Uh, Oh. Here Come The Tourists!

Originally posted by kled:
I don't know, I've been a productive working "professional" member of society for some years now, and I still cringe a little at paying 17-20 bucks for an entree. Am I that far out of the mainstream here? Maybe it's just that I usually only eat at thai/indian/ethiopian joints that rarely charge above 12 bucks for anything - and I consider that a good night out! Huge plate of dumplings in chinatown for 4.95? Even better.

I don't think you have to be living in poverty to be like, 17 bucks, what? If that's what they charge at Friday's these days, just one more reason not to eat there. The 10 dollar drinks freak me out too…

I agree with you! I could afford it, but choose other options…

I'll have the side salad, and you can put it next to my water.

Originally posted by yinzer:
$17 for a hunk of burning meat is nothing to spend much time thinking about. you can either afford it or you can't. if you can't, i'd suggest you get a schwarma at 18th & U at the sudanese joint for $5. the more troubling part of the article, at least for me, is that people would pay $250 - 1000 for a table at republik gardens (or anywhere else for that matter). since it is "tax day," i'll just say that i'm enough of a pinko commie to state that the top marginal rates for taxes should return to the confiscatory levels before the reagan "tax cuts" (middle class people saw less of their paychecks after reagan than before due to the increase in FICA taxes) if people have thousands to blow on "a table" for a nite out on U Street. iyiyi.

vive la bush tax cuts.

Yinzer, you are the only one who got my point! It's the excessive pricing that we all need to be weary of.

Regardless of value or restaraunt, there are many of us who can't just plop down $17 on an entree plus extras any time we feel like eating out. I know a number of others on this board who can't do that without budgeting for such a treat but most of us won't embarass ourselves by broadcasting it to the world.

But again, my point, as Yinzer understood, was the extravagance that was highlighted in the article.

Personally, I'm glad the neighborhood is being cleaned up and made safer. I just don't want to be eventually forced out by the elite taking over and pushing the more affordable activities out.

All I can say is that if you people can't afford a $17 entree, you need to hire a better investment advisor!

ps – this is the funniest thread in a long time…

Originally posted by Doomter Doc:
All I can say is that if you people can't afford a $17 entree, you need to hire a better investment advisor!

Investment advisor!? More like a raise or a better job!!!

Not all of us are making $60,000+/year. Especially those of us in Baltimore where the wages are much lower and the jobs much, much less available. Crap, I never even made $50,000/yr when I was teaching and that was with an Advanced Certification for K-12 (most are only K-6 or 7-12) that included Sp. Ed, 2 Master's degrees and many, many years of teaching!!!

It appalls me how out of touch with reality some people are when it comes to others' finances. This is not a cookie cutter world.

well, going from $17 for pile of meat to $1,000 for "a table minimum" in the article like the two are in any way comparable is just plain silly writing. i mean, i have had and had not, so i have known budgeting for a decent meal for plenty of my adult years. what i haven't known are the people who pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, "for a table" in a corny fucking lounge like it's somehow the hot shit thing to do on a saturday night. although i did have some friends who somehow got roped into "the table" situation in miami and they were pissed as hell at the clown who took them there when they were presented with that bill. what they thought the place was going to be priced like i have no idea. people are free to do whatever the hell they want with their money, but i couldn't even look in the mirror if i behaved like that when there are homeless people standing outside the place hungry as hell. nyc, dc, miami, la, or wherever should slap a sales tax on all "table minimums" of 100% as far as i am concerned and feed people with the proceeds. anybody who needs to waste money like that to have a good time drinking is seriously warped.

Originally posted by yinzer:
what i haven't known are the people who pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, "for a table" in a corny fucking lounge like it's somehow the hot shit thing to do on a saturday night.

I hear you….I have friends who make quite a lot of money, and I can't imagine a one of them paying for a bottle of Crystal, much less just a table for hundreds of dollars. I'm kind of fascinated by who these folks are (let the flaming begin, but I'm thinking international American U. and GW grads)… Though I have to say, the emergence of these places on U doesn't bother me, because I doubt it will ever be more than a couple of places. Hell, Republic Gardens has been around for like a dozen years – it's hardly one of the 'new interlopers'.

Originally posted by Jaguar:

Originally posted by Doomter Doc:
All I can say is that if you people can't afford a $17 entree, you need to hire a better investment advisor!

Investment advisor!? More like a raise or a better job!!!

Not all of us are making $60,000+/year.

i would never tell anyone how to spend their money, totally understandable if you don't like to spend your dough on restaurants … but you don't need to pull in $60k to be able to afford entrees in the mid-teens every once in a while, in my short time out of school (and before i went back into school) i never even made half of that in a year

Originally posted by HoyaSaxa03:

Originally posted by Jaguar:

Originally posted by Doomter Doc:
All I can say is that if you people can't afford a $17 entree, you need to hire a better investment advisor!

