Food for your thoughts the next time you see menu prices and get annoyed:

Restaurants’ raw ingredient costs have increased 26% in the last 4 years.

Menu price increases in the same time period average 2.6% – exactly 1/10 of the differential.

In the real world, how does that play out? Let’s say a dish was on the menu for $19.  The raw food cost on that item was probably around $8.  That left $11 for the restaurant to pay rent, bills, servers, cooks, insurance, et cetera.

NOW the dish costs $20 and you’ve noticed.  However, the food costs are now $10.  Two dollars have flipped in this deal – you’re paying $1 more but the restaurant is “getting” $1 less.  For the restaurant to still be making their $11 (of which about 50 cents to a dollar will be actual profit), they’d have to price the dish at $21 or more.  No one wins, but the restaurant is still cutting you a break.

Sucks, right?  Well, we are in a recession and you can choose how you spend your money.

My request for you is to consider spending your less-frequent dining dollars locally.  Instead of $30 for pizzas from a national chain, get take-out from Johnny’s.  Or delivery from Giovanni’s or Straight Up Pizza.  Or have a sit-down meal at The Grill and plan your next special occasion at the next-door spot, Jennifer James 101.

With many restaurants operating on a 3 or 4% profit margin, this means there are a lot of small local spots that are trying to just survive this recession, raising prices a tiny bit or not at all while making no money – possibly even losing money for awhile hoping to not have to drive away customers that are having their own wallet-pinching woes.

Go.  Visit your favorite local restaurant, where the cooks are visible, the owner circulating (if they’re not the same person!), and the patrons nearly all regulars.  Thank them for the service they provide and let them know you hope they’ll be around for a long time.

Then, tip well after you enjoy a great meal, even if it won’t all go to your server if the restaurant practices tip-pooling.  Know that you are making a difference in both your local economy as well as a small business owner’s success.

Just recently found this roundup of diner’s annoyances on a midwestern food blog.  Not a bad site, actually.  It almost makes me want to fly Northwestern/Delta *and* have a hideous layover so I can investigate the Minneapolis food scene.  (Not.)  (I mean “not” on the layover/Delta part, not the Minneapolis part.)

There is even a nice little website gem in there, applicable to every goddam restaurant website on the planet.  Hear, hear:

“The whole point of having a website is to disseminate your address, hours, contact information, and reservations policy. List ‘em. List ‘em prominently. Keep them current. Do not bury them behind a 30-second Flash introduction with music.”

Many of the grievances are about information and the lack thereof:

• disclose prices, from “extra sauce” to the daily special
• if hot food is ow-ow-ow-omigod-hot!, warn diners but don’t “protect” them from spicy food
• warn about portion sizes – if they are huge and a table of 4 is about to receive 12 pounds of food, it is really courteous for the waiter to notice this when orders are taken and to give the table a heads up

I have mostly laziness to blame for not talking up the best new radio show in this city in a really long time: Break the Chain on 1550 KIVA AM.

I have been a guest once (soon to be twice), and it is always a great time and a FAST hour.

The previous guests have all been excellent resources and interesting personalities.  I hope that this continues and we are able to keep hearing the voices of local restaurant owners, those interested in food, and even those who have a stake in farming, business and the future of our food supply.

Here’s the impressive guest list so far:

Gil Garduno (Albuquerque food blogger)
Cheryl Jamison (author and New Mexico foodie treasure)
Kate Manchester (editor of Edible Santa Fe)
Fran and Kevin Hopper of Local IQ
Nicole Villareal of Nicky V’s Pizzeria and Larry McGoldrick (food blogger)
Ari LeVaux (Alibi food fanatic and writer, TWICE)
Billy Baldwin of Billy’s Long Bar, Horse & Angel Tavern, AND Stone Face Tavern
Maxime and Daniela of Torino’s @ Home (the best Italian joint in the whole darn city)
Chris Morales of Golden Crown Panaderia
Cheri Frost (food blogger and traveler)
Saul Paniagua of 4 Aces Grill
Matt Rembe of Los Poblanos
Tim Harris of Tim’s Place Cafe
John Calvin of Casa Rondena Winery
Omar and Tony Neshiewat of Times Square Deli Mart and Sahara Middle Eastern Eatery

Yeah, the process is happening again, and whether or not you think James Beard House is a bunch of foodie hooey, recognizing talent is something that humans do well and feel good about.  The 2011 Semifinalists have all been listed.

I mean, when HAVEN’T you felt great when someone acknowledged a successful project of yours, a kind deed, or simply a friendly smile?  We’re human, and we love to be seen as worthy.  These chefs, they ARE worthy.  Many more did not make the cut (ahem, Rob Connoley), but those that did seem to have the cred to deserve being on the list.

And, of course, Jennifer James was nominated again – this has not meant a win for her in the past, but getting a nod next to powerhouses like Martin Rios is  pretty fantastic.

Congrats to all, and happy eating!

If asked to name the restaurant I would eat at for ever and ever and ever, I might actually choose one that I’ve yet to visit.  It’s tiny, it’s cramped, the owner is a jerk (sometimes), and if you don’t play by the rules you’ll find yourself wondering if you stumbled into the Seinfeld Soup Nazi episode.

Yes, my choice is Shopsins.

How can you argue – especially if you are the indecisive sort like myself – with a menu that offers hundreds of options though no substitutions are allowed; this ensures that no matter what you order at a meal you have plenty of other choices to pick from as the rest of your life transpires and you realize that choosing the absolute BEST restaurant you’ve ever enjoyed really would have been too limiting.  (And if it truly is the REST of your life, I expect sushi to be gone as a viable foodstuff in the next 10-20 years so that definitely leaves out all the great sushi joints.)

Now, a fabulous Japanese place, on the other hand… that could be pretty good.

Oh yeah, remember that talk we had about crappy restaurant websites?  Shopsins.com breaks the rules in that they are so unbelievably well-known that their website is free to be just a weird as it is.  But that’s in addition to the fact that they HAVE their address and phone number and hours in plain text right on the main page.  Thank you, Kenny Shopsin.