Tapas? In *this* economy??
I've been feeling a bit down lately and haven't felt like going anywhere, but my husband is so manic. He hates sitting still for even a second and insisted that I go out with him and our friends to a restaurant this past weekend. Even though I didn't really feel like going, I admitted that leaving the house would probably be good for me. And it's always nice to see friends.
But when we got to the restaurant (the four of us staring at the menu taped to the window out front), I realized it was my worst fear — fucking tapas.1
I turned to look at my friends, hoping they would suggest something else. But here's the thing: I'm cheap, extremely critical, and don't like anything. I'm assuming these are qualities people don't like in a friend, and so whenever I'm around friends, I have to display a different demeanor, one that's chill, malleable, and "up for anything."
I turned to my friends and said, "I'm up for it if you guys are!"
So we sat down at the restaurant and proceeded to eat tiny plates of sushi that only came with two microscopic pieces of sashimi, razor-thin strips of ahi tuna, a saucer-sized bowl of fried rice, and a few pieces of tempura shrimp and beef skewers. The food was good, but there was barely any of it.
But the most egregious thing was the house sake, which we later discovered when the check came was a whopping $30. I was so shocked, I had to ask the waiter if it was a typo. Altogether, I spent around $80 and still left hungry.
As we were leaving, the owner/chef waddled out, all hopeful and starving for approval, and asked for us to come again. The evil side of me wanted to scream, "We won't!" Because really, how is a business like this still a thing in 2025? Why would anyone pay for overpriced, tiny plates of food? It really only makes sense if you're rich rich, and I'm not, and neither are my friends.
I wonder if some people think, once they hit their 30s, they need to invest money in activities that are more age appropriate. Maybe grabbing a slice of pizza before heading to a bar is considered juvenile after a certain age. Truly successful, sophisticated adults drink wine and eat tapas that they share with their friends while saying things like, "This tastes just like the pan de tomate I had in Spain," or "I've had better ceviche than this."
I'm making fun of these people, but I am these people. It seems to have happened almost by accident. I genuinely don't care about food, and I think that might be a strange thing to admit since people love to eat. I like a good meal too, especially when I'm high, but I find eating to be more of a nuisance than pleasurable. It's inconvenient. I have to stop and think about what I have to eat and then cook it or buy it or drive to the grocery store and get ingredients for it. Sometimes I wish I could just take a pill that made me magically full so that I wouldn't have to think about what to eat ever again.
I also hate spending money on food. When I go out, I can sometimes spend up to $100 just on eating and drinking, and I just don't think it's worth the money. And I've always been like this. As a kid my mom would give me $20 a week to buy food for lunch. Back then, I thought $20 was a lot of money, and once I had that money in my hand, it felt like a waste to spend it all on greasy school pizza. So instead, I would pocket the money and just starve. I would sit at the table, looking sad and hungry, until one of my friends felt bad and let me have some of their fries or whatever.2
And honestly, with the way the country is these days, I don't think this is just a "me" thing anymore. With high inflation and stagnant salaries, people don't have disposable income anymore, or they're being extra selective with what they do with it. I was just in the r/nycfood subreddit and someone complained that all the restaurants lately were empty. The comments stated the obvious: "Duh, people can't afford it."
I keep thinking of that sad tapas chef standing in his empty restaurant, watching us leave. I told my friends after I left that that place would be closed in a few months. Or maybe there's someone else who will pay $30 for sake. Maybe Oprah?