Claire Burke decided to grab lunch at the new farm-to-table restaurant Greenness, but has yet to read the names of the food offerings that correspond to their respective prices on the menu.
“It definitely seems like I’ll go for one of the lower-priced items on the top of the menu,” says Burke. “The lower left side dish might be worth a splurge too, depending on what that second small item from the top number ends up being.”
Burke is reportedly uninterested in the actual meals themselves, adding, “This is really all about value.”
Burke would have preemptively checked how much had cost online prior to her visit, but decided to play it cool and let a new menu surprise her.
“I really couldn’t believe they had more than six items that were less than seven bucks,” says Burke. “Depending on how or what the food is, I’ll definitely come back here for lunch.”
Friends were not thrilled with Claire’s behavior.
“Sometimes it’s tough to eat out with Claire,” says James Chang, a frequent lunch companion of Claire’s. “She’s always asking if she can remove certain inflammatory ingredients from dishes in hopes that they’d be cheaper without them, even when she doesn’t know what they are. She once asked if she could remove the gluten and dairy from a nine-dollar item that ended up being a grilled cheese sandwich…which is essentially just a warm gluten and dairy square with fries.”
At press time, Burke had her choices narrowed down to three frugal options, and hopes that she can at least tolerate the foods that end up matching to the prices she’s feeling happy about.
