Let's start talking about the price of restaurant food
Paige asked in a previous post about the prices of the coffee at the new Havana Grove. I listed them in the comments section of this post.But now I am thinking of randomly posting prices of various things from various menus throughout the Grove. I see this trend of outrageous prices for mediocre or common food. I feel that $1.25 for a Cuban coffee is a bit much at a Cuban restaurant. Shouldn't it be like 49 to 69 cents? I mean it's served in a thimble.
Last week when we paid $50.00 for a couple of burgers, sides and beers, I felt that that was really outrageous. The cheeseburgers that day were only 59 cents at McDonald's. I know it's not a good comparison but the price difference is quite ridiculous.
Contrary to popular opinion, I don't eat free around the Grove. Many places offer me free stuff, but I don't take it. I don't want to compromise myself. So in the interest of "getting real" and helping the consumers in this ailing economy, I am going to randomly pick and choose items from Grove menus and post prices here for your opinions.
I know rents are high and restaurants need to pay their bills, and while I am always pulling for local businesses, consumers need to know what is what.
I won't accept any comments here about pricing that you may have come upon, even though I know you are dying to tell us all, but please email me and I'll post them in a future post. Comments here on pricing will only defeat the whole purpose of this project since I would like to randomly choose places and items to price out.
We can even do things like the price of popcorn at the new movie theater and so on.
In December 2007, I complained about the price of a sandwich and coffee at The Bookstore, Felice took it to heart and the next time she saw me she told me I was right, and she lowered the prices. So maybe we can do some real good here when it comes to consumerism in Coconut Grove.
Please come back later today or possibly tomorrow for the first price review. I have the Havana Grove menu in front of me now, so I'll start with them.
Update: The small Cuban coffee is 75 cents at Havana Grove. The cafe con leche is $1.25.
posted by Tom Falco at 9:00 AM
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19 Comments:
Luv it!
Great Idea
Before or After code 33 ?
The Grape and I have disagreed on many things, closer to just about everything, yet I have come to believe the Grape is 100% fair and that's much more important. When I say fair I refer to his integrity, firstly to make the Grove a better community, secondly, the Grape was fair to me. The Grape is very good for the Grove as a whole and there should be no problem(s) in the fairness of who's menu & pricing appears herein. This should be very interesting.
My pet peeve with menus (in the Grove and elsewhere) are those in which the drinks are not priced. As a matter of policy I never order unpriced drinks under the presumption that this clearly devious practice should not be rewarded with my patronage. Post the price and I may or may not order; hide the price and I'll have a glass of Miami-Dade's finest tap water.
Who owns the buildings in and around downtown Coconut Grove?
Do the high food prices reflect high rents? If so, why are the rents so high? Honestly! The Grove area still suffers from massive price inflation.
Do the buildings' owners live in the Grove, Miami, or even Florida? Or are they controlled by holding companies in Indianapolis or Chicago? I think you mentioned CocoWalk is owned by a mall company outside Florida once Grape. The best landlord--not "property owner"--is somebody who cares about their community.
What a great world it would be if the landlords could lower their rents, the shop owners lower their prices, and we could all work together to make Coconut Grove "The People's Republic of Miami".
I agree the coffee might be a little overpriced, but I had breakfast there this morning and for the price I got a great meal (and it came with cafe con leche and cuban toast)
great idea!!
tell me where I can get some deals.
I think if bars have Happy Hours, they should post the time and days and advise if they are bar liquors or more. Nothing worse than ordering a mixed drink to be told it is $10 when you were thinking $5-$6,
penny pincher is correct: most places dont print the price of drinks on their menus because they are meant to be huge profit centers.
even mcdonalds, where burgers are 59 cents, charges close to $2 for a small cup of soda. at least they post the price.
beer and mixed drinks are almost never posted. you never know what the charge is going to be, and you feel like a cheapskate if you ask the bartender before you order. the owners know this and that's exactly why they keep this scam up.
What are you going to bitch about Starbuck prices too??? I think it is overpriced and bad but then again its no match for the other half of the population who thinks otherwise???!!
When I asked about the price of coffee at the Cuban place it was because I paid $4.00 for a double shot of espresso at the French cafe on the corner of Main and Commodore Plaza earlier this week. That just seemed like too much. I had my fingers crossed that I could get a tasty wake up drink from the Cuban place for a reasonable price, and it sounds like I'm right. Thanks for posting this, Grape!
Paige
ps: I'm glad it's finally open! My dog and I went by every morning this week. My fingers were crossed and her paws were too.
The Grove is considered a 'tourist destination,' and so are the prices. I live in Atlanta, home of the world famous soft drink...Stone Mountain Park had outdoor vending machines: 12oz CAN of Coke= $2.75....
Because everything is going up, any touristic destination is going to charge rediculous prices, I think. I know the Bahamas is a different ballgame, but why are we almost paying the same as them for stuff? How much for food in Key West? And don't get me started on the customer service issue...
Aren't you the guy who was criticizing people for complaining about the impending exhorbitant price for a movie at Muvico?
Luxury doesn't come cheap, you know. If you don't like the prices at the restaurants, you don't have to go there.
Since no one has set the prices for the movies yet, it seemed quite silly to complain about them when we don't even know what they are.
Now you understand why the workers might want to buy their lunch from the roach coach?
A friend owns a local business here in the grove. They are struggling because of the economy. He asked the landlord for a rent reduction and the answer was no. Makes you wonder if they'd rather have an empty store in light of the current economy... And the owner of this particular property is a local guy, not some business in Chicago. So, unfortunately, living in a tourist destination sometimes has its price.
I do however think that there are places in and around the grove that are affordable. You just have to know where to look...
Finaly hit up the new cuban place yesterday for lunch. Great sandwich, decent price (especially when compared around) and quick and friendly service. Only compliant - the cute girl behind the counter couldn't answer my friend's question about what comes on a certain sandwich, then after she checked and came back, she was still wrong. But for the record, he liked it anyway.
Coffee prices at most restaurants ARE outrageous!!! We eat out a lot at local rest.The food is not too expensive, but the coffee is totally out of whack!! Don't the owners realize that the customer is getting very tired of paying 1.75 a cup. Or 1.50, or 1.25. Coffee is super cheap to brew, and should be the cheapest thing on the menu. I know, as I ran a restaurant when coffee was 10 cents a cup, with free refills! These eateries are slowly driving business away with these gouging tactics! Wake up people, order water, or bring your own thermos of coffee!!
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