Price of Food

How much are you willing to pay for a good meal? We all know that paying for food alone is not the way restaurants work. We pay a premium, a hefty one at that, to enjoy a nice meal.

Having moved to LA, I've realized that people here take food more seriously than in my hometown, Salt Lake City. In SLC, spending $40-$50/person for a meal would be considered a nice meal. Out here in LA, it'd be quite a steal to be out the door for that price. It's very typical for a meal to be about $80-$125/person in LA. At first, I was astonished, how could someone spend that much money for two on any one given night?

Needless to say, when I first started dating out here, I was easily and quickly impressed. That lasted for about two months until it no longer phased me. Don't get me wrong, I was still very appreciative to be taken to a nice meal!

I've only lived in LA for about 8 months. In this short time, I've come to see why people are willing to pay so much for a good meal. Eating good food out here is a hobby, not an event as it is in my hometown. When you go to a very nice restaurant in SLC, you're either on a date, with your family, or celebrating something special.

Here in LA, much of people's conversation revolves around food. Questions are thrown back and forth; what restaurants do you suggest, what kind of food do you like, how was the service at that restaurant, who's the chef, what's the menu like, how much per head, have you read the reviews on that restaurant...

Speaking of reviews... I am finally trying to convert over to Yelp (verses CitySearch). Anh told me that Yelp is a more reliable source as it is more difficult for someone to leave a bogus review without someone noticing. He is right. Yelp allows you to immediately see information such as who it's from, how many reviews they've left, and what other restaurants they've reviewed.

Anh has taken me to many amazing restaurants, we've eaten some great takeout, and had some great food at the farmer's market. Anh started Yelping recently and he's written some great reviews on some of our favorite restaurants. One of our favorite sushi restaurants, Asanebo, happens to have a Michelin star (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_guide).

Asanebo (Look for Anh's review)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/asanebo-studio-city#hrid:e5Y3vPbcRVgcXNmZHvgZRQ

We eat fish a lot but lately we've been on a pizza craze. Two of our favorites in LA include Pizzeria Mozza and Vito's Pizza.

Pizzeria Mozza
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pizzeria-mozza-los-angeles#hrid:Th7HOE43AamkC9BgNS-RPg/query:mozza%20pizzeria

Vito's Pizza (Look for Anh's review)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/vitos-pizza-los-angeles-2#hrid:oPAlb-JyK9-mj7GFxwG9ow

Lastly, my favorite place to eat in LA... drum roll please... Anh's house. Anh loves to cook, his friends call him Chef Anh. He loves to throw dinner parties and make extravagant meals. I will post some pictures of some of his dishes later. One of my favorites is his version of Le Bernardin's grilled cheese sandwich. This is how he describes it:

"White bread buttered with truffles (different from Le Bernardin) mixed with unsalted buttered and then topped with shaved gruyere cheese and lemon zest. Grilled on a pan so the cheese gets a little melty. Then layered with smoked salmon, whole basil leaves (different from Le Bernardin), and caviar."

Of course a regular favorite is Anh's breakfast: eggs and veggies. He's always using all sorts of spices and sauces, most the time their labels are written in other languages that I don't even try to understand.

Food: Something we can't live without = $

Good food: Something we appreciate = $$ - $$$

Great food: An experience = priceless