The Great American Restaurant Rip-Off
This post deserves more attention than I can give it here but suffice to say that I am becoming more convinced that restaurants in the United States are gouging diners. Not just when it comes to tips and service fees but also their menu prices.
Since moving to Barcelona, Les and I have been astounded at the low cost of dining out, even at more upscale restaurants compared to the US. Even with the exchange rate, the cost of a menu item in Barcelona is considerably lower. Some might say that it is not a fair comparison since wages are higher in the States, but in the food service industry, that is not the case. In the service sector, wages are much lower than average and in many cases even below the federal minimum wage. It is expected that the shortfall for many of these workers is made up in tips. That may be true for the “front of the house” but what about line cooks, dishwashers, and bussers? Spain might have lower wages, in general, but most Spaniards receive low cost health care and other state benefits that Americans must pay for out of their own pockets.
Lest you think that I am making a generalization, I do have a a couple of “apples to apples” comparisons. For example, last month, we ate at a rather fancy Italian restaurant called Cecconi’s. In addition to their location here, they also have restaurants in West Hollywood, CA and Brooklyn NY. At the Barcelona location , a three-course meal starting with a salad of butter lettuce at 12 euros, followed by rigatoni bolognese (19 euros), topped off with whole branzino at 28 euros would set you back 59 euros or $64.90 total. Tax is included and there is no additional tip, service charge, or any other fees such as a credit card fee or emergency services fee (that a restaurant in LA tried to charge us.) The same meal in West Hollywood would cost $100 and at the Dumbo location in NYC it would run $99. This is before tax, tip and other fees which might conservatively add $20 to $30 dollars to the bill. In other words, the same meal is available to us for half the price with no skimping on quality or service, not to mention the attitude you might face in a place like West Hollywood or Brooklyn.
On Friday we met a group of people for dinner at a pizza restaurant called Bellillo’s. Once again, comparing their prices to their outpost in Miami was a stark revelation. An appetizer of arancino and a Castelpoto pizza (sausage, tomato, basil, and provolone) costs 18 euros or $19,80 versus the same meal in Miami running at $32.80 plus the usual additional charges, fees, tip, etc. Once again, twice the price for the same meal. While it can be said that there might be other factors adding to the cost of the meal, it is a fair comparison or restaurants in large, cosmopolitan urban settings. Barcelona has a population of 1.6 million plus mass transit, highways, schools, and its share of problems that many other cities have worldwide. If the United States boasts that it offers its citizens so much choice in order to pursue their happiness, it’s obvious it comes with a cost. The question is: why the cost and who’s benefiting from it? Certainly those who work on the front lines in the industry aren’t reaping the rewards. Additionally, the customer isn’t benefitting either. Perhaps the question answers itself.
