How much do restaurants cost in your town?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m trying to get an informal survey of how much it costs to eat out in various cities across the U.S. and around the world … wherever there are Dopers. :smiley:

Let’s break it down into six kinds of restaurants, and think about the things people typically order when they go there:

  1. Budget Chinese, Mexican (or other ethnic) food that’s still good. Count buffets if your town has a good one. Assume no alcohol, apps or desserts.

  2. Best valued mom-and-pop place (known for being mmm-mmm good and reasonably-priced). Assume no apps or alcohol.

  3. “Downscale” chain restaurants (TCI Fridays, Applebee’s). Assume no alcohol.

  4. “Midscale” themed chain restaurants (Olive Garden, Outback, etc). Assume no alcohol.

  5. Semi-fine dining (usually not a chain, waiters wear ties, but male patrons can dress down to jeans and a polo, popular prom date places). Assume moderate alcohol by the glass, after-dinner coffee, and dessert.

  6. Fine dining (the snootiest 2 or 3 joints in your town). Assume moderate alcohol by the glass, after-dinner coffee, and dessert.

What I’m looking for is ballpark figures (or a range) on what it costs a table of two to eat. Exclude tip.

…
OK, I’ll lead off. I live in Jackson, MS now, and prices here are similar to those of New Orleans, where I lived until 1.5 years ago:

**Table of two costs …

  1. $16 - 18
  2. $18 - 20
  3. $30
  4. $35 - 40
  5. $55 - 70
  6. $95 - 125**

…

How about where you live?

2

For the record, I live in Charleston, SC. We are the restaurant capital of the state, I think. (We take our food seriously!) All of these prices are based on dinner for 2.

  1. Budget Mexican - $12.00 tops (and this restaurant just opened a branch near my work! Hallelujah!)
    Chinese buffet - $15-18 (usually $7.99/person)

  2. Best valued mom-and-pop place - About $15-20, including tea/soda. Square meal, too!

  3. “Downscale” chain restaurants - $20-25

  4. “Midscale” themed chain restaurants - $30-35

  5. Semi-fine dining - $40-50

  6. Fine dining - $100-300 depending on where you go. Some of our fine dining establishments are not as expensive as the ones who bill themselves as ‘fine-dining, black-tie required’ kind of joints. (And quite a few of our fine-dining establishments run a prix-fixe with dinner at $150 per person, but are not really worth all that.)

3

My answers from Los Angeles, California

The staples! So much good mexican in LA. Combo plate runs 8 or 9 bucks (two items, rice and beans). Free chips and homemade tortillas. And we’re drinking sodas. So, say $25 with tax and tip. (However, I’ve never paid that much, because Margaritas are more expensive :smiley: .)

Hmm. Probably about the same price, $25.

Can’t help you here, as I always chose a restaurant from category 1 or 2 over any “chain”. (Will someone please explain the appeal of the Cheesecake Factory? Other than the cheesecake, of course.)

Same as above, except I’d choose from category 5. The prices are the same, about, and wouldn’t you rather go to Il Pastina than the Olive Garden? (I don’t get why people go to the Olive Garden either).

OK, appetizers (split one for $8), salad (split one for $6), main course (say, $15 a plate gets you $30), two glasses of wine ($14), coffee ($6), dessert (I almost never get dessert, so say we split one)($5). Total, $69. Tax and Tip get you to about $75.

The snootiest place is Ginza Sushico, and will run you between $200 - $300 a person. [joe walsh] Ain’t never been there, they tell me it’s nice. [/joe walsh]

So, lets say Spago or Patina (both amazing restaurants, among the best in the country).

Split an appetizer ($20), split a salad ($14), wine (two glasses, $25), main course ($35 a plate, so $70), coffee (well, cappaccino) ($10), dessert ($10). Total, $149. Tax and tip gets you to $190 or so. Valet parking ($5). Total, just shy of $200.

OK, now I’m hungry, I’m going to lunch (Food stand at the mall, probably $8, with a coke).

4

Thanks, Skerri & Shelbo!

L.A. is not as pricey as I thought. I thougth it would be closer to N.Y. prices, or at least S.F. prices. Interesting.

5

Lexington, KY:

Two people can eat at Tonio’s, each with a bottomless Pepsi, for just over $10. Two combos (including fried rice and eggroll) from Great Wall are an even $12 with tax. These are probably the best values in town, but plenty of others come close.

Probably Ramsey’s. Dinner for two would be $12-18 before drinks/tax/tip.

Just under $20 for two, before soft drinks and appetizers.

About $30-$35 for two.

Probably $50-60 for two, depending on what you consider “moderate alcohol”.

Hard to say; Lexington has a dearth of truly snooty dining establishments, and the ones that do exist I sure as hell haven’t been to. I’m sure a couple of sheiks in town for the Keeneland yearling sales could probably find a place to drop $150 on dinner, if they tried.

Dr. J

6

Fairfax Virginia clocking in here.

  1. Budget Mexican - under 5 dollars a person.

Chinese buffet - $5.99 (in springfield, dragon sea buffet-during lunch)

  1. Best valued mom-and-pop place - Roughly 15 dollars the problem is finding them. R-Deli is pretty cheap.

  2. “Downscale” chain restaurants - about 10-15 dollars a dish.

  3. “Midscale” themed chain restaurants - Bennigans is about 12-18 dollars a dish.

  4. Semi-fine dining - Macroni Grill is roughly 15-25 dollars a dish.

  5. Fine dining - Not many to find, but Le Canard is 25-50 a dish.

All of this isn’t including appetizers or drinks that aren’t water.

7

Tokyo (get ready).

  1. No such thing. Unless you go to McDonald’s you CANNOT have a meal for less than $10 per person, unless you consider a bowl of ramen a meal, which I don’t. If you do, you can get a bowl of excellent ramen for about 5 bucks, all-you-can-drink ice water. Come to think of it, I don’t consider McDonald’s a meal.

  2. Somewhere I am sure there is such a thing, but I can’t think of when I’ve been there. I would guess about $15-$20 per person.

  3. Downscale chain restaurants. The Japanese equivalent would be something like a pork cutlet chain, or a Korean barbecue place. A pork cutlet meal at such a place will run you about $10-$15. These places usually have all-you-can-eat rice and shredded cabbage, which is a major plus. It’s about the only free refill in the nation. Korean barbecue will probably be around $20-$25 per person.

Interestingly, TGI Friday’s in Japan counts as “import,” and the prices are un-fucking-believable. $8 for a cocktail, no lie. You can easily spend $30 on dinner.

  1. My friends and I are usually at places like this. I always expect to pay at least $30.

Outback is another import place here. $15 hamburgers. $20 steaks.

5, 6) We’re getting out of my range of personal experience. For 6 I would guess between $60 and $200 per person, depending on what you’re eating. Remember that there are a lot of “delicacies” here, some more delicate than others. An average sushi dinner can easily cost you $100 per person if you really want to feel like you’ve eaten something. And that’s not even one of the really good places.

8

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by bordelond *

  1. Semi-fine dining (usually not a chain, waiters wear ties, but male patrons can dress down to jeans and a polo, popular prom date places). Assume moderate alcohol by the glass, after-dinner coffee, and dessert.
    QUOTE]
    (Italics mine)

Heh. :smiley: I think I took my prom date to the Cracker Barrel. But maybe that belongs in the “Small Towns…Suck or Not?” thread…

9

Thanks for the responses, all!

Are there any more out there?

10

Breadsticks, baby.

Forget the appetizers, I can eat their breadsticks all night long… :slight_smile: