A TV host and food writer complained on social media about the prices at a new eatery in Dallas, but chose not to name the place. Then, the restaurant showed up in her comments section.
“Can we talk about the cost of dining out in Dallas lately?” Roni Proter asked in a Sept. 23 video with hundreds of thousands of views. “Am I the only one that is having sticker shock every time I eat out, especially at these nice restaurants?”
Proter explained that, a week prior, she went to an unnamed restaurant and ordered a cocktail she called “delicious by the way,” and while looking over the menu, she noticed steep prices.
“Our server says, ‘Let me know if you have any questions, just so you know, everything is portioned out for individual portions,’” she said.
So, she asked about the portions and found out the $30 scallops had two scallops, and the $72 redfish was eight ounces.
“This restaurant is in a rundown strip mall next door to a Domino’s pizza in Old East Dallas,” she said.
“I understand when you go out to a really fancy restaurant and you’re paying for the atmosphere. This place was minimal, which I didn’t mind. I love it, and the food was delicious.”
In the end, Proter and her fiancé’s bill came out to $250 for two cocktails, one glass of wine, two appetizers and one entree.
“Sit with that for a second,” she said. “We do live in Dallas, right? This is not New York or L.A. Just checking.”
The unnamed restaurant decided to reveal itself as the costly eatery in question by commenting on the post.
“Luckily, nothing you had was ordered through Sysco or national distributors where food safely is overshadowed by profit,” Oloyo, an upscale Mexican restaurant in Dallas, wrote in a now-deleted comment. “The chicken is a local pasture raised chicken here in Sunset, TX and unfortunately because it’s not produce by Tyson — our cost is 3x more and we’re supporting our local economy/farmers here in Texas.”
The restaurant described the provenance of the scallops, which were served “on a tostada raspada made from heirloom corn grown with [regenerative] practices by Mexican farmers,” and the corn was nixtamalized and ground using a volcanic stone molino, then hand-pressed to make the tortilla and finished with Sal de Colima.
Oloyo declined to comment to TODAY.com.
While Oloyo doesn’t post its prices publicly, a May 28 blog post includes a photo of the menu, with dishes ranging in price from $12 to $140.
The comments section was divided on the issue, to say the least.
“I totally respect the restaurant industry etc… but for years now I can not justify paying what is essentially a grocery store haul for a sit down experience,” wrote one Instagram user. “I have too many other bills to pay.”
“The cost of ingredients has increased dramatically in the last three months. $250 isn’t bad at all,” wrote another. “Did you patronize this restaurant a year ago, and if so, were the portion sizes larger? Did you look at reviews before going? It doesn’t sound like they’re overcharging — it sounds like they’re passing the cost of ingredients and rent to the customer, as they should.”
On Sept. 25, Proter responded to Oloyo’s comment in another Instagram video.
“They commented on my post publicly. Why? I’m not sure because I’ve been so deliberate in trying to keep their name out of it,” Proter said. “I understand the pain and the passion that goes into making food and hoping that people love it and will pay you for it.”
“I knew that it was pricey, but I feel like that’s everywhere nowadays, and so that was not a deterrent for me, because everything feels like it’s higher now,” Proter tells TODAY.com.
She says she wants to focus on supporting local businesses in Dallas — yes, even the uber-fancy ones.
“I hope that this does not deter other people from coming to Dallas and trying the food, and from locals from going out,” she says. “I would rather this be something that is a catalyst for good, that we’re cooking at home more, and we’re sharing those recipes, and we’re eating together over a delicious meal, and we’re also going out and supporting places that we do believe in.”