Creeping

From the New York Times comes this innocuous yet thought provoking news: Entrees Reach $40, and, Sorry, the Sides Are Extra (see story). Have you been to a restaurant with a menu featuring a $40 entree? I will be on the lookout, though my haunts are not likely to indulge this whim. I want to know what single entree in the real world is worth paying that much for. Are we just being swindled? How much are these places paying their wait staff? My optimist's brain tells me such restaurants actually pay all employees a living wage (dish washers included). That is probably a delusion.

[W]hat makes the rise of the $40 entree so significant is not just the price creep, it’s the sophisticated calculation behind it. A new breed of menu “engineers” have proved that highly priced entrees increase revenue even if no one orders them. A $43 entree makes a $36 one look like a deal.

At that, I am rendered mute.