Inquiring about the cost of a meal: Copacetic or Verboten?

So there’s no cost savings? Not sure why people are so ashamed of sharing sushi meal prices…

Kevineats quotes an extended omakase at $160 3 years ago but 27 pieces at Gari was $199.50.

I probably overestimated. 30 pieces would probably only be like $250 it seems $300 with tip), right?

didnt it used to be rude to ask how much things cost?
i guess in the current climate, probably not.

I know it’s been discussed b/f, but I, personally, still don’t quite understand why asking about the cost of a meal causes people consternation here. I don’t think asking about prices is rude at all (although I might ask it in a private message), and I never have…

Some posters here (including you) do things that I consider rude with some regularity that have nothing at all to do with money, and I’m not sure why inquiring about meal prices gets singled out. ::shrug::

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This is literally a forum about eating at restaurants… a place to publicly share information about dining at restaurants.

How could it POSSIBLY be rude?

If sharing the prices is rude, then posting pictures of these extravagant meals for pornographic social consumption would surely be infinitely more “rude”, so the extra iota of so-called rudeness of giving the price would be effectively zero.

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Totally stunning to me. It seems it could only come from some kind of inward shame about spending money on oneself…

Well, perhaps everyone here has to grapple with the fact that they are not the best possible person as they pass by a dozen homeless people on skid row to blow $300 at an Orsa and Winston dinner, or some such thing (even if you don’t pass by them, dropping $200-$300 on fish and rice at Shunji or Mori while you know there are people starving in the city you inhabit means you are certainly not the best possible person in the world).

The weird thing to me is, if you are truly so ashamed of yourself, why not stop eating the food and go donate all of your possessions?..

Personally, and this will come as a surprise to no one, I am fully aware that I am a degenerate hedonist of the worst sort imaginable, and so far from being a good person that such worries don’t bother me when I spend $85 on a brunch centered around a patty melt.

I guess a lot of other people here rely heavily on Ambien to get to sleep at night though…

o.k., thats your opinion. mine is different. i am uncomfortable asking how much things – meals, cars, jewelry, what have you – cost. i think it is bad manners to do so.
of course, this forum being what it is, perhaps asking the cost of a meal is more appropriate. still, myself, i would preface it with a “do you mind if…?” or at least a “may i?”
im sure i have asked the question, i just try and find a…“delicate” way to do so.

but thats me. you do you. if you find something i do rude, feel free to bring it up, and we can discuss it. its possible i’ll be just as baffled as you, but its also possible i wont.

oddly, i am not stunned by this response.
it makes no sense to me, but im not stunned by that, either.

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that’s a lot of assumptions and maybe even bordering on projecting. But I do agree with you that the cost of a meal should be shared on this forum as it’s a place where we discuss not only what’s good in terms of taste but also what’s good QPR as that’s a huge determining factor for a lot of people in where they choose to dine.

Asking how much a meal cost in this forum should not be taken as rude. If it does, toughen up.

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Quite reasonable. I do think, as you mention, context is important. Asking about the price of a meal of a food board seems perfectly fine to me. I’m also on some car boards, and members there ask price questions all the time (but only related to automotive and accessory stuff).

I also think there’s potentially an educational aspect to pricing questions, too. I forgot who was complaining about food-delivery costs (and whether it was here or on CH), but the responses were, for me, really helpful in terms of breaking down costs and such. So, while I still don’t want to get delivery that often, I don’t really begrudge the cost of delivery being separate from a tip for the driver.

Heh. I just may take you up on that. :wink: ::snort:: And I hope you do the same w/ me…

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let it be said i did bring up the issue of rudeness in the form of a question.
sort of in a didnt things used to be different kinda way.
i didnt really mean to scold; just sort of found it interesting.

off to toughening up practice…

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Yah, I’m not quite sure. I remember on our old board, people would bring up cost of a meal all the time. There were no issues at all. Not sure if in the last few years people have gotten more sensitive?

Maybe. And I like that posters try to be sensitive… But asking about the cost of a meal seems so… natural on a food board. And it really can be very useful information.

Given that your tongue (keyboard?) can perhaps be sharp at times, I thought your question was an admonition. Esp when you don’t capitalize. :wink: ::snort::

I don’t know about the arm-chair therapizing, but I feel VERY odd when I walk around/by/over the homeless folks on my way to get a $15 sandwich at Gjusta. Seeing such poverty next to such relative wealth is very jarring (for me). Not sure how I “should” feel about it, but I think about it a fair amount…

I’m not ashamed of the price of a meal . For me it’s more principal . Yea I could easily afford it .I don’t know maybe it’s the search for the best protein and vegetables I can seek out and cook for myself .Except for sushi . I’ll pay for that .I’d rather do something better with my money than blow it on restaurant food .

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huh. when in doubt, text should be the default, i think.
to each their own.

It would be projecting if I wasn’t completely aware of how terrible of a person I am =)

I’m glad at least some other people agree asking about pricing is not absurd on a forum about eating in restaurants though.

I feel I practice what I preach and include prices in pretty much all of my reviews.

Just out of pure, morbid curiosity, why do you think people dropping $300+ on single meals (and sometimes they go eat another meal after!) are reluctant to provide pricing info if it’s not some kind of weird guilt?

Same thing. There is really no difference between the two. My guess is many don’t know how to feel, some, like me, embrace being horrible, and other respond by feeling guilt and don’t want to admit how much they are spending on the Gjusta sandwiches as a result.

I can’t tell why else someone wouldn’t want to admit how much they spent on Gjusta sandwiches or sushi at Shunji, or anything really… if someone has an alternate explanation, I’m down to hear it.

4 posts were split to a new topic: Quarantine: Aesthete and Porkbelly prices about food

I post prices, it is useful information. No big deal.

It’s when quoting prices turns into a brag that I roll my eyes.

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Off-topic perhaps, but we make a monthly, automatic (small) donation to our local food bank.

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But asking and telling are two different things.

If one is posting about their great meal at the Cheesecake Factory, they ordered this and that, and it cost only $20, there’s nothing wrong with that. And it would allow other posters to decide if they also want to go eat at the Cheesecake Factory because they have this and that for only $20.

What would be rude is if someone posted that they live near Cheesecake Factory and someone says “wow, how much did you pay for your house? That neighborhood is pricey!” Or when one posts that they spent $20 at Cheesecake Factory, someone else says “wow, that’s expensive – you must be very well off!”. Then it’s the person responding who’s rude, not the OP.

(and before anyone comments, the Cheesecake Factory reference is facetious.)

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