Mel's been feeling a bit sad lately because nobody has been leaving comments on her posts, so let's everybody go find 3 of her blogs and write 23 words of quality comment because you're 23 years old.
I work in downtown Boston, in the financial district. Between the hours of 8AM to 6PM Monday through Friday there is quite the hustle and bustle here, with suits zigging and zagging all over the place. Outside of those hours, however, it is quite a ghost town. That means there are several lunch-only cafes around my building that offer various foods at various prices. The cheapest place is Subway, and the most expensive one is a place I like to call Sebastian's, possibly because it has a sign in front of it that reads "Sebastian's".
Anywaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay..............I never go to Sebastian's because it is overpriced and that's where all the people who like to spend way too much on lunch go for their overpriced salads consisting of lawnmower-feedbag-type stuff. HOWEVER, I received a gift-certif from helping out with the United Way campaign at work for Sebastian's, so now I had an incentive to buy an overpriced sandwich.
We always get tricked into thinking that just because something is more expensive, it must be better. Now I will go ahead and qualify that statement by saying that OF COURSE some things are better, that's why they cost more! But for 2 comparable items: Sandwich A at lunch cafe B compared against sandwich C and lunch cafe D. Let's say both sandwiches are called "The Italiano Greaser" and they contain the standard meats you would find in Italian sandwiches, like salami, pastrami, mamamio, etc. But one costs 4 bucks and the other costs 8! Well, you would think that for twice the price it will be twice as nice, but not so! It wasn't even half as nice, in fact, I was choking it down, not enjoying it in the least bit. I would say it was 23% as nice.
Which caused me to realize that:
1. I generally don't really like the meals I get at expensive restaurants
2. I would rather have a no-nonsense BLT than a tons-of-nonsense craptastic sandwich.
3. The meals I get at expensive restaurants are usually very small and leave me hungry
Here are some cases when I was thoroughly disappointed with expensive cafes/restaurants, and wished I could've just had a Whopper (GET ME A WHOPPER!):
1. Senior Prom, 1998--Took Hillstance to the Homestead in Midway, Utah. Paid 40 bucks a plate for some weird pasta dish. Ate some of it, thought it was gross. Dismissed it to my lack of experience in the gourmet world.
2. Finale, 2005--Went with Jamie to this dessert place in Cambridge, Mass, only to find that these "gourmet" desserts were AT LEAST 10 bucks a pop and about the size of a silver dollar. I will admit that it was delicious, but I can't justify paying 10 bucks, plus tip, for any food of that size. Except maybe steak.
3. National MathCounts banquet, Warshington DC, 1994--They gave us some super gourmet chicken that was tiny, and I scarfed it down in 4.23 seconds, and I was starving the rest of the night. That sucks for a 14 year old kid with almost no cash in his wallet and nowhere to buy food within walking distance. My only option was to gnaw Jared Raggozine's (nerdiest kid of ALL TIME-he'll probably find this because he probably googles himself) ear off.
4. Sebastian's, 2 days ago
5. Pretty much every restaurant we go to for a work dinner, with a few exceptions. Have you ever noticed how people talk about those expensive restaurants like it was a vacation? "On Friday, we went to The Gargoyled Olive, it was so fun! Everybody cool was there, and we could totally afford it."
Anyway, the point of this whole post is to admit that when it comes to food, I am happily LOW BROW. When given the option to go to Chili's, Applebee's, Friday's, or one of the other "corporate" dives or to some 60 dollar-a-plate white table cloth snoot-a-thon restaurant, I will ALWAYS choose Chili's, because the Molten Chocolate Cake is so durned delicious. Even if I'm not paying.
I like the classics. I like mashed potatoes and gravola, I like steak, I like fried chicken, I like corn on the cob, I like burgers and fries, I like tacos and burritos. Just stick to the hits, man. Stick to the hits.
6 comments:
Bravo. I agree 97.3%. Except there are some very expensive steakhouses in KC that are "better-than-mom's" delicious. And I'd say they are worth every penny, including the 8% percent tip I left.
Hey, at least you have selection out there! Our McDonalds has been shut down for 4 months on renovation... Poor Vernal-ites living without their Big Mac.
Yep, Aaron and I set a record this year for paying about $150 for a dinner in Las Vegas and of course it wasn't really worth it. Although we did get to sit in a really cool place. As for Chili's, we're on a break right now because last time we went there (Tuesday) was terrible: every dish was filthy, I had a piece of pasta lumped into my fajitas, Aaron got the wrong kind of potatoes, etc. The best meals we had all week were at Joe Vera's on Monday and Chinatown on Saturday. And of course, no wait. That's the best.
I eat at Subway for lunch just about every day...the one place I can eat for under 5 bucks. There is one super delicious restaurant, Barclay Prime, in Philadelphia that's worth throwing down a chunk of change, but I have been basically disappointed with the expensive restaurants people have taken me to in New York.
Kent, I applaud your tastes and blog entry. I find expensive restaurants ridiculous - and I have to go to them quite a bit.
However, I must take issue with some of your reasoning. I disagree that we are being "tricked" when we buy the $8 sandwhich. When you assert that an $8 sandwhich should be twice as good as a $4 sandwhich, you ignore the fact that you are not just paying for the bread and meat. You are paying for the service, the ambiance, and the company of your fellow diners. Do you really think Starbucks has coffee that is two or three times better than Dunkin Donuts (one of my favorite places in the world - but not for the coffee)? People pay the extra money for the coolness factor and the ambiance, to hang out with other snobs willing to pay top dollar to get themselves hopped up on coffees with fancy names.
I agree with you that LOW BROW is the best value for your money, but those HIGH BROW folks, of which there seem to be a few, are not tricked or irrational, they just value different things in their dining experience.
hey - i know that subway. i used to wait there when it was bitter cold for adam to get out from work.
i am with you on the low brow. in fact it only occurred to me the other day that places like chilis were considered less than fine dining. love the smothered chicken.
and hey - is brian baldwin speaking of vernal. like vernal, utah? hey brian! i am from roosevelt! i don't know you but i do know that it is vital that the mcdonalds reopen asap - otherwise the entire uintah basin will collapse.
how's that for a comment, mellificent? love the blog. love that you both contribute.
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