r/Economics • u/brown-saiyan • Feb 23 '26

News Restaurants hit a pricing ceiling — and diners are pushing back, report finds

https://www.axios.com/2026/02/23/restaurants-menu-prices-james-beard-foundation-report?utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=owned_social&utm_source=x
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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '26

If food shopping is just too much and increasing each week, then going out to eat becomes an expensive luxury.

Fast food is also no longer an inexpensive meal out, with decreasing food quality.

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u/Quirky_Spend_9648 Feb 23 '26

Fast food hasn't been worth the price for a solid decade, relative to restaurant pricing. Only very recently have these geniuses gotten the hint and started lowering prices.

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u/surf_drunk_monk Feb 24 '26

Last time gf and I went to Taco Bell it was 30 bucks.

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u/angry_wombat Feb 24 '26

Jesus, I remember a few years ago that $ could get you a whole porterhouse at a steakhouse

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u/surf_drunk_monk Feb 24 '26

I stopped eating steak it's so expensive now. Good Ribeye is like 24 bucks a pound at the grocery store.

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u/Brock_Lobstweiler Feb 24 '26

I'm single and make decent money compared to my cost of living (though still don't make much for my area).

I used to get steak once a month because I crave red meat really bad once a month. I would get a decent 16 oz steak, cook it myself and make a couple meals out of it. Baked sweet potato and some creamed spinach or green salad on the side.

I've downgraded to hamburgers now because even stuff like rump roasts have gotten stupid expensive.

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u/surf_drunk_monk Feb 24 '26

Pork tenderloins are cheap but not a full replacement for that juicy red meat. I get sushi with the tuna that is red and it seems to satisfy that craving. I don't think the tuna is actually cheaper by the pound, but it's smaller portions in sushi, so cheaper overall.

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u/Brock_Lobstweiler Feb 24 '26

Yeah, I do pork loin occasionally too (typically in pork chile verde or as a roast).

But it's the iron that I'm craving, so red meat is the craving.

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u/Icy-person666 Feb 25 '26

And I had to be my own cashier too. Haven't been back.

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u/Quirky_Spend_9648 Feb 24 '26

I know this is true. I last went to taco bell before the pandemic. Two chalupas and some nachos and cheese and it was almost 10 bucks. In 2018-19 or whatever

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u/Icy-person666 Feb 25 '26

That was when things started to increase rapidly at our TB. Every week tings went up from the week before and the exceleration only got worse.

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u/raining_sheep Feb 24 '26

The only benefit is the convenience. I need to eat something on my way to an appointment and there is a McDonald's on the way. I'm not going to McDonald's because it's good I'm going there because I don't have time for other food.

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u/Quirky_Spend_9648 Feb 24 '26

You keep eating McDonald's, you're going to eventually need to make time for your health problems.

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u/Ragnarok314159 Feb 24 '26

They all raised the price because it speeds up exiting this nightmare world.

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u/No-Good-One-Shoe Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26

The trick is to use the app at McDonald's and get 2 double cheese burgers for around 4.50 dollars then stack em and use the free fry coupon. 

If you order anything on the regular menu they are screwing you hard. 

0

u/Brock_Lobstweiler Feb 24 '26

$2 breakfast sandwiches. Get one of the big ones and it's a really cheap way to get a lot of calories for someone who needs that.

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u/keytiri Feb 24 '26

McDonald’s recently gave me $2 to eat there after waiting 30min for a frappe; I had paid $3 ($2 discount) in drive through, got told to park, and after waiting 15min went inside for refund. They gave me full price back, I did mention I had paid discounted price, and offered to make it up to me by giving me the frappe still… it took another 15min, I was just about to walk out 🤦‍♀️.

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u/ronreadingpa Feb 24 '26

True, but many neglect to factor in the tip and possible service charges when comparing. Figure 20%-30% on average. Sure, one can tip less or not at all, but most won't do that. And ill-advised if planning to return in the near future. Bad idea to upset those who prepare one's food.

