Interesting that you mention that. I was thinking recently that food has gotten so “fancy.” Maybe there’s some sort of chicken-egg thing where food costs have increased, so maybe people are prioritizing going out in groups b/c it’s easier to justify the cost (and b/c it feels more celebratory)… which then maybe also makes many dine-in eateries feel that they have to up the ante w/ what they’re serving to please customers, which leads to even higher menu prices.
But I don’t work in the industry, so I have no idea.
Anyway, back to the topic. 