This lunch is 500 yen ($4.80) at Sukiya, a Japanese fast food restaurant which belongs to a category with about three big competitors.
I love the aesthetics of this category and they’re under remarked upon.

They also are a wee bit of a cartel, and I appreciate the aesthetics of the cartel:
And the heads of the three chains got together, and decided that the price of the basic beef bowl needed to increase, but given the economic circumstances how could they hold the line.
“We are very sorry, given the economic environment, to raise the price from 165 yen to 180 yen, but we are doing our level best to keep it there, and have mutually decided that approximately one yen of margin is appropriate.”
If your offering is “I plate a bit of five big pots of things I cooked in the morning and keep heated as serving temperature all day” you can get the offering almost arbitrarily cheap.
Explains bowls, curry, etc
More from Patrick McKenzie
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Friends. I would like to share my favorite food and drink discoveries from last year, many of which only came about because of the pandemic. Restaurants demonstrated their resilience and creativity month after month. Crappy photos courtesy of my phone. Long thread alert:
.@TheGreenZoneDC still serves some of the most interesting cocktails in D.C. To get them delivered, you have to purchase one food item. That's how I continued to fall in love with their muhammara (red pepper, walnut, and breadcrumb dip with pomegranate). https://t.co/22lf4iRjib
.@SUSHITARO_DC shelled out for great to-go packaging worthy of what's inside. Like this tuna-only chirashi (tekka chirashi). https://t.co/U51mtcFWIn
.@BombayClubDC is becoming one of D.C.'s longest tenured restaurants. When you're