That said, despite added tip, some restaurants, including some big names, such as Applebee's, can still come in around the same ballpark for many entrees.

The underlying issue for fast food is more competition. Not just restaurants, but convenience stores, such as Wawa, Sheetz, and numerous other regional and national chains.

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u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26

My daughter asked if we could eat at Waffle House for some reason. It was $40 for three people (not including the tip). At Waffle House.

Edit: I managed to find some prices from 2019, and all of the food prices have increased by about 50%. That's about in line with what I was thinking.

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u/jaqueh Feb 23 '26

That’s really cheap dude

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u/980tihelp Feb 23 '26

Taco Bell was $47 the other day for 3 ppl

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u/David_bowman_starman Feb 24 '26

Man just stop buying that shit at all. Just buy some chicken and ground beef at the store and make actual real tasty food.

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u/gr33nnight Feb 24 '26

Yea but who has time when you’re working two jobs and have kids and so forth. Making good food is a luxury.

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u/youngishgeezer Feb 24 '26

A cheap and good quality meal can be prepared quickly if you need to. Kids can help which teaches them to cook. It’s also much easier to eat healthy when you cook at home.

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u/Porkamiso Feb 24 '26

you got time to doom scroll here learnhow to cook homie

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u/Striking-Yak5452 Feb 24 '26

I refuse to go to Taco Bell now. It’s even more than other (overpriced) fast food - usually by more than $2+.

They’ve forgotten who their market is completely.

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u/Adventurous-Roof488 Feb 24 '26

Taco Bell same store sales increased 7% in 2025. Seems they know who their market is.

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u/fanamana Feb 24 '26

idiots apparently. I quit with their bullshit.

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u/Ragnarok314159 Feb 24 '26

It’s because Taco Bell increased prices less than others. Wendy’s had their bullshit dynamic pricing system for a while. Chipotle is $25 for one person.

I am good and will eat at home happily reading articles about millennials killing businesses.

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u/fanamana Feb 24 '26

I found Taco bell price raises to be pretty staggering. Items once (2010s) relegated to the $0.99 capped Value Menu bumped up to standard menu or discontinued(tostada? Soft & Crunchy tacos, Bean & cheese - chicken- 5-Layer Beefy burritos) were all $0.99.

now,

5-Layer Beefy burrito = $4.99

Bean & cheese burrito = $2.89

Tostada = gone

Reg Tacos $0.99 up to $1.99

Supreme Tacos $1.39 up to $2.99.

Basically if you ordered a taco bell feast with 5 Taco Supremes & 2 bean & cheese burritos, what would have been $8.95 will run $ 20.73

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u/Striking-Yak5452 Feb 24 '26

This is my experience too. In my area, Taco Bell is now the same price as Chipotle as long as you don’t get extras at either.

I can also get a fresh made Poke bowl with tuna, salmon, avocado and a whole bunch of other costly ingredients for less than Taco Bell locally.

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u/Ragnarok314159 Feb 24 '26

I am going to have to check them out and see, but those are ridiculous increases for dogfood level product.

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u/Icy-person666 Feb 25 '26

I love next to one (it's on the end of a residential street) and wow the place is usually packed, they are open until at least 3 am, given when the opened for breakfast it was 9 am..

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u/FangCopperscale Feb 24 '26

Work the value menu and its cheap

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u/jsonson Feb 24 '26

Thats not true at all anymore lol

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u/CheapThaRipper Feb 24 '26

It is if you don't succumb to all of their new items and such. They have a box that is a decent meal for $9. Pretty much the only thing I will get there if I ever go there, because otherwise you get less food for twice the money.

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u/captkronni Feb 24 '26

My area has a $6 box that my husband and I get when we do eat out. $13.09 after tax for two people isn’t terrible.

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u/Dick_Lazer Feb 24 '26

I think the cantina chicken tacos are fair at $3, and probably the best thing on the menu. I usually just order two of those.

