I have the same immediate reaction, but it might be interesting to compare average salaries (and whatever the statistical term for the range and “distribution” of salaries w/i a region).
I watch a couple of non-native influencers who talk about food in China, and one of them mentioned what the average wage was, which certainly put things into a slightly (or very) diff perspective…
@paranoidgarliclover I looked up minimum wage in France which is less than LA but still pretty high plus they have better benefits and healthcare. Anyway, I don’t know anything, just my 2 cents.
European countries are much cheaper in terms of food cost, restaurants or grocery shopping even if you take different salary levels into account. Just one random example but I can find easily anywhere sandwiches at a small shop at the next street corner here in Spain for $3-5 which are much better than (and much cheaper) the regular stuff you get in the US for $15-20.
Same with going out for dinner - the non-tasting menu Michelin mentioned restaurants cost us often less than 50% of what you would pay in the US (especially including tips in the US) and are often on a higher quality level
Oh, that’s an interesting take; when I meant salary disparity, I was actually referring to average wages (and distribution) in X country in general (and perhaps mainly referring to the potential customers), not just the restaurant employees.
But I am neither a economist nor a restauranteur.
I don’t want to get too far off topic, so that’s all I’ll post about this in the rundown. 
Rents and wages are lower in France. Maybe insurance as well. No ADA rules. Government pays health insurance.
EuroSummer trip - Amsterdam - De Kas 1*
This was the 3 course lunch menu. Course 4&5 are optional deserts. You can do optional pairings per course. Not pictured are bread service and tapioca crisp with a basil aoili.
Dinner at Pizzana Brentwood last night. Been a million times, really like the place. However, there were some real issues last night. The pizzas were slightly overcooked/dried out. The foccacia was not the normal consistency. Hopefully just an off night and not indicative of a generalized decline. They have expanded a ton around SoCal and now even in TX which makes me concerned…
I wouldn’t be hopeful that quality will remain high the owners are going hard on VC funding like they did with Sprinkles cupcakes. Hope I’m wrong because I’ve always liked them too
Not what it once was, IMHO.
To bad used to be reliably very good.
Sorry to hear that. We order from the Marina Del Rey location pretty regularly and haven’t noticed any decline in quality (other than when I inadvertently ordered the vegan version of their mushroom pizza, but that’s user error).