Investment advisor!? More like a raise or a better job!!!

Not all of us are making $60,000+/year.

i would never tell anyone how to spend their money, totally understandable if you don't like to spend your dough on restaurants … but you don't need to pull in $60k to be able to afford entrees in the mid-teens every once in a while, in my short time out of school (and before i went back into school) i never even made half of that in a year

You still don't get it, do you? It's not about the one $17 entree. It's about the proliforation of more and more places pulling in $17+ and much much more while pushing out the more affordable meals. Not that I have anything whatsoever against these places because I don't. I tend to like them. Sure, I and the other lower enders could scrimp and save and enjoy a $17 entree once in awhile but only once in a very great while. Besides, it's not just $17 after you add tax, beverages, tips, etc.. It's really sad how out of touch some people are with other peoples' realities.

Christ, it costs me almost $15 roundtrip in gas alone just to go to DC which is the real reason I end up missing most shows that I want to see. I just cannot afford it if I also want to pay my rent. And I know for a fact that there are many others on this board who can't throw that kind of money around everytime they'd like after all costs are added up. Most won't speak up though because it's embarassing. It's only those who are out of touch with us and don't really understand that we don't all have that much discretionary money to spend on a regular basis who are always saying that $$$ is nothing. We have to choose between shows, CDs, meals, gas, essentials, trips, clothing, whatever and a whole lot of those end up off of our lists solely because we have that much less money. I know that everyone has to budget but it really kills me how so many people here often automatically assume that everyone can afford any and everything that comes around at any time. The truth is, a lot of us can't!

Hoya, I bet your parents paid for your tuition. Guess what. Mine didn't give me one red cent! Try making almost nothing and still having to pay back all those loans yourself. A lot of us know how that cuts into all of those $17+ entrees.

Originally posted by kled:
I don't know, I've been a productive working "professional" member of society for some years now, and I still cringe a little at paying 17-20 bucks for an entree. Am I that far out of the mainstream here? Maybe it's just that I usually only eat at thai/indian/ethiopian joints that rarely charge above 12 bucks for anything - and I consider that a good night out! Huge plate of dumplings in chinatown for 4.95? Even better.

right on…they've all got better food, anyway.
it is good to have just a nice dinner every once in a while, but coming from Bethesda (aka good restauraunt city)…i mean, wouldn't do it every night. then again, i'm not sure that the people in here that expressed paying $17 for dinner do it every night. so you can't blame them either. i'd just personally rather, most of the time, spend that money on something else.

it's not helping anything radical happen and it's not helping anyone tear down the administration, but people are people.

I don't see what the big deal is. If someone wants to pay $17 for an entree, who cares? I eat out in DC all the time, and $17's usually closer to the max of what I ever pay for the whole meal + drinks. This might be an issue if there were no affordable choices, but there are tons and tons of yummy restaurant options in Doom City where the entree's under 10 bucks.

Anyway, in restaurants you're paying for the ambience and the priviledge of having someone bring you your food as much as you're actually paying for the food. Some of the best meals I've had in this city have been out of a paper bag sitting on an apartment house stoop on a perfect warm evening with someone special. Now that's what I'm talkin' about.

Since nobody has said it…

Ben's Chili Bowl

Originally posted by yinzer:
anybody who needs to waste money like that to have a good time drinking is seriously warped.

this is why god invented violent street crime and muggings!

Originally posted by MindCage:
I'm sorry, but living in the U St area for just a year is nothing to really make your point valid but welcome to the neighborhood. Glad you waited until it was cool, hip and safer.

I didn't know those little industrial DJ kits came with a high horse. Get over yourself, dude.

I do agree with Mindcage that a lot of the newbies moving into the neighborhood suck. Present company excepted, I'm sure. But one of the pleasures of living downtown used to be the interesting people you'd get to know as neighbors, and there just aren't that many cool people around anymore. A little-known fact of life seems to be that people who'll pay a half-million dollars or more for a fake loft in a building with Disneyesque banners saying "urban living" hanging on the sides just aren't very interesting.

So does one have to be a fat black man who sits outside the Black Cat going "Black Cat, Black Cat" in order to be interesting?

Hey, I make over 60k a year, but after student loan payments, exorbitant DC rent, transportation expenses (and I don't even have a car), cable and phone bill, clothes for work, and on and on, 17 bucks still seems too much to pay for dinner at an overrated "martini bar," where I can sit next to a gaggle of hill staffers in butterfly tops getting wasted and screeching about how their boyfriends really wanted to come along tonight but they had to work, blah blah blah. Why do that when you could have better food at Ben's or Dukem or any number of places, in a less pretentious environment, for much less money? Like I said before, what extra spending money I have I'd rather spend on concert tickets. But if eating "fancy food" is more important to you, go for it, I won't try to stop you. Just seems like a waste to me, unless it's a special occasion.

