Good one.
I just went to look at the menus, and Iām pretty sure that when the San Diego location opened in 2018, an order of plain xlb was $12, now itās 17.50, and in nyc 18.50. Iām surprised at the price difference between LA & nyc.
I havenāt been out for them in a while.
in CAD, $0.71 cent dollars. flFrom Scarborough , Ontarioās Ding Tai Fung
being the computer-idiot-nerd-type I am . . . .
I scan the (then current) menu and the tab for posterity, filed by the resto . . .
absolutely no question/doubt about it. prices have gone up-up-up.
actually the most āaccurateā comparison is booze.
appetizers/entrees āvaryā by āwhat zactly you orderedā
but a glass of wine or a MakerāsMark Manhattan, not much variation in ingredients.
decent - not āfine diningā ala ueber expensive/names/placesā¦ has gone up about 50%
we simply donāt do āfast foodā - so Iām in the dark there.
I canāt remember the last time I wasted a penny on FF. I wouldnāt even remember what it couldāve possibly beenā¦ maybe BK? It would have to have been a crisis, no doubt, with no other options nearby.
My last was a $5 footlong at Subway. Meatball marinara. I think theyāre $8 now.
I go through phases. Iāll go 3 years without any fast food, then a year where I have it every 2 weeks.
I have been keeping an eye on several specific foods and drinks, and posting prices occasionally on HO.
Here are a few of the regional threads where I post prices:
Toronto Burger and Fries Price Metric Thread, June 2023 and onwards
Steak Frites in the [Greater Toronto Area]
Greater Toronto Area, Bang for the Buck restaurants
The dishes and drinks I order most, where I keep track of how much the dish or drink is costing around my region are:
a burger on its own
a burger and fries
butter chicken
fish and chips- running between $20 and $30 at places with table service, running around $14-$20 before tax for one piece of haddock or cod with chips at take-out chippys. Halibut costs around an extra $5 to $7.
sandwiches and subs. running $12 to $18 for a good takeout sandwich in Toronto. Souvlaki in a pita, falafel in a pita, and shawarma in a pita run roughly the same price as a good sandwich in downtown Toronto.
breakfast sandwiches- these are running between $8 and $16 before tax and tip. Toronto Breakfast Sandwiches, a diary starting Oct 1, 2023
omelettes. Iām a Greek diner omelette person . These run $12-$16 before tax at most indie diners and family restaurants in Ontario, and they usually include toast and potatoes
Eggs Benedict - currently running $16- $24 in most Ontario restaurants
cortados / cappuccinos / iced lattes itās a bit of a game for me to find a good cortado I like for less than $5 before tax and tip in Toronto. Most cappuccinos and iced lattes run $6 and change after tax, and I round up to $7. Some coffee shops charge 50 cents extra for ice or nut mylk. I keep track.
Butter tarts . I donāt eat too many butter tarts, but I keep an eye on the price. They cost $5 at most indie coffee shops in Toronto. They can run $2.50- $3 a piece in smaller town bakeries. The size can vary!
Pasteis de Nata/ custard tarts these can run between $1 and $3 a piece in Toronto.
Ugh. That yeasty stench in the store, though. Nope.
I ordered it drive through. I know to what you refer, though.
Back when I delivered food I had to step into a local branch on occasion. Glad I no longer have to for any reason 
FYI:
Ew. Also, very funny.
Thereās a whole thread on that 
I stopped going to Subway because of that stench, reminds me of the hospital commissary when I would visit Ma & Pa.
My local hospital in LdnOnt got rid of its homestyle cooking cafeteria about 20 years ago. Now, itās like a food court, and the options are all fast food. Tim Hortons, Subway, Pizza Pizza and a stall serving burgers, fries, and poutine.
in the 70s and 80s, there was a well stocked salad bar and a kitchen with cooks preparing things like hot beef sandwiches and crƩme caramel.
Do places like Sweetgreen or Cava count as FF? These were weekly spots for me up until last year, when I changed jobs and went full time remote. Over the course of that job ā 2018 to 2024 ā my daily lunch cost at these sorts of places, in downtown Boston, went on the high end (Sweetgreen salad w/ salmon) from ~$14 to ~$21.
I think many people would consider them to be Fast Casual rather than Fast Food.
We have a few of those. Cava is coming, I think, and we have Mezzeh, Roots (Rootz? 
), and weāre apparently getting a Honeygrow, which specializes in stir-fries and salads ā a rather odd combo IYAM.
I despise large chains, as they serve the lowest common denominator, and prefer to support small, family-owned businesses that usually serve higher quality food in comparison.
We have several Middle Eastern places, so no need for Mezzeh, Rootz is some bowl place and I fān hate the concept ā mostly bc itās is errrrrrrywhere these days 
, and we already have a pretty good selection of various Chinese places that would blow any chain out of the water.
Meh.
Supporting small businesses is always a good preference, but unfortunately theyāre generally not able to survive in core office/commercial areas in bigger cities due to extremely high lease costs. As an office worker I was quite happy with the rise of the bowl places; feels much healthier and tastier than the subs or slices that were my only quick and non-fried option when I started my career.
The rents for any downtown spots in our little town are insane, which is why most new businesses also tend to be chainsā¦ or the storefronts of yet another student hi-rise remain empty
No doubt bowls are healthy, Iām just generally annoyed by the trend bc Iām a kronchy lady 
