Montanan, if you can’t afford the restaurant, why go in?

I understand that inflation hurts family and personal budgets and puts a damper on lifestyles, but if you’re barely getting by, why eat out and order expensive meals?

On my sleepy work morning, I was shocked by a caller who, in the middle of a tirade about politicians and the state of the country, admitted the following:

Did you have lobster with the macaroni and cheese? Smoked salmon? A more unusual version is called fettuccine Alfredo and is still not as expensive. Did you have a whole crème brûlée for dessert?

The presenter did point out to me that the bill would be higher because of the drinks included. But to get to that amount, the caller should perhaps have organized a taxi for the journey home.

Now I would have let the matter rest if I hadn’t received a message via the app from a man in Bozeman:

“Yesterday I paid $31 per pound of pulled pork at a restaurant and I immediately gave it back to them. I did the math and pulled pork shouldn’t be worth more than silver or gold just to eat.”

Wait, what? Sir, you ordered pulled pork at a restaurant, a pound, and when it came out with the bill you returned it?? Didn’t you know the price when you ordered?

Dear guest, I have a suggestion. In a restaurant there is this glossy publication. It is called Menu. It lists all the possible meals you can get, optional side dishes and drinks and the PRICES!

Some restaurants display the dishes on large, bright TV screens, with pictures of the dishes and, yes, prices too. Cozy cafes and grocery stores have chalkboards with the main dishes beautifully printed in colored chalk. And, yes, the cost of each dish is included in the price.

And if you want to save money on the journey, you can probably find the menu online. The prices are also listed there.

So this idea of ​​price shock in a restaurant is pretty lame. And returning food because of the price is inexcusable. The establishment cannot serve the food to anyone else after it has been brought to the original customer. It cannot even save it for the food bank. It ends up in the trash can and the restaurant bears the cost of product and labor itself.

I get it, inflation is bad and it’s getting harder and harder to make ends meet. I’m rooting for you, I really am. But if you can’t afford to eat at a restaurant, no matter which one, don’t go in the first place. Stop by the supermarket, buy the ingredients you need, want and can afford, and cook the food yourself. I’ve even written about the savings of packing a lunch. Granted, it’s a bit of extra work when you’re probably tired. But the effort put in will keep more money in your pocket and in your bank account.

Okay, the rant is over, I’m feeling better now. Time to eat.