But this, like dropping hundreds of dollars for a "table" at some club, is a matter of taste. Some people are born into money, roll around in it their entire lives, and like to throw it around meaninglessly. Those of us who had to put ourselves through school (or who just work for a living) don't do those things. And face it, most pre-2000 residents of U street don't fall into the martinis-and-table-fees category, and, while I'm sure they're happy at the reduced crime and increased police presence in their neighborhood, would still like to be able to afford and fit in at some neighborhood bars. But the tide of gentrification is unstoppable I guess.

A little-known fact of life seems to be that people who'll pay a half-million dollars or more for a fake loft in a building with Disneyesque banners saying "urban living" hanging on the sides just aren't very interesting.

think about it, this quote tends to be a true statement. it is certainly not a maxim, but it is more accurate than not. if the statement is true, then there are probably going to be less interesting characters hanging around most of the time. for the most part, the only people with enough cheese (outside of the occasional trust funded bon vivant…and why would they live in DC???) in DC who can afford $500,000 - $1,000,000 fake lofts are big-firm lawyers and lobbyists and they tend to not have piles of free time on their hands. think about who would desire to live in one of those places. likewise, there will also be less derelicts hanging around so there is a ying and a yang to gentrification. i think it sucks though when regular people can't continue to rent, eat, and drink in their neighborhood b/c of rampant and explosive gentrification and have to move. that hurts a neighborhood. it's a tale that repeats itself in up and coming neighborhoods in more desireable cities every decade in america so i don't really know that anything can be done about it short of implementing strict rent control laws. (see - not happening)

Originally posted by Chaz, Lover of all Beings:
I didn't know those little industrial DJ kits came with a high horse. Get over yourself, dude.

They come with a high horse and some knowledge of how the area has changed in the last 10+ years while supporting many of the establishments in the area the whole time. Unlike the majority that's moved in within the last 2 years. All they know it's a "hot" real estate market and an "upcoming" area. They couldn't give a shit about the elderly Etheopian woman who has lived there for 20 years and has the market on the corner of the block. They see that as a place "urban" people only will step foot in because it's not Whole Foods on P St. Therefore, when people hang outside of these smaller Mom and Pop markets they see it as "trouble" and want the store gone and put her store out of business. What do they want some shitty clothing store or overpriced furniture store in place of it? Funny no one had the problem before some douchebag that just dropped $700K on a 1 bedroom condo that is afraid of the "urban" living even during the daytime. I believe the Washington Post had an article about this very same thing regarding Paradise Liquor on 14th and T St. Something like "I didn't want to subject my guests that come to visit me to see bulletproof glass." So it's not about a high horse as it is wanting to perserve my neighborhood and keep it friendly and diverse. We've had great neighborhood block parties every summer. In the last two years it's gotten smaller and smaller only because these new people don't want to associate with the rest of us.

Like Jaguar said "I just don't want to be eventually forced out by the elite taking over and pushing the more affordable activities out." Unfortunately Jag…it's already been happening and will continue to happen. Think about it…Polly's raised their prices that were just so rediculous for that place only because the newer trendy places were coming in at $10 burgers. Republic Gardens had to change around quite a bit if it even thought about staying open in the neighborhood. Why do you think they have such crazy table service for such a shithole? Because the new neighborhood bitched about all the "colored" people frequenting the neighborhood for Republic Gardens and being loud. So to help with the clientel, they've just made it more expensive hoping to elimiate the lower class people that use to frequent Republic Gardens. Neighborhood Association meetings are rather amusing sometimes. They wouldn't flat out say they were trying to shutdown every club that catered to "colored" people but funny how they keep targeting them. I have more of an issue with the suburban white kids coming in and leaving all their bottles from the drive in and pissing in the alleys before the drive home.

MindCage
Mindless Faith
Deep6 Productions

Originally posted by Jaguar:
Hoya, I bet your parents paid for your tuition. Guess what. Mine didn't give me one red cent! Try making almost nothing and still having to pay back all those loans yourself. A lot of us know how that cuts into all of those $17+ entrees.

like i said, i didn't want to get into some pissing match here … but i'll be coming out of school with six-figure debt, and i'm not exactly looking forward to it

all i was saying was that Creme's prices (mid-teens) were reasonable for fantastic food (it's really not overrated, kled) in the district … at most other places, similar dishes would be in the mid-20s … when compared to chain food entrees at places like chili's and outback that cost the same amount (and they do), there's simply no comparison … and like everyone else said, there are plenty of places to get great CHEAP food in the area, it's not like the people posting on here eat out at nice restaurants 6 times a week (or at least i assume they don't)

that's all i was trying to say, sorry to offend you jag … or to use my favorite sportcenter line at the moment, "excuse my bellicosity"