Hi @moonboy403,
It’s a fair question and I think @robert and @Haeldaur and others answered it pretty well. I would agree with them: That sure, while ostensibly just some “chives, celery, other veggies” might seem to be “cheap” ingredients and perhaps her base cost of ingredients might not be the ~$9 - $15 range, there’s labor involved.
What’s the cost and time for Chef Minh to ferment and pickle various ingredients? What’s the R&D cost for her to have experimented and tried out so many flavor combinations to be able to come up with a final product that we see before us? I don’t think anyone can just come up with and instantly nail a flavor combination of creating a Black Eyed Pea Miso, then grilling it (to deduce the flavors would be even better) and combine it with the right type of Nectarines and Ginger and various aromatics. And then match it with Fennel with Black Bean Sauce. And match it with Rose-Geranium Onions and Celery Pickles and have that all match with a Numbing Spice Braised Pork she developed a recipe for and it all pairs with a Negi version of her Rice Porridge (as opposed to the 3 - 4 other types of Porridge I’ve seen from her).
It’s mind-boggling how much time she must’ve spent coming up with these flavors that match (and aren’t just thrown on a plate together for the hell of it).
She’s also not doing a high volume type of establishment, so any notion of a “high volume, low profit” model goes out the door. Some people complain that Howlin’ Ray’s is too expensive (which is crazy considering you can get Half a Chicken (4 Pieces) of super high quality Fried Chicken for ~$16 - 17 IIRC. They point to the fact you can get 8 pieces of Fried Chicken from Ralph’s Supermarket for half that price. But your mileage may vary.
It’s like @hppzz brought up in the Ngu Binh thread. For some reason it’s NOT OK for great Vietnamese food to be priced more than bottom of the barrel prices. Their Bun Bo Hue is one of the greatest bites of food I’ve had in YEARS, but they charge only $8.75, because as @hppzz @Ns1 and others have pointed out, the Vietnamese old school population (and even young kids) would revolt if they “dared” to charge anything more.
How many bowls of Bun Bo Hue do they have to sell at $8.75 to make rent? To make a decent profit for comfortable living?
Yet, as a society, we’re perfectly OK to pay ~$115.00 for mediocre Hainan Chicken Rice when you slap the name of “Chef David Chang” / Majordomo on top of it?
Or pay nearly $35 for a sparse Pizza when it has “chef ingredients” on top of it (Clams)? Or $20+ for a bowl of Ramen when it has a big Japanese name attached to it?
This isn’t directed at you, just noting that I can see how in Porridge and Puffs’ case, it’s a “low volume, decent profit” business model. She’s not going to be turning hundreds of covers / orders for Porridge each day. If she was at the volume of say, a Sam Woo BBQ, or Ngu Binh, the price might be lowered due to volume. But that’s not the case.
I actually know people who think Golden State and Father’s Office are “way overpriced” for their Burgers at the ~$13 - $15 range, because they can go to In-n-Out and get a Burger there for $3.65. Is it overpriced?
I know people who freak out when I tell them that Shunji’s Omakase can run ~$150 - $175 depending on how much you eat. They eat at local Sushi places around them and are perfectly happy paying $40 - 60 and feel anything more is “overpriced.”
Ultimately, it’s up to each of us individually to see what the “value” and “worth” is for each dish we eat. Porridge & Puffs might not be worth it for you, and that’s OK. Thanks.