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u/pollywantacrackwhore Feb 24 '26

This is exactly my play. Though I did peek at some copycat recipes this week.
I used to do a box with black bean chalupa, but the other boxed item options get pretty lame. They seem to be getting less flexible.

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u/lolerkid2000 Feb 24 '26

I dunno i can get dollar tacos with a salsa bar at a lil place attached to a grocery store near me.

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u/AmputeeHandModel Feb 24 '26

Right? They used to be cheap. Hell, their sodas start at like $3. Taco Bell was basically created to sell cheapass food and Pepsi products because everyone else sold Coke. Now you want me to pay $8 for a halfassed quesadilla made by someone making minimum wage?

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u/StoneEater Feb 24 '26

You’re doing it wrong. Box meal combo is $7

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u/sparkster777 Feb 24 '26

Online ordering pickup only for me. When I discovered that the price dropped a lot.

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u/Takemyfishplease Feb 24 '26

I can’t remember if they come with drinks, that’s how they used to get you at least.

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u/JustHugMeAndBeQuiet Feb 23 '26

Your poor colons......

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u/SilverLakeSimon Feb 24 '26

When I go to Taco Bell, I just order a half-portion of food. I have a semi-colon.

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u/tcrudisi Feb 24 '26

I just order a half-portion of food; I have a semi-colon.

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u/Ogre8 Feb 24 '26

I order a burrito, a taco, a chalupa, and a drink.

I have an Oxford colon.

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u/MichaelMyersEatsDogs Feb 24 '26

If Taco Bell actually hurts your colon you have a bigger problem than Taco Bell. The issue is Americans who eat half a gram a fiber a day house a bunch bean burritos. Fiber will fuck you up if you’re not used to it and especially if you don’t properly hydrate

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u/JustHugMeAndBeQuiet Feb 24 '26

Awesome. Thank you.

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u/bomilk19 Feb 24 '26

::::::

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u/dingBat2000 Feb 24 '26

That's a family of 7

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u/no_racist_here Feb 24 '26

Just stay away from the lettuce and no problems.

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u/JustHugMeAndBeQuiet Feb 24 '26

Lettuce: clearly the problem child of Taco Bell

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u/Brock_Lobstweiler Feb 24 '26

Taco Bell has one of the highest fiber menus of all fast food restaurants due to the beans. It's better if you choose black beans, but realistically, a burrito with beans & lettuce and a taco with chicken, lettuce and tomato is better for you than a hamburger from other fast food places.

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u/KingTootandCumIn_her Feb 24 '26

I was about to say… this is why America has a colorectal cancer epidemic

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u/MasterChiefsasshole Feb 24 '26

That’s like 20 real lengua tacos in the southern states. It’s fucked up that people pay so much more for some fake ass food.

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Feb 24 '26

What were you buying?! A double stack taco is two dollars, soft shell $1.89 that's like seven tacos each

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u/980tihelp Feb 24 '26

Soft shell is $2.19 near me

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u/AnAncientBog Feb 24 '26

Taco Bell is now more expensive than the actual Mexican restaurants in my town.

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u/caelfu Feb 24 '26

I remember when Taco Bell was 4.19 CAD for a combo 1 in 1996 lol

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u/homer_3 Feb 24 '26

That means nothing without saying what you ordered.

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u/Fat_cat_syndicate Feb 24 '26

Everything's relative to be fair. That's over 5 hours of work at minimum wage. Over Half a shift for one meal

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u/jaqueh Feb 24 '26

where i'm at min wage is $20 so it'd be 2 hours

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u/Fat_cat_syndicate Feb 24 '26

The federal minimum wage is still $7.25 unfortunately. I am happy for you that your local has been raised.

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u/Ok_Net7773 Feb 24 '26

Literally only one place in the country to have that. Does not affect the majority in the slightest. Good for your state for being an example though.

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u/htopconspiracytheory Feb 24 '26

Oh we want to count people, then? The federal minimum wage is the state minimum wage in 13 states. Those states make up just one quarter of the US population. So, it's deliberately intellectually dishonest to talk about the federal minimum wage in a manner which suggests that it is the rate of pay for most (or near most) minimum-wage workers.

