DaveO Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 On 10/17/2017 at 1:28 PM, Ericandblueboy said: If Marie Antoinette was alive and lives in DC, she would've said "let them eat steak!" Metaphorically she is alive and is saying "let them eat steak" at my hotel and my steakhouse: Here is the dinner menu for BLT at Trump Hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dracisk Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Cauliflower steak for $32, wow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgast Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 On 10/17/2017 at 2:38 PM, dracisk said: Cauliflower steak for $32, wow. Why do places think they can charge these absurd prices for a cabbage? It's $2.50 at the grocery store. Perhaps it's artisinally grown and you lovingly execute two knife strokes to extract that perfect slice of cauliflower, but come on... 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noamb Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 Also, landlords charge much lower rent for the space to store and serve cauliflower, and waiters and chefs are happy to be paid much less for serving it. Do I need an explicit sarcasm tag for this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgast Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 22 minutes ago, noamb said: Also, landlords charge much lower rent for the space to store and serve cauliflower, and waiters and chefs are happy to be paid much less for serving it. Do I need an explicit sarcasm tag for this? Nobody is arguing that they don't need to cover their staff and fixed costs. I think most of us - but perhaps I'm just speaking for myself - believe that a lower price point on a product they're selling for 88% gross margins would induce more buyers and volumes that would more than compensate for the lower price. Would you rather earn $28 before FOH staffing and fixed costs and sell 2 or earn $20 and sell 5 or 6? As far as the math - you come out better in the latter scenario. They can charge whatever they want - I'm not going regardless as I'd rather make my own steak (meat or otherwise) at home. I'll pay top dollar for quality chefs making great food, not line cooks doing an inferior grill to what I can do. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simul Parikh Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 What the market will bear these days ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noamb Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I pretty much agree with what you said in the second post, zgast, but my point is that the fact that it's cauliflower is irrelevant, and I wish people would stop insinuating that the prices of the dish should be proportional (in the mathematical sense) to the cost of the ingredients. How much are they charging for beef? I'm guessing significantly more than $32. If you object to the quality for the price (I.e. line cooks doing an inferior job), that's a real problem. But the price of a head of cauliflower at the grocery store (which I'm pretty sure is more like $4 even at Shoppers) isn't really relevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtureck Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 On 10/19/2017 at 11:43 AM, noamb said: I pretty much agree with what you said in the second post, zgast, but my point is that the fact that it's cauliflower is irrelevant, and I wish people would stop insinuating that the prices of the dish should be proportional (in the mathematical sense) to the cost of the ingredients. How much are they charging for beef? I'm guessing significantly more than $32. If you object to the quality for the price (I.e. line cooks doing an inferior job), that's a real problem. But the price of a head of cauliflower at the grocery store (which I'm pretty sure is more like $4 even at Shoppers) isn't really relevant. Why isn't it relevant? Prime beef is expensive at a restaurant because prime beef is expensive to buy. Chicken is usually less expensive at a restaurant because it's less expensive to buy. Why should cauliflower be any different? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iolaire Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I think restaurants also have sort of a minimum price for entrees. For example if you look at the menu online, that doesn't have cauliflower, the minimum entre price is Chicken Almondine at $30. I'd guess that the current menu price is probably more like $32, unless you are paying a premium for a "steak" of cauliflower. Also that menu had a side of cauliflower duet at $11, maybe that could be used as a substitute if you are going on the cheap.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noamb Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 On 10/19/2017 at 3:57 PM, mtureck said: Why isn't it relevant? Maybe I shouldn't have said irrelevant, exactly, but the fact that cauliflower is a few bucks at a grocery store but ends up as a $32 dish is not meaningful by itself, unless we know the restaurant's fixed costs or the prices it charges for steak. If they charge $60 for beef (which is hardly off the charts for a steakhouse) that's just about a $30 difference in ingredients, which is not so unreasonable. My point is that comparing the grocery store ingredient price and the dish price is not by itself telling you much of anything. Maybe they have a super expensive amazing chef. Maybe they're in a super expensive hot area. If it's not worth it because the chef isn't amazing, fine. But The grocery price isn't the point. The quality of the dish (and rest of the experience) is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southdenverhoo Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Kangaroo walks into a steakhouse, takes a seat at the bar. Orders a "Cauliflower Steak." Bartender says "That'll be $32, and you know, by the way, we don't see very many kangaroos in here." Kangaroo says...well, you know this part. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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