The steak economy is more than just high prices

I LIKE writing about restaurants and dining out. Every so often, however, I get reader mail objecting to what they describe as boulevardier columns. Give us business, market analysis and serious stuff, not a description of what’s on your plate, they say.

I politely respond that they don’t have to read my puffery and refer them to the work of my astute and eloquent colleagues. But I do wonder if those readers get what I’m trying to do. Among many other things, I’ve written about the nature of money by way of a gourmet cash-only restaurant; examined the business strategy of the menu upsell on Valentine’s Day; and examined why diplomatic skills are necessary for startup eateries.

Restaurants and food may seem anchored in culture and social trends, but they’re entry points to business ideas and economic processes. Markets – like armies – march on their stomachs.