Montanan, If You Can’t Afford the Restaurant, Why Walk In?

I get it, Inflation hurts family and individual budgets and dampens the lifestyle.  But if just getting by, why are you eating out and ordering expensive meals?

My sleepy work morning received a shock from a caller when in the midst of a rant about politicians and the state of the country admitted this:

Did the mac and cheese include lobster?  Smoked salmon?  A fancy version is called Fettuccini Alfredo, and it's still not that pricey.  Did you have a whole creme brulee for dessert?

Now the show host did point out to me that any drinks included will raise the tab.  But to get to that amount, maybe the caller should have also arranged a cab to get home.

Now I would've let the matter slide by if it weren't for a message received on the app from a man in Bozeman:

"$31 $$$ a pound for pulled pork at a restaurant yesterday, I gave it right back to them Right Away. I did the math and Pulled Pork should not be worth more than Silver or Gold just to eat "

Wait, what?  Sir, you ordered pulled pork in a restaurant, a pound of it, and when they brought it out with the check, you returned it??  Didn't you know the cost when you ordered?

Gentle diner, I have a suggestion.  There is this glossy publication in a restaurant.  It's called a menu.  It lists all the possible meals you can get, optional sides and drinks, and the PRICES!  

Some eateries have the items on big bright TV screens with pictures of the meals and yes the prices.  Quaint cafes and food shops have chalkboards with the entrees printed nicely in colored chalk.  And yes, the cost of each is included.

And if you want to save on the road trip, you can likely find the menu online.  The prices are there too.

So this notion of sticker shock in a restaurant is rather lame.  And to return food ordered because of price is inexcusable.  The establishment cannot serve the food to somebody else once it was brought to the initial customer.  Can't even save it for the food bank.  It goes to the trash bin and the restaurant eats the cost themselves, in product and labor.

Again, I get it, Inflation stinks and it's getting tougher to make ends meet.  I'm rooting for you, really I am.  But if you can't afford to eat out in a restaurant, any restaurant, don't even walk in the door.  Stop by the grocery store, buy the ingredients you need, want and can afford, and cook the meal yourself.  I even wrote about the savings in a sack lunch.  It is some extra work when you are likely tired, granted.  Still the effort invested will keep more money in your pocket and bank account.

Okay, rant's over, I feel better now.  Time to eat.

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