Most people may enjoygoing out to a restaurant to eat every once in a while, but it's a habit that can likely get expensive fast. Industry-wide markups on food and drink costs usuallymeans that the consumerwill likely have topay a far steeper price forrestaurant food than if it was just bought inthe grocery store. But not all markups are equal,some foods are consistently marked up more than others relative to the actual cost.
Here are five itemsto avoid if you're looking for value when you go out to eat.
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1. Drinks
Whether it’s wine, co*cktailsor soda, this is where most restaurantsconsistently levy the highest markups. As Michael Idov writes in New York Magazine, a bar can “make rent on Friday night alone with berserk well drink markups. A $10 vodka bottle yields eighteen to twenty shots that, mixed with $4 to $5 worth of tonic, will fetch $100…” And the same goes for restaurants. As Gretchen Roberts writes in Wine Enthusiast magazine, "abottle priced at $10 wholesale might sell for $15 retail, but $25 to $30 in a restaurant." Often times, these higher prices are part of how restaurants pay therent.
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Soda is among the absolute worst offenders. Popular industry blogFoodservice.comcalculates the cost of 20 oz.fountain soda for the restaurant tobe roughly 12 centssoit’s safe to say that most restaurants likely have generous profit margins onsoft drinks.
2. Pasta
The Bureau of Labor Statistics places the average retail cost of a pound of spaghetti, which is far more than a single serving,at $1.29 per pound.It makes sense that pasta is so cheap because it's made up mostly offlour andwater, which are considered relativelycheapingredients —albeit with some extra labor.
Vincent Tcheng Chang - flickr.com
3. Edamame
A bowl of warm soybeansis a tasty way to start off a sushi dinner. But most restaurants are buying the pods frozen for $1.95 a pound or less, according to Forbes. A quick steam is all it takes to turn a pretty hefty profit for this dish.
4. Fried Rice
Ruocaled - flickr.com
A staple at American-Chinese restaurants, fried rice is known as a great way to use up leftoverssince the main ingredients are usuallyrice with the cook's choice of veggies andprotein. Fried rice is also a great way for restaurants to repackage cheap produce as a more expensive dish, according to Forbes.Plus, this dish is actually prettyeasy to make at home.
5. Eggs
Liz West - flickr.com
The protein with the highest mark up is a good old-fashioned egg.As Adam Mali,executive chef at Nick's Cove in Point Reyes,told SFGate,the average profit margin for a scrambleis somewhere around 80 percent.
The best rule of thumb when going out to eat isto just order something you can't make at home.
If a dish reflects the talent and skill of a trained chef, the experience is — in some sense — priceless. Maybe you'll end up spending a little extra money on that Wagyu beef, but the restaurant's margin is guaranteed to be lower, and you won't have overpaid for something you could make in your own kitchen.
Also, the costs of running a restaurant arehigh, with rent, electricity, water, silverware and glassware, and the salaries forthestaff and cooks."The remaining 65 to 75 percent of what you are charged has to cover everything from kitchen equipment to lighting to the chefs’ wages. After all that is accounted for, it’s a miracle if any profit remains,"Bee Willson wrotein The Telegraph.
Sowhile, for some, nothing beats a meal served by a talented chef, or the ambience accompanying the meal, it’s important to keep in mind that some items on the menu will give you decidedly more of a bang for your buck.
