Will not judge too harshly. You are in one of the best eating cities in North America. Wilensky's is not expensive. Romados for Portuguese chicken on Rue Rachel East. Poutine, smoked meat, bagels. #Montreal https://t.co/iI5f0xSgFV
— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) February 3, 2024
I do not want to be harsh in my take on this situation. This is a nice person on social media, thoughtful. Sharing a moment of weakness that he easily could have not posted. Do not retaliate in any form or fashion.
This person had this issue in Montréal, an amazing eating city. Your humble narrator recently had similar concerns on a trip to San Francisco.
Vacation budgets were tough, even before the inflation that is Ukraine and pandemic and greed rolled into one. Eating out in your own city. Eating out elsewhere.
"The restaurants I wanted to go to were way too expensive." I know that pain. If you have traveled lately, we know that pain. Even my old favorites, such as Swan Oyster Depot. New favorites such as House of Prime Rib, R&G Lounge, and Italian Homemade. The money was staggering.
The joy of traveling is eating at places where you normally wouldn't find at home. I've been to Swan Oyster Depot and the food is wonderful, whatever the price. The memories of eating at these and more places are the value of travel. I've eaten at wonderful places in Montréal, including a place that recently closed.
I also need to go back to Montréal, where I will pay more $ for places such as Au Pied de Cochon and Joe Beef, restaurants likely on his list.
Americans eating in Montréal and elsewhere in Canada do have a key advantage: currency exchange rates. The Canadian dollar is traditionally weaker against the U.S. dollar, even more for British pounds and better for those with Euros. The exchange rate was 1 U.S. dollar = 1.35 Canadian dollars at Feb 4, 7:37 PM UTC.
As we noted, Montréal offers relatively inexpensive culinary options, such as bagels, smoked meat sandwiches, and poutine. A lot cheaper than seafood in San Francisco.
I skipped places I had been, such as Chez Panisse in Berkeley, where I had been before, based on price.
I spent more than I wanted to on dinners in San Francisco. The same will be true in Montréal, hopefully this summer. How can I or anyone else justify this cost?
— Spend less at home. I live in a major city and rarely eat out. Cooking isn't as much fun since grocery store prices are climbing. Still cheaper than eating out. I sadly eat 2 meals a day, most days, so I inadvertently save money that way.
— Spend the money on dinner and not the other meals. Maybe doing McDonald's for lunch allows you more money for dinner. Breakfast is the most important meal and the easiest to find relatively cheap. Even a pain du chocolate isn't that much.
— Picnics. Picnics are a cheaper way to consume great local food. One of the best meals I had in Rome was a collection of food from Salumeria Volpetti in the Testaccio neighborhood. I took the food to the Borghese Gardens with a bottle of Italian Coca-Cola and ate like a royal. Picnics aren't going to work as well in the Montréal winter yet a great option in warmer weather.
— Smarter calories. The porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti was rather expensive. I got vegetables with the arugula. A hearty roll. Plenty of pork. The whole sandwich kept me full for a longer time. Spending a lot and being hungry 2-3 hours later means you will spend more money.
— Tell yourself you can't take it with you. Less money for retirement? A bit of an extreme thought process. I have enough anxiety and depression that I tell myself that to reduce anxiety in the moment. I did save up for this adventure in San Francisco and feel good about the money I spent and the money I didn't spend. I made decently smart choices on the trip and have the memories, regardless of the price.
Mourning the loss of your favorite restaurant
BalanceofFood.com travel coverage
I was nervous that a lot of my favorite restaurants would disappear during the pandemic. Some did disappear, especially in the city where I live. Had a place within walking distance to get duck fat fries and they didn't come back.
I have great memories of the food I've had in San Francisco on this trip and previous encounters. Same for my time in Montréal. When we are on our deathbed, we won't remember the McDonald's trip in a moment of weakness. I will remember eating the chocolate gelato with whipped cream at Bar San Calisto in Rome while listening to this Swedish woman tell me about this cat food called Pussi. I will remember biting into the first bite of that porchetta sandwich at the Ferry Building farmers market in San Francisco. That is what will count in life.
The McDonald's misstep when traveling is more common than you might expect. Just don't let it define you as a food traveler.
Twitter capture: @canadian_xing
photo credit: me
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