world? Is Oceana’s Big Easy a BUY HOLD OR SELL? And please do consult my (positive) Bloomberg News review.
Taxi Fares in New York to Rise by 17%
SUTTON will have to start taking the SUBWAY again. Taxi fares will rise by an average of 17 percent, while the set price of taking a cab from Manhattan to JFK will jump $7 to $52, the New York Times reports. That means the REAL COST of your airport ride will jump to $67 after tolls ($4.80) and optional tip ($10). Those paying cash might just hand over $70 and call it even (remember, all NYC cabs take plastic).Your best bet for a proper flight out of Kennedy is still the $13 LIRR + AirTrain fare or the $10 NYAS bus from Grand Central.
