Also at the NY Times, food critic Frank Bruni asks, “Should waiters give you the prices when they announce the specials?”
“Several readers introduced and discussed the issue of whether servers should mention the prices of the specials they recite. There are strong arguments for and against it.
For it: diners shouldn’t be put in a position where they have to ask what the prices are, nor should they be treated to a surprise — and, in some instances, a shock — when the bill arrives and they discover that the special wild striped bass, at $35, was $7 more than any of the seafood entrees printed on the menu.
The argument against it? Well, I have to say that it’s a definite buzz kill —and it often feels clunky — when a lovely description of the pork loin is followed by the words, “and that goes for $28.75.”
Frank’s blog is really good reading, even if you don’t live in New York.
From MSNBC.com:
“Angry Chefs Sue over Chicago Foie Gras Ban. The lawsuit followed months of complaints, fund raisers, petitions and special events. In a show of solidarity Tuesday, restaurants that don’t typically serve foie gras, including one pizzeria, gave diners what may be their only chance to utter the phrase, “Mushroom, sausage and foie gras pizza, please.”
Chefs have called the ban an attack on their right to choose what kinds of dishes they want to create and an attack on the rights of consumers.
They also say the ban will cost more than $18 million a year in lost sales, tax revenues and tips — and may even dissuade chefs from opening restaurants here.”
You can read the article by clicking here.
$18 million dollars in lost sales? Wow, they must be serving it at McDonalds over there! Wait… the NY Times has a similar article:
“While Illinois restaurant officials, who say 46,000 pounds of foie gras was sold here last year, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday over the city’s ban, those serving foie gras on Tuesday afternoon said they were unsure, and mostly indifferent, about how law enforcement might punish them for their one-day protest.”
That’s a lot of geese.
-s says
That was cute — the page refreshed while I was typing a comment. Hmmm.
Anyhow, back to what I originally wrote:
On Frank’s post — For me, more information is better, and that includes the price of an item. I don’t like to buy things without knowing how much I’m going to pay for them, especially if an establishment likes to price the specials out of line with its other dishes.
That said, I think there may be a level of dining at which customers are not as price sensitive, and in that case I could see it being more of an intrusion than anything else. If you’ve got the funds to eat at the Palm, you’re probably not worried if the special is $7 more than anything on the menu.
Apollo says
MMMMMM Foie gras pizza… actually it sounds kind of gross, kind of like the foie PB&J in you le Pigeon review. I agree that Chicago’s foie number sounds really high. Chicago is a big city, but that is an awful lot of foie gras. There would have to be foie featured in multiple dishes at hundreds of restaurants. If those numbers are true, I am getting on the next plane and flying to Chicago before it’s too late…
Cuisine Bonne Femme says
I don’t know Apollo, but in the right hands a Foie gras pizza could actually work. Generally, I’m somewhat of a purist, but this version looks good to me: http://www.bacco.com/recipe3.php
Sacre Bleu! What’s next Foie gras ice-cream? Foie gras tubesteak? Foie gras flavored lattes?
And for some reason those statistics seem weird to me. Sources, methodology? How do they track that stuff anyway?
Matt Bonner says
I hadn’t thought about the specials pricing issue much. Interesting! I guess I would say that if the special price is notably above other options for that course, it’s probably worth mentioning. Don’t like saying the price out loud? Print up a sheet w/ just the specials. The server can still describe it, if desired, and customers have the prices available.
adeu,
Mateu
Sir Loins says
I don’t buy anything without knowing first what it costs. I don’t change that habit when I dine out.
Either the server’s gonna tell me what the specials cost, or I’m gonna have to stop him in the middle of his narrative to ask. The latter is much more “clunky.”
Pork Cop says
My current boss strongly advises us to not tell people the prices of the specials. I always do it anyway.I have, on occasion, forgotten to tell people and they usually ask me anyway. It just makes me seem as if I’m hiding something……..I’m not sure what he thinks he’s gaining in the long run by doing this.
Sir Loins says
The only folks who I imagine would not want to know are those folks who are too rich to care, or dining on an expense account, or trying to impress a date.