All the dim sum places I’ve ever been to, that will serve you 3-4 dumplings for $3 will charge double that for a plate of chinese broccoli stir fried with oyster sauce.
I make Chinese dumplings and they cost very little. Chinese broccoli is generally a really big helping. And have you seen the price of any produce these days?
Glasses of wine . What’s that one little glass of wine going to do . Even the bottles have a large markup . Not a dish but anyway .
It’s just my opinion. But I can probably buy the broccoli for under $2/lb at an asian market, and the serving size is usually about 6 pieces of broccoli (so a lb, give or take). I’m guesstimating that for an order of 4 hargow, that is a good 1/3-1/2 lb of shrimp, and they use big-ish shrimp, so let’s say $10/lb. Plus the labor involved in making the dumplings is much higher than stir frying some broccoli. So for me, the math doesn’t work out. The broccoli is always considered a “special” dish because they walk it around. And I think there is a perception among those who don’t know that it will be on par costwise with whatever other dumplings they’re ordering. So it is both sticker shock and a nasty little surprise to the uninitiated.
Because I’m planning on making some dumplings in the next few days I have Andrea Nguyen’s “Asian Dumplings” cookbook right here. Her recipe says that 9 oz. of shrimp will make 32 dumplings. Most of the places where I go for dim sum have almost an assembly line in the back for dumpling making. I’m guessing it’s a minimum wage job. Whatever. Plus I don’t get food if I don’t know the cost. Just me.
When I bitch about restaurant prices for food and drink my wife will tell me “well you didn’t have to cook”. I have to reminder her I was robbed of that pleasure too on top of it!
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Good point, scoobie! Nothing more annoying than paying too much for something that you can cook better at home. And enjoy the ‘process.’ But there are times - like tonight perhaps for me - that it’s worth it 
It’s always the drinks: alcohol, tea, coffee, wine…
Pierre-Louis Marin, a starred chef from Montner, France, has a lunch menu of 19€. In an interview, he reviewed for a 19€ menu (3 courses 1 starred meal): 6 euros maximum for the food, salary, rent, electricity etc bill adds the cost up to 15€. He said the wine he bought them for 7 euros, he will then sell them for 21 euros in the restaurant.
Here we are talking about a pretty honest quality restaurant, I can’t imagine the other who serves Metro food, a food distributer for restaurant in Europe. Restaurants now order frozen pre-prepared industrial food and just heat them up in the kitchen add a few fresh vegetables some sauce. This is a rip off.
Also I saw in a documentary saying that waffle (I guess crepes, pancakes etc fall into the same category) is one of the highest margin in food industry.
I know McDonald’s is fast food but, the cost of a Big Mac is over $5 with tax…just the burger, not a combo.
I can’t believe people pay that when an In 'n Out Double-Double is less expensive and way better.
No comparison.
I’d call that a true rip off…
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A week ago I ordered the special chicken in a Greek restaurant. It was a mound of chicken strips in a yogurt and dill sauce, served with rice. When the bill came it was $32. But it was delicious
I did call the next dy and asked if it was a mistake and was told “no.” My fault for not asking at the time but I asked why. I was told the yogurt was imported from Greece.
Unless that box of yogurt flew in a private Citation-X there is no way a chicken in yogurt should be $32.
I know some have made reference to this already, but this is a frustrating conversation/list. Although some preparations do involve questionable markups (wine, soda, coffee, tea) i still wonder. After all, all of these are more than their ingredients. These involve paying for space, equipment, and labour. Moreover, some of the ingredients themselves might also be higher cost by keeping in mind type of food, availability, and paying fair costs for the labour involved there. I mean, at least you should break down the amount of time it takes to prepare something and how much someone with skills would be laid. And some of you might also bear in mind the necessity of a fair wage.
Again, some of you have melted that, but really, this conversation as an amalgamation of ‘how could ingredient X cost so much?’ seems really hellbent on erasing all the other labour involved.
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Agree. Any restaurant dish is a ripoff if you base the price on food cost alone.
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I understand what you are saying but restaurant prices are generally based on initial food costs. I wouldn’t expect a 24oz ribeye to be charged at the same price as a chicken breast, but, I still think pasta meals are overcharged.
I have noticed in the US that pasta dishes are usually the same price if not more than chicken. If they are using boxed pasta and making a cheap sauce there is no good reason to be charging $15 and up apart from making easy money.
Guacamole prepared tableside – usually it consists of 1 avocado, a bit of onion, garlic, lime, and whatever else in tiny quantities, and carrying a $12-15 price tag.
At certain restaurants, everything. A friend started me on the frustrating habit of reviewing the check. I know, I know, but I never used to give it a 2nd look. I find that about 1 out of 4 times find something that is on the check for a higher price than on the menu, and being charged for things we didn’t order or receive is not uncommon. It’s enough to make me stay home and cook.
Same at supermarkets. It is infuriating and not healthy for my OCD.
In the vein of this thread’s original intention, I rarely drink wine in restaurants anymore unless they have corkage.
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Not to mention that guac is better if it sits awhile for the flavors to come together after it is made.
Any topping on a slice of pizza- years ago a topping was a slight up-charge,now they add almost the price of what an entire slice should cost
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managing food cost can make or break a restaurant. places are generally NOT making much money on expensive steaks like ribeye. the food cost on a steak can be 40-50%. THAT is why a pasta dish may be north of $15.
as for chicken? due to demand, most places serve boneless, skinless breast and are not breaking down their own birds. have you seen the price of chicken lately?
every dish price is also factoring in rent, utilities, labor, salary, linen, breakage, paying for spotify, etc.
people who grocery shop and cook should have a basic understanding of what food costs. if you find yourself eating a lame plate of pasta primavera for $18 that is on you.
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You make the point that consumers often overlook – the non-food portion of overhead has to be recovered before there is any profit to the proprietor. The non-food portion is basically fixed in the sense that the business’s total overhead has to be spread across every order, regardless of the variable effect of food cost on each menu item. The labor for preparing a steak or pasta is essentially the same; unless the customer has reason to believe the pasta cook is overpaid, of course chicken and pasta dish pricces will tend to converge.
items like fountain soda and coffee cost the restaurant pennies per serving, yet i don’t hear too many regulars at burger king or starbucks bitching about the cost of their drinks.
americans have a very strange perception of value with food.
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