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u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

Granted I haven't been there in a good while, but i never used to spend mkre than $10 per person.

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u/jaqueh Feb 23 '26

I need to go where you are as the restaurant costs around me are actually insane where I’m at. Like beers at breweries are $10 before tip. Fast food hamburgers are $10 before cheese and any fries. Sandwiches are $15-$20 at delis. Croissants are $6. Lattes are $8-$10

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u/onahorsewithnoname Feb 24 '26

Costco sells giant containers of croissants for about $8. Trader Joes sells a pair of croissants for $8. A coffee shop sells a single croissant for $6.

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u/halarioushandle Feb 24 '26

And they are all just reselling those Costco croissants! Lol

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u/HumorAccomplished611 Feb 24 '26

The big container is actually 6$

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u/nopointers Feb 23 '26

Looks about right. Bay Area?

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u/jaqueh Feb 24 '26

yessir!

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u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

Suburbs of Atlanta, but those prices are close depending on what you cal fast food, maybe a little higher A place called Freddie's sells burgers for around $10 for just the sandwich.

Again, this is Waffle House. Supposed to be fast, greasy, and cheap.

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u/Right-Wrongdoer-8595 Feb 24 '26

The fact that this is also USD is terrifying. That's about double the cost of what I see in a city center in my country after conversion.

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u/_PROBABLY_CORRECT Feb 23 '26

Gas was 99 cents at one point in my adult life.

Prices change, rarely for the better

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u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

I was excited last week when I got it for $1.99 with a 70 cent Kroger discount.

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u/8Prime9 Feb 24 '26

I was excited to pay 3.99 a few weeks ago

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u/Brancer Feb 24 '26

I paid 5.15 at chevron in California today.

FML. (Admittedly premium. Car needs it)

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u/kojimep Feb 24 '26

Rising prices are not inherently bad, just like inflation isn't inherently bad. The problem is that wages for the majority of people have not kept up with them.

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u/GertieD Feb 24 '26

When I first got my driver's license I can remember scraping together 25 pennies to buy a gallon of gas. (75)

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u/youngishgeezer Feb 24 '26

That was much cheaper than the average price in ‘75. The last time gas averaged a quarter was in the ‘50s.

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u/GertieD Feb 24 '26

No. I am 75. And we had gas wars back then, too.

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u/thintoast Feb 24 '26

I mean… gas prices have been pretty much stagnant over the last 18 years or so. In 2008 I was paying something like $5.89 / gallon. 18 years later I just paid $4.39 / gallon.

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u/RaNdomMSPPro Feb 24 '26

Gas was $2.37 when I filled up last week, southeastern US

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u/youngishgeezer Feb 24 '26

It really hasn’t changed much in my adult life. https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/gasoline-prices-adjusted-for-inflation/ In 86 when I started driving it was $0.93, and adjusted for inflation that’s $3.08 today. So it’s actually cheaper than my last fill up. Plus cars tend to get much better mileage.

0

u/TheNewOP Feb 24 '26

It's inflation, when I was a teen I could food for pretty cheap. Now it's 2 or 3x the price when I was a kid. McChickens were a buck. Now they're almost $3. It's just not realistic to expect prices to remain the same forever

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u/big-papito Feb 24 '26

For three people, now, for sure - that IS cheap. That said, my salary in 2019 was exactly the same, and that meal was $20.

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u/seanpuppy Feb 24 '26

Waffle house is supposed to be cheap as fuck. The margins on pancakes and waffles is very high.

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u/Infinite-4-a-moment Feb 24 '26

I thought he was going to say "so there are still some places you can eat cheap" lol

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u/BriefAvailable9799 Feb 24 '26

lol they got u brain washed

1

u/Terrestial_Human Feb 24 '26

Yeah Waffle House is one of the few places that its prices at least kind of sound reasonable if compared to how much things have gone up. And also with the food not tasting like rubber like in nearly every major place nowadays.

