“It’s going to be as cheap as we can possibly make it. I don’t do things for money, I never did,” he says. “It’s very important to me that it remains democratic with a small d with a small fee that almost everyone can afford to eat here. I promise you we’ll have the cheapest coffee on the block.”
$27 patty melt btw. Is he THAT out of touch or doesn’t read his menus?
I think we’re making a mountain out of a mole hill based on the price of 1 item on a menu of a restaurant that’s been open for 2 days.
Max N Helen budino $12.75
Pizzeria Mozza $15
Max N Helen coffee $2.75
Panns $3.95
If you think the food is too expensive and not worth the QPR then you should probably go eat somewhere else.
I don’t think a $27 patty melt on its face is disqualifying. I’m perfectly happy to drop $25 or whatever it is now at Matu for the cheesesteak. Near optimal QPR at Matu.
And I saw M&H’s pastrimi is a touch lower at maybe 24 which is on par for pastrami in this town. I’m curious if they can deliver at this price point and wish them all the best. (And I do think Phil is genuinely a nice guy.) I do think that it’s a touch grating they’re marketing this as an everyman’s diner and are probably susceptible to some blow back at these price points. But who knows, it could be worth every penny and I’m willing to try it.
It’s a Nancy Silverton restaurant. They’re not going to use cheap ingredients to keep the prices down. Maybe they’re going to treat the staff better than cheaper places.
The patty melt is $24 on the menu in this photo from Yelp. Doesn’t appear to include fries.
Totally agree with that too. It’s one of those places I’ll need to try and decide for myself. FWIW, this Tik-Tok screen grab shows a slight price increase from the Yelp photo (~10% bump), so that’s where I’m getting the 27 dollar price point for the patty melt.
Edit: Just scanning this more, the price points are all over the place. Maybe more jarring is the 13.50 cup of chili. Cup implies one of those tiny diner cups …. I would pay 13.50 for a cauldron of chili. You can get a pint of chili from Moos for 12 bucks.
I think I’m gonna stick with my $1.50 Costco Dog and In-n-Out Double Double
im not saying it’s too expensive, but the way they’re pitching the restaurant is elitist and out of touch beyond belief.
I’d love a $27 patty melt, BUT this is not, “Rich, poor, everyone in between can appreciate the diner.” It’s legit the opposite.
Better and more honest pitch would be it’s a high end diner. Don’t act like we’re stupid.
Just call it a fancy diner! No one would care it’s on Larchmont. People get it.
I have a sense…. I participate on a car-related website, and the anti-EV-b/c-of-technically-unspoken-but-strongly-implied-political-leanings crowd there (which I think is distinct from pro-fossil fuels) seems “fine” w/ Musk and Tesla.
So I suspect that the protestors were anti-Musk.
I’m not saying that the price is “not worth it,” but I’m sorry, I just can’t. I really can’t.
Clark Street Diner lists the patty melt at $18 and it comes w/ a side.
Having ordered the tuna melt there b/f, I can also attest to the fact that they ain’t skimping on the fries.
I’m old enough to remember when bringing up pricing would get a topic split and a public admonition from admin that you contribute nothing of value to the board 
I meant in aggregate, not the one dish - sorry!
not splitting a thread? threat or menace?
Also, on the “it’s Nancy Silverton point” - I adore her and what she means to the the LA dining scene. However, it is still within the realm of possibility that her “diner” is offering products at such a premium that it does not justify it’s price point regardless off how good all of the components are. In other words, are the ingredients they’re using for their tuna/patty melt vastly superior to other options that it justifies the premium? What about the $13.50 cup of chili?
This is a way different ballgame than sourcing a pristine prosciutto from some far flung town in Italy, so I don’t think her involvement is the go-ahead for over the top pricing.
Wendy’s, here we come…
Complaining about prices that are in line with competing restaurants is off-topic, but $27 for a patty melt is in fact enough of an outlier (e.g. Cassell’s charges $18) that it’s relevant.
You literally just used a competing (or another, if not competing) restaurant to contextualize the price.
If somebody complained that an $18 patty melt was too expensive I’d split that off because it’s just at the high end of the current range, thus not specific to any one restaurant.
Interestingly, Cassell’s tuna melt is $1 more than M&H’s.
I recently had a $14 cup of chili at the Lawry’s bar menu.
And it really was just cup sized? 
