Don't Burn the Bottom Line

Have you been out in LA recently and noticed the empty tables at your local tavern?

No reservation required these days, and my honey and I can sit at a big booth on our own without any hassle from the hostess. Why not? The stream of patrons, and therefore revenue, has slowed to a trickle. So, a four-top can go to those lovebirds who just have to sit close and side-by-side instead of facing each other.

We have seen two distinct reactions to the downturn in entertainment dollars spent at restaurants:

Raising Prices & Slimming Portions
Discounts and Groupon.

RAISING PRICES & SLIMMING PORTIONS
One type of management raises prices and slims down the portions. We have found this particularly evident in the sushi spots. Slim slivers of nigiri barely covers the rice beneath it and is so thin that it falls apart upon meeting a chopstick.

Koi on La Cienega was once the see-and-be-seen sushi restaurant that also met high standards in food prep and delivery. No more. The place has been empty on Saturday nights, prices have gone up and you leave even more hungry that you would have this time last year. We asked the manager why the sushi portions had gone minimal. She replied that the owner had directed the sushi chefs to slice thin. Think thin? Think sayonara. Shaving the sushi portions is one way to kung fu a great restaurant into a sham shack. I wouldn't even mind a higher price, but coupled with a reduction in quality and it is hard to convince me that the meal is worth it.

Another example of price gouging is Hirozen on Beverly (www.hirozen.com). Hirozen has a great menu. I love their Nasu Saboro (grilled eggplant stuffed with diced chicken and chick peas) and the Chashu Pork & Cucumber in Chinese Bread. The menu is filled with classic Japanese dishes outside of the normal sushi/roll fare (more technically, this is a Ryoriya, not a sushi house).

However, the management at Hirozen priced me out of any future return visits. They force anyone who is parking in their small lot (also serving 5 other shops in the strip mall) to valet ($4.50). I shook my head and drove 10 feet to the open spot on the street. Then, once inside at the nearly empty sushi bar, the vibe of the place has completely changed. The normally charming head chef was short with the customers, and the food came out backwards while they completed to-go orders first. The sushi was smaller than on previous visits, much like the servings at Koi.

Lastly, and most obscenely, my dining partner loves to have a side of daikon with
his nigiri. Daikon is a common radish and is served thinly sliced in a bowl with no trimmings. This daikon was not at all fresh enough to serve raw, and they priced it at $6.50 for what couldn't have been more than one small radish. When we asked about the pricing, the waitress (in front of the head chef) told us that the head chef had set the price and it was firm. We left feeling foolish, demoralized and unappreciated.



NEXT UP:
DOUBLE DOWN ON THE DISCOUNTS

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Discounts are hard to retire: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-retail-discounts-20101202,0,7199836.story