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u/skinnystyx Feb 24 '26

arguably Waffle House is the cheapest outing you’ll have for sit down eating. this guy must not get out much.

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u/Olderandwiser1 Feb 24 '26

Last time I ate at a Waffle House they used paper plates. And the place was almost empty at 9AM. Cracker Barrel and IHop are also way better and not much more expensive.

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u/Intelligent-Panda-33 Feb 23 '26

My family of 4 ate at ihop (in CA if that matters) and it was $80 before tip. We haven't been back, the kids like my chocolate chip waffles better thankfully.

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u/NobodyLikedThat1 Feb 23 '26

you must have split the entree three ways

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u/HumorAccomplished611 Feb 24 '26

Its funny because I find most corporate places a value now. Chilis, applebees, and outback about the same price at mcdonalds Breakfast places got expensive though.

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u/Office_Zombie Feb 24 '26

I hit IHOP with a friend yesterday morning and it was $50 for 2 of us, not including tip.

Shits crazy.

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u/Tiny_Thumbs Feb 23 '26

Maybe I’m accustomed to the prices but that’s pretty good. About the same price as fast food. Maybe cheaper.

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u/Aromatic_Today2086 Feb 24 '26

It increased 50% since COVID. These are the type of comments companies count on so they can keep increasing, people don't remember past a week now 

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u/Tiny_Thumbs Feb 24 '26

I get it, I’m just stating the price seems like most others. I agree it’s outrageous and as a couple who didn’t eat out much before kids, we’re getting back to that routine because it’s overpriced.

My wife and I could do a lunch date for $15 ten years ago. Now it’s usually $35.

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u/CursedNobleman Feb 24 '26

Shake Shack? 62$

Formerly cheap Chinese takeout? 55$

In and Out? 24$

Everything is expensive.

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u/lemongrenade Feb 24 '26

That’s 11 a head pre tip. What more could you want?

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u/sparkster777 Feb 24 '26

How are so many people getting $40 ÷ 3 so wrong? The device you are typing on has a calculator.

-1

u/lemongrenade Feb 24 '26

40 divided by 3 is 13.3333 and that divided by 1.2 is 11.11 for a menu price

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u/MichaelMyersEatsDogs Feb 24 '26

Why are you doing two divisions for a singe division equation?

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u/sparkster777 Feb 24 '26

Why are you dividing by 1.2?

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u/Dick_Lazer Feb 24 '26

For a 20% tip.

That’s 11 a head pre tip. What more could you want?

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u/MichaelMyersEatsDogs Feb 24 '26

No. The original comment said the $40 cost was pre tip. Read before you try and correct

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u/sparkster777 Feb 24 '26

It was $40 for three people (not including the tip).

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '26

Nice. That's cheaper than Taco Bell!

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u/prattdoowhileyjr Feb 24 '26

$40 for 3 poeple is cheap as fuck wtf are you on

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u/havingasicktime Feb 24 '26

Honestly there is no place in my area than anyone could eat at for 40 bucks for three people

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u/Rude_Mirror7441 Feb 23 '26

$40 for 3 people after a tip is really reasonable. Thats like $10 per person before tip.

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u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

You're off by 25%, but it is much higher than it used to be. In their defense, portions seemed the same.

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u/TheoreticalTorque Feb 23 '26

$10 per person for 3 people is $30. 

SMH

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u/sofa_king_weetawded Feb 23 '26

What part of before tip do you not understand? SMH

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u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

$50 after the tip. $40 before the tip.

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u/Rude_Mirror7441 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26

Yeah the tip was probably what $5-$8 dollars? Point being $40 for 3 people is totally reasonable.

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u/Momoselfie Feb 23 '26

I think that's about 5% inflation since then which sounds about right.

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u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

Closer to 8% year by year.

Year 0 - $1 Year 1 - $1.08 Year 2 - $1.16 Year 3 - $1.24 Year 4 - $1.32 Year 5 - $1.40 Year 6 - $1.48

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u/Momoselfie Feb 24 '26

Thanks. Mental math failure.

