Why do we eat out?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been asking chefs what they’re doing to convey value to their customers in a deflating economy. Gas prices are high, jobs are shaky, yet still the body needs to be fed. Whether you eat in or out, the cost of basic food is up: everything from corn to milk is more expensive than it was six months ago. You might be wondering if you should trim your dining-out budget. I feel a little like George W. Bush suggesting a shopping spree as the cure-all for the post-9/ 11 blues when I say this, but there’s never been a better time to eat out. Even though some entrée prices have edged up, savvy chefs know that they can’t pass on all their commodity costs to the diner or you’d all stay home and heat up a can of soup. Still, many diners are wary, which creates a back-to-basics question for restaurants: why should diners eat out when we all have adequate stoves at home?
First of all, value matters — especially in an economy with the bounce
of last night’s soufflé. The good news: restaurants get it. They know
they have to give you every reason to dine out rather than in, because
for a chef, nothing is more expensive than an empty table. Most
restaurants have either slimmed down their prices or concocted “value”
deals like prix-fixe menus, family-style dinners, and low-key neighborhood
nights. Sure, it costs more for even these kinds of meals out than if
you’d made it at home from the same gorgeous ingredients. (Your labor
is free and you don’t charge yourself for lights, heat, or workman’s
comp.) But the margin is narrowing. The inflation on your dining-out
dollar is probably less than that of your weekly groceries.
Paul O’Connell of Chez Henri says that even though you’ll pay more for
a chicken breast today than you did last month, and so will the
restaurant, the restaurant can’t pass all of its increased food costs
to you. “We’re just managing our total operational costs more tightly,”
he says. Translation: their profit is shrinking. What else is new?
Locally grown artisanal produce is a “relative” bargain this growing
season. “At Chez Henri, we’ve always bought produce from local farms,
and accepted that our food cost would rise every summer,” O’Connell
says. “It was a normal cost of giving our customers the best. Local has
always been more expensive than buying the same thing from California,
Mexico, or wherever. But not today. Given the cost of fuel, there isn’t
a significant cost differential between the organic local stuff we buy
at the farmers’ markets or directly from the farmers, and the stuff we
buy from wholesalers who truck it in from all over the world. This
year, we’re actually paying less for our local product than ever
before. And we get produce that is fresh and beautiful and not
accessible to the consumer.” So the first answer to the question “Why
do we eat out?” is: we eat out because the food is actually fresher,
and better. And if you add in all the “hidden” costs of a restaurant
meal, eating out isn’t a lot more expensive than eating over the sink,
relatively speaking.
Then there’s what I think of as the “Kids, don’t try this at home”
response from chef Raymond Ost of Sandrine’s Bistro in Harvard Square.
“One way to give value is to make food that is more elaborate, more
sophisticated than any sane person would make at home,” he says. “Lots
of technique, perfect ingredients, elegant presentation. That doesn’t
mean not offering ‘comfort food’ — comfort food will always be in. But
it’s a misnomer. Often dishes look easy to make, but very few people
have the time, the desire, or the skills to make simple food really
well. They have no idea that even though a roast chicken or a grilled
fish looks one-two-three to make, it’s a very demanding task to do it
well.” I buy this. I can cook — and probably so can you — but my
results are mixed, and rarely (as in never) will I make anything that
requires more than two steps or two hours. Answer number two: there’s a
difference between the pros and the amateurs.
“It’s showtime” is a third line of thinking. “People eat out because
it’s fun,” says chef David Kinkead of Sibling Rivalry, peeping out of
his open kitchen to check on the happiness of his patio diners. “Eating
out is theater. The food is a work of art, the people are high energy,
the menu is always a surprise, and the kitchen is a beehive. You can’t
get that kind of fun at home.” He’s right. There’s an infectiousness to
eating out that can shift whatever slump you’ve arrived in. Answer
three: most of us don’t just eat out for the food — it’s the whole
scene. Whether the entertainment is an open kitchen, the traditional
Irish music at brunch at Matt Murphy’s, the zany antics of Andy
Husbands at Tremont 647 (c’mon, he does his brunch in pajamas), a dance
performance in the middle of the dining room at Rialto, or simply the
people at the table next to you, dining out is Showtime. Dinner at home
is basic cable.
Then there’s the “coddled and cared for” idea. Alon Munzer, coowner of
Hungry Mother, the new superstar in Kendall Square, thinks that a lot
of us go out not just to eat but to be taken care of. “You sit down at
the table and someone else brings you water and silverware, asks you
what you want to eat, cooks with skill and perfect ingredients, and
carries it to you,” he says. “And when you’re finished, they take it
away and do all the dishes without complaining. Who doesn’t want that?”
Munzer says that the partners’ goal for Hungry Mother was to open a
place where the food is great and affordable, made with “the finest
ingredients,” but mostly a place where people would feel loved. Which
brings me to the final answer: no matter how terrible your day, how
anxious you are about the future, or how ardently you’re fuming at the
past, dinner out is an oasis of comfort, a gem of joy in a troubling
world. Who needs a better reason than that?
Louisa Kasdon can be reached at food@stuffatnight.com.
