I had "the awakening" after another however-many-hundreds of dollars meal on a Friday, and on Sunday we couldn't remember what we ate on Friday. Maybe it was even a tasting menu, who knows? When I saw my credit card bill - that's when I remembered.
After that happened enough times, we figured our dollars were better spent on something fun and memorable, which often happens to be cheap. (Hello Empanada Mama, ignoring the pricy drinks) So what if it's not the fanciest food, at least we have a good memory, were happy, and feel better about allocating more of our spending to something else.
What makes me sad is the formerly cheap, fun places that are now expensive. Take El Centro, a fun place! Free chips and salsa! A wait on a Friday night! Last time I went, somehow we spent over 100 bucks, and no free chips...
So now these days, on a night we might have gone out in the past, we are heading to that japanese fish counter at the new Wegmans and learning how to cook some new fish I never heard of before. Or I should say just learning how to cook. Now I feel old.
Dec 1, 2023·edited Dec 1, 2023Liked by ryan sutton
Phew, your comment and the article itself covers just about every thought I had rolling around my head earlier this month. It's a bummer getting priced out of my favorite "cheap" spots (I still like many of those places, my wallet does not!) but beyond just chains like Empanada Mama (not that that the Mama can't be a fun time) my "pivot" has been toward the hole in the wall, or the ramen spot, or I can throw a dart at any street in Chinatown and find a more than memorable night out. By which I mean, I can still find a full on great time destination spot that isn't going to cost me two arms and two legs-- might not be the textbook definition of fine dining but many Michelin chefs would kill for the quote-unquote "authenticity" and thrill of half the restaurants in Jackson Heights. In one sense the pivot is pure practicality but also if I'm looking for food that's going to make me feel something more than just full, anything from delicious ingredients to clever cooking, a nice dining room or a good vibe-- it's not impossible, not yet at least. Beyond fine dining, or even just finer dining there's thankfully a lot of great food still holding on. For how long who knows but it's there...
That said, the turn from being able to save up my pennies for Ko Bar or simply "settle" for a good time at the original Ssam to, well... Ssam Bar becoming a pricey bore and both places simply not existing still hurts. The overwhelming joy I get from my family's annual Christmas trip to HK Wonton Garden doesn't make me not miss out on my favorite splurge restaurants, or make the sticker shock any less concerning but hopefully if we look toward the "cycle" of the article than it's simply up to diners like us and food writers to balk at overinflated bills and tell that friend asking for a recommendation that there's a place on the south end of Mulberry that'll serve you the best pork & chive dumpling you've ever had for 5 bucks a plate or less if you get on the servers good side. That's the sort of place I wanna become a regular.
I had "the awakening" after another however-many-hundreds of dollars meal on a Friday, and on Sunday we couldn't remember what we ate on Friday. Maybe it was even a tasting menu, who knows? When I saw my credit card bill - that's when I remembered.
After that happened enough times, we figured our dollars were better spent on something fun and memorable, which often happens to be cheap. (Hello Empanada Mama, ignoring the pricy drinks) So what if it's not the fanciest food, at least we have a good memory, were happy, and feel better about allocating more of our spending to something else.
What makes me sad is the formerly cheap, fun places that are now expensive. Take El Centro, a fun place! Free chips and salsa! A wait on a Friday night! Last time I went, somehow we spent over 100 bucks, and no free chips...
So now these days, on a night we might have gone out in the past, we are heading to that japanese fish counter at the new Wegmans and learning how to cook some new fish I never heard of before. Or I should say just learning how to cook. Now I feel old.
Phew, your comment and the article itself covers just about every thought I had rolling around my head earlier this month. It's a bummer getting priced out of my favorite "cheap" spots (I still like many of those places, my wallet does not!) but beyond just chains like Empanada Mama (not that that the Mama can't be a fun time) my "pivot" has been toward the hole in the wall, or the ramen spot, or I can throw a dart at any street in Chinatown and find a more than memorable night out. By which I mean, I can still find a full on great time destination spot that isn't going to cost me two arms and two legs-- might not be the textbook definition of fine dining but many Michelin chefs would kill for the quote-unquote "authenticity" and thrill of half the restaurants in Jackson Heights. In one sense the pivot is pure practicality but also if I'm looking for food that's going to make me feel something more than just full, anything from delicious ingredients to clever cooking, a nice dining room or a good vibe-- it's not impossible, not yet at least. Beyond fine dining, or even just finer dining there's thankfully a lot of great food still holding on. For how long who knows but it's there...
That said, the turn from being able to save up my pennies for Ko Bar or simply "settle" for a good time at the original Ssam to, well... Ssam Bar becoming a pricey bore and both places simply not existing still hurts. The overwhelming joy I get from my family's annual Christmas trip to HK Wonton Garden doesn't make me not miss out on my favorite splurge restaurants, or make the sticker shock any less concerning but hopefully if we look toward the "cycle" of the article than it's simply up to diners like us and food writers to balk at overinflated bills and tell that friend asking for a recommendation that there's a place on the south end of Mulberry that'll serve you the best pork & chive dumpling you've ever had for 5 bucks a plate or less if you get on the servers good side. That's the sort of place I wanna become a regular.