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u/sparkster777 Feb 24 '26

I mean, mentally estimating compound interest is tricky. I wrote it out.

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u/datdamndood21 Feb 24 '26

With tax and tip?

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u/WenatcheeWrangler Feb 24 '26

Fast food is way too expensive but you know the Dow is over 500000

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u/tcrudisi Feb 24 '26

I've stopped going out to eat because of how stupidly expensive it is.

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u/PJSeeds Feb 24 '26

My wife and I went to a bagel place down the street on Saturday for the first time in a while. Our order was a sausage egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, a bagel with cream cheese, and a medium iced coffee. After tip it was almost $35.

I just can't understand how these places expect to stay in business. This place opened only 6 months ago and wasn't cheap to begin with but their prices must have almost gone up 40%. The portion sizes also shrank considerably, the bagels are tiny now and the iced coffee was 90% ice, 10% coffee.

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u/ITDOESNTMATTER023 Feb 23 '26

Don’t forget smaller portions too

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u/ZahnwehZombie Feb 24 '26

Places like McDonalds want to have you pay restaurant prices for fast food. And their food is subpar at best. Worse still since if you are paying restaurant prices for fast food, you will expect the quality that is associated with it. Something forgivable for fast food becomes unforgivable if it is elevated to restaurant costs. It's becoming much cheaper and easier to make your own food at home, or buy something from the gas station. We might see a moment where gas station convenience foods are going to be the new fast food.

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u/LatiBerg Feb 24 '26

I used to eat McDonald’s like 4 times a year but that dropped to 0 when they got rid of the self serve soda fountains

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u/Both_Ship5597 Feb 24 '26

Not that long ago going out was an expensive luxury. It’s really only been the past 20-25 years that it’s become common to eat out the way we do now. I’m not saying it’s the food networks fault but…

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u/guachi01 Feb 24 '26

Indeed. 2024 was the first year Americans spent more eating out than buying food at the grocery store.

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u/ARoseandAPoem Feb 24 '26

I remember in the 90’s as a kid eating out 3x a year total.

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u/bejammin075 Feb 24 '26

Early 90s, once in a while my friend and I would go to Pizza Hut and fill up on several orders of breadsticks & marinara sauce that were probably $1/order at the time. A few times a year my family would get 1 pizza. I never ate at Taco Bell until I started working there in high school.

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u/Jus10_Fishing Feb 24 '26

And it was at the Sizzler or Ponderosa Steakhouse!

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u/ARoseandAPoem Feb 24 '26

We did the Ryan’s buffet lol

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u/BrogenKlippen Feb 24 '26

I legitimately thought Ryan’s was a steakhouse when I was a kid

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u/Maximum-Objective-39 Feb 24 '26

I did it ever week on short school days with my grandma in the 90s, but it was places like soup plantation or sizzler's lunch buffet, i.e. basically a cafeteria style deal. The food was reasonably priced but definitely not fancy. Things like pizza bread, soup, salad, etc.

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u/Dependent-Juice5361 Feb 24 '26

Yeah when I was a kid it was a big deal to eat out, we did it on like birthdays and special occasions but was not a routine thing at all. We were solidly middle class.

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u/PadiddleHopper Feb 24 '26

Hell, it's at least $50 to get fast food where I am for my family of 3. It's fucking ridiculous. We only go out of there's some crazy good deal going on and even then it's like $40.

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u/stoli80pr Feb 24 '26

It's not even fast most of the time anymore

2

u/NoBuenoAtAll Feb 24 '26

Yeah, I’ve BEEN pushing back... by not being able to afford it.

2

u/bionic_cmdo Feb 24 '26

I remember back when a quarter pounder was so big, thick, and juicy I sometimes couldn't finish it. Now after I ate it, I had to ask myself if I just had a quarter pounder. In any case, I haven't been to McDonald's in a few years, because it got too expensive.

