How Inflation Is Impacting Upscale Restaurants | Bon Appétit

"A buzzy, Italian-accented restaurant in Southampton where high-end menu items have seen steep price hikes — a veal chop at $80 and a white-truffle tagliatelle that jumped from $80 to $190 — provoking mixed reactions among wealthy regulars. Two longtime diners who eat there several times a week stopped coming over a skirt-steak increase from $36 to $48, and the owner, Zach Erdem, reluctantly agreed to roll their bills back to last year’s prices at a loss to keep them happy. The spot has become emblematic of upscale restaurants balancing inflation-driven cost pressures, customer loyalty, and complaints about rising prices (even as some patrons reportedly offer bribes for reservations or don’t look closely at the bill)." - ByBeth Landman