US: Restaurant prices up 5.1% in January as food costs continue to rise

[rcjordan]

https://scrippsnews.com/stories/restaurant-prices-up-5-1-in-january-as-food-costs-continue-to-rise/

Because of appointments, I've eaten fast food 3 times in the last 6 weeks.  Sticker shocked ...particularly at one of them.  Nothing special, just cheeseburgers or chicken nuggets.

[DrCool]

>>fast food

With 4 kids in tow we still sometimes get sucked into fast food. Unless you purposely set out to go the absolute cheapest route like just the 12 pack of tacos at Taco Bell it is easy to push into the $60-$70 range to feed everyone. And this is just normal fast food like Wendy's or even McDonalds. I priced out a meal at Five Guys a couple days ago and it was over $20 for a burger, fries, and a drink.

Sit down restaurants are getting pretty crazy too. The price for a burger and fries is pushing over $20 at many places around here.

[ergophobe]

We went to lunch with friends yesterday. $12-$20 for sandwiches at a place in a small town, order at the counter, not fancy at all. $2 for chocolate chip cookies about the size of a Chips Ahoy (though organic and all that).

Because there nearest restaurant is 35 minutes away and the nearest fast food is an hour away, we don't eat out often (to say the least), so the sticker shock hits me.

[rcjordan]

https://www.lendingtree.com/debt-consolidation/fast-food-survey/

Fast Food Now a Luxury, Says 78% of Americans | LendingTree

[Brad]

There is a fast food price shock if you have not bought it for awhile.

My mother claims the quality of the beef in fast food burgers has gone down too.  More ground gristle in it.