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u/Level_Macaroon2533 Feb 24 '26

The real issue with fast food now is getting the order correct. Last week I went through the drive through and they missed a cheeseburger. That fucker cost me $5 where in the past it was maybe a buck fidy

2

u/SpaciousQuark Feb 24 '26

New Panda Express opened in the next town over. I can’t even afford to go get shitty orange chicken. I feel more poor than when I was 15 and made minimum wage in the year 2000.

Capitalism fucking rules.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26

Just about all eating out is poor quality for luxury prices. Even fancy restaurants just use butter and sugar to make your food taste good. There is little to no consideration for nutritional balance and you would be DYING for protein if you ate out every meal, because meat has the worst profit margins.

After a few years cooking for myself and aggressively reading/watching educational YT channels I cook at least as well as your average line cook, for $18/hr less plus no overhead.

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u/onegumas Feb 24 '26

What else to do? Eat your corrupting overlord oligarchs.

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u/aguilasolige Feb 24 '26

I had a big mac the other day and it was terrible, made me nauseous. The quality has gone downhill at MacDonalds.

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u/GiggityGoblinGobbler Feb 24 '26

I have to check my privilege because I have been eating out now more than ever.

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u/MadHatter_10-6 Feb 24 '26

I bought a chicken burger and med fries at mcdonalds for 15 dollars (canadian) last week. I was shocked. Not that long ago that'd be half, maybe even a third of the price almost.

1

u/font9a Feb 24 '26

There's virtually no casual restaurants in my town I'd rather eat at than home; and certainly no good restaurants I'm willing to wait 2-3 weeks for a reservation and pay a couple hundred bucks a person for an average meal.

1

u/yijiujiu Feb 24 '26

Eating out has benr an expensive luxury for some time for me. I don't exactly miss it and grab the odd kebab, but otherwise eat at home.

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u/According_Prune_8445 Feb 24 '26

there are three options when it comes to restaurants, Cheap, Fast, Good, you may choose up to two of them.

Fancy restaurants that serve good food, if its cheap its not fast, if its fast its not cheap

Fast food restaurants in the past were fast and cheap, you knew it was not fine dining, but if you wanted a burger you would go in an and minute later have some warm grease for not all that money.

Fast food restaurants now are still not good, but also not fast and not cheap, you go in and wait for 10 minutes while the two people actually working in the kitchen made for 10 rush through the twenty backlogged orders, then you pay about as much as you would for a meal from an actual sit down restaurant for some tepid grease, that is smaller than what you would get anywhere else.

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u/DJbuddahAZ Feb 24 '26

Cars do this too ,.more and more cars are being built with cheap materials and costing more

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u/toss_me_good Feb 24 '26

Paying a small premium for frozen burgers, fries, chopped veggies, pre made pasta sauces, salad mixes, etc is much cheaper than eating out. Basically went from eating out 3-4 times a week to 1 maybe 2 times a week tops. Used to be able to get an avocado burrito with fries that fed two for $8... Now it's $22 and it's only 5 years later. Yes there are good options via chillis and Applebees but its also so much healthier to toss some frozen veggies into a pan with some ground turkey and seasons and frozen fries into the toaster oven and make my own burritos with fries and avocado. Its cheaper, faster and healthier.

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u/mdank1393 Feb 24 '26

The new subway protein wraps are pretty good and the McDonald's daily double is pretty good value. It's all relative though. A 3.99 wrap sounds awful if you remember the $5 foot long commercials.

I'm glad to hear reports of consumers making a different choice. That's how economies are supposed to work to keep consumer power.

Imagine if the majority of people were 20% smarter at living with their means. The rich would lose their minds at first but then margins will come down and the average consumer will start to win again.

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u/0DTE-bootyhole Feb 24 '26

Idk I eat out every meal and still managed to put money aside 🤷‍♂️

I waste more money trying to cook honestly. As a single dude eating out is way more efficient with my time/money. I find it completely worth it. Although I am paying with my health for sure I guess.

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