40 is the New 30

An interesting article from the New York Times regarding restaurant entrees crashing through the $40 barrier.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/21/dinin ... r=homepage

I certainly hope this is mostly a Manhattan phenom (although the article mentions Atlantic City and Vegas, with other cities following close). I can believe it in the Big Apple: last week at a company-run conference, the hotel was $600/night for those who couldn't get the convention rate, and my company was charged $48/head for continental breakfast (whether they ate it or not), and $5 per donut at break!

I believe that your experience is becoming all too common in Manhattan. I was there on business about a month ago on fairly short notice (a week). My company's corporate hotel was sold out for those two nights. What room inventory I was able to find was in excess of $450 a night and it was far from luxury accomodation. I even went so far as to check availability at some of the hotels on the waterfront in Jersey City which were approaching $400 per night.

Manhattan lives and dies on its highs and lows. Right now, its on one of ite revenue driven highs. I long ago decided I like Chicago a lot better.

JoelF wrote:I certainly hope this is mostly a Manhattan phenom (although the article mentions Atlantic City and Vegas, with other cities following close). I can believe it in the Big Apple: last week at a company-run conference, the hotel was $600/night for those who couldn't get the convention rate, and my company was charged $48/head for continental breakfast (whether they ate it or not), and $5 per donut at break!

When did the Reagan-era Pentagon/Dept of Defense get into Hotel Management?

Did I not get the memo? Oh, right..... shredded.....<sigh>....

-- Manuel Rebiega

Quoted from the article:

"Bobby Flay acknowledges that “the needle has moved very fast.” Mr. Flay recently crossed the $40 mark in his Las Vegas and Atlantic City outposts, though he says he intentionally loses money on many other entrees in order to keep prices reasonable."

My a$$ he loses money on many entrees...

I do find it very interesting though, that with technology and statistics, the restaurant industry can now price items not necessarily by value, but by "sophisticated calculation" - ingenious.

I thought the most interesting point in this article (which includes several Chicago restaurants as examples, and features a photo of Nick's Fishmarket, and -- in the print edition -- a photo of the dover sole entree that clocks in at over $40 there) is the notion that a restaurant may make money by having a $40+ entree even if it doesn't sell a single one on a given night -- because people then figure that they're getting a "deal" if they choose a dish that's the second most expensive on the menu. I'll say I've been taken that way myself in a few restaurants, if that's in fact what's going on -- choosing the slightly-less expensive entree in the mid-30 buck range and patting myself on the back for being a prudent consumer. I'll approach the menu differently next time.

JayK wrote:I do find it very interesting though, that with technology and statistics, the restaurant industry can now price items not necessarily by value, but by "sophisticated calculation" - ingenious.

Calculating strategy probably borrowed by the pump gasoline industry.

Regards,

Reminds me of a comment made by a friend of mine who was once a marketing manager at Wendy's. He told me the triple burger is on the menu in order to make it easier for people to order double burgers.