Gourmet-Styled Food Science

I had quite an eventful couple of days last week food-wise.  First, I grabbed some lunch at a restaurant/bar within the North Shore Mall and the day after I had some delicious dinner at a barcade place in Cambridge.  Being that I had a busier schedule than usual, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to dine out while I am at it.

While the meals themselves were absolutely delicious, it was the bill it that became most shocking experience itself.  After tips, both of meals ended up totaling almost $30.  My jaw could not lift itself from the table after seeing the total price.

Here’s a quick peek at my total purchases:

Tuesday Lunch

1 Regular-Sized Beer – $7.00

Chicken Wings – $10.00

Parmesan Truffle Fries – $8.00

Total: $25.00

Wednesday Dinner

1 Bottled Beer – $8.00

Single Bacon Cheeseburger – $7.49

Side of Truffle Fries – $3.99

$5 of Tokens – $5.00

Total: $24.48

One look at the chart and you’ll notice the obvious expenses such as the up-scaled alcohol as well as $5 of tokens for video games.  But here’s where it gets interesting – the truffle and Parmesan-infused French fries were a unique expense on its own.

Food itself has become more and more gourmet over the years.  A simple side dish like French fries has now become Parmesan truffle fries, which is French fries dipped in truffle and Parmesan.  More and more ingredients are being infused with our All-American comfort food.

It’s not just French fries that have become gourmet.  Mac & Cheese is now being served as pasta infused with five different cheeses and bread crumbs.  A classic cheeseburger is being transformed into a grass-fed organic burger slapped with brioche-buttered buns, applewood sugar coated bacon, aged cheddar cheese, and ends with a homemade special sauce.

Now here’s the thing – NONE of this is a bad thing whatsoever.  It doesn’t ring in as an alarm for a PR nightmare bubbling beneath the surface.  What we are seeing is food becoming more specialized as other unique ingredients become equipped in the dining experience.  Just like the ordinary French fries dipped in parmesan truffle mix, classic staples such as cheeseburgers and Mac & Cheese are getting modern makeovers.

And those modern food makeovers are a part of why dining experiences cost even more money.  Millennials are dining out more than ever, yet that culinary experience is becoming more expensive.  Gourmet dishes such as five-cheese Mac & Cheese are absolutely delicious, but that taste comes with a hefty price.

Food used to be simple – bread, water, heat, meat, vegetables, fruits, etc.  As time went on, more unique ingredients came into the mix.  That shift of ingredients created stand-out dishes for a greater dining experience.  It’s not so much about nit-picking a problem with this concept; but rather, observe the experience from a different angle.  This is when we get to the science of the whole idea, solving the mystery of the recent price increases.

With that, gourmet-styled food is becoming all the rage around America.  If you are looking for cheaper prices, search for places that don’t serve food items with over a dozen ingredients.

 

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Dining on an (expensive) Budget

For today’s post, its time for another story.  Last Thursday I headed to the Bruins game at the TD Garden.  It has been a long while since I’ve been to the Garden to catch the Bruins, so I was intrigued by how much it has changed since.  However, there was one major change I was quite shocked about.

Before the game, I went to grab a regular size Shock Top.  It wasn’t until I looked up at the menu where I noticed that alcoholic drinks started around $11.  Cocktails were set at $11 while large drinks went for $13-$14 collectively.  By the time I had my last beer (one Shock Top and one Angry Orchard in total), my total order came out to almost $25.

At that point, I was in complete shock.  Over $10 for one regular Shock Top, a drink I could have gotten for three times less the price over at a dive bar.  I didn’t even grab any food and my purchase was over $20.

If you’re like me and have noticed that restaurant prices around Boston, you’re not just seeing things.  It is actually getting MORE expensive to eat out at restaurants here in the United States.

Full-service restaurants raised the prices the most in more than over seven years in December.  Restaurant prices climbed to .5 percent, which was the biggest gain since March 2011.  The price increase is due to both higher labor and food costs this year.  With grocery costs rising at a slower pace, more US Americans are choosing to eat at home rather than dine out.  This could potentially shift sales away from chains such as Longhorn Steakhouse and Olive Garden.

Remember last month when Boston restaurants Durgin-Park and L’espalier shut down?  Those are a few of many restaurants feeling the strain from the rising labor and food cost.  As the costs continue to increase, many other restaurants will see a major impact in their business.  Not only will you see more restaurants closing down, but more American will be making dinner at home.

This financial PR nightmare will put a damper to many restaurants, especially those that are still struggling to stay afloat.  Consumers will be making their own dinner rather than dine at the newest restaurant nearby.  You will see people making their own pizzas rather than order delivery.

With restaurant costs rising even higher, businesses will have to think strategically on how to bring in more patrons.  It’s becoming even harder to find good food at cheap prices these days (especially in the streets of Boston!).  Grocery costs aren’t becoming too big of a burden, so those patrons will be making their own meals at home.

In the end, you really aren’t seeing things – it REALLY is getting more expensive to dine out these days.

Photogenic Egg > Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner is the true Instagram Queen on social media.  Known as one of the youngest members of the Kardashian family, Kylie is always showcasing her daily life on Instagram.  She is constantly busy on her Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, and other social media platforms. Better yet, she even lets her sisters join in on the fun.  There’s always something going on in the adventures of Kylie Jenner.

But this year, Kylie Jenner has some serious competition.  This past Sunday, Kylie Jenner lost the world record of having the most liked photo on Instagram to – wait for it – an EGG.

That’s right folks – an egg won over Kylie Jenner.  The photo features a brown egg with a light fixating on the millions of specks around the shell.  It was posted online by the account world_record_egg by the Egg Gang on January 4^th. By Sunday evening, the picture received over 18 million likes for the photo.

Many users flocked to the photo, showcasing its true greatness.  Millions praised the picture for its amazing quality.  That speck of light symbolized the glimmer of hope within the cold, dark soul of humanity.  On this day, Kylie Jenner did NOT break the world record for her photo.

Not everyone enjoyed the photogenic egg picture.  Kylie Jenner posted a video on Sunday evening of her cracking an egg on asphalt with the caption, “take that little egg”.  The egg certainly won that round.

With that, the egg came in and reigned supreme as the true Instagram king.  It won Instagram this week, beating out even Kylie Jenner in the process.  That light signifies our small victory here in America.  Who knew that a beautiful photo of an egg would actually become more popular than Kylie Jenner?

At this point, I guess you can say that the egg definitely came first in this scenario.

Cold Remedy Treatment Tips

Last week I got hit with a bad cold.  After a fun night in Boston with some friends, my cold kicked into high gears the next morning.  I could barely concentrate on the computer screen, let alone bring myself to type out another magnificent creation.  It was the kind of day to lay down and binge-watch shows on Netflix for hours on end.

One week later and I now remain sick-free.  It was quite a while until I was feeling 100%, being that it took some legwork each day.  The cold didn’t disappear with just one medicine alone.  In fact, it took a combination of various health tools that were at my disposal.

If you’re a professional businessman like me and need to cure your sickness as soon as possible, there are a few great remedies to help alleviate your symptoms.  Here are a few of my remedies I used to ail my cold this past week:

Tea (and other liquids)

Everyone always says you must start drinking more liquids as soon as you get sick.  I’ll do you one even better – I drank even more tea than usual.  Any and all types of tea will work.  Green, black, white, herbal, and mint are a few of many great teas you should be drinking each day.  Tea has many antioxidant properties that help flush out toxins that are causing you to be sick.

Drinking liquids when your sick will help, but tea will alleviate your symptoms even faster.

DayQuil/NyQuil

Taking DayQuil and NyQuil were a good routine for treating the cold as well.  DayQuil helps with the symptoms throughout the day.  NyQuil is perfect before bedtime to help get to sleep faster (it causes drowsiness, so its important to take it at night!).  They come in either liquid form or even in gel caps.

Emergen-C

Before starting your work day, be sure to pack an Emergen-C and water on the go.  Emergen-C is a powered drink mix vitamin supplement that is packed with tons of vitamin C; in fact, one packet contains 1,000 mg of it.  Vitamin C is the perfect remedy for knocking out the cold while in the office.

Tea, Emergen-C, and a touch of DayQuil are a few of many remedies to help relieve your cold.  We are still in the winter months, so expect more cold days to come here in Massachusetts.  Nevertheless, you can still treat your cold while braving the frigid temperatures each day.

Gentrified Boston Shuts Down Restaurants

Within the past week, there has been a slew of restaurants closing around the Boston area.  L’Espalier, the famous French cuisine restaurant in the Back Bay, was the first of many that have or will be closing down.  The restaurant first opened in 1978, gaining widespread recognition as a high-end restaurant in the Boston area.  Over forty years later and L’Espalier served its last meal in the Back Bay.

The next famous landmark that would be closing soon is Durgin-Park.  Durgin-Park was a historic restaurant in Faneuil Hall, serving classic New England food.  It has been around Boston for almost two hundred years (even during the Civil War!).  A lack of customers as well as not being able to keep up with the modern times were some of many problems the restaurant faced over the years.  Nevertheless, Durgin-Park will be closing its doors on January 12^th.

But its not just the city of Boston that is dealing with restaurant shutdowns.  Santoro’s Sub-Villa, a famous sub shop on route 1 of Saugus, will be serving their last subs after opening for more than 60 years.  It’s shocking to see this wave of restaurant closings making ways into the Greater Boston area.

At this point, you have to wonder what has been the cause for this string of downfalls to happen.  For one thing, gentrification has certainly played its part by establishing businesses catered to a specific audience.  More changes within the demographic means sweeping changes among its surrounding areas.  Restaurants like Durgin-Park aren’t faring well with the new wave of tourists visiting Boston.

Another interesting piece to this puzzle is the recent hike of the state’s minimum wage to $12/hr.  With the minimum wage increase, businesses are scrambling to rethink their financial strategies.  They must make ends meet all while paying their employees even more.  All of this is depending on the flow of business that happens each day.

Durgin-Park, Santoro’s Sub-Villa, and L’Espalier are a few of many restaurants that are shutting their doors this year.  This news still comes as quite a shock to many people, being that they have been landmark destinations in the area.  Gentrification and the recent minimum wage increase are a few factors that play into these downfalls.  Who knows what other establishments will announce their closing date as well.

One thing is for certain – gentrification is shutting down businesses as well as historic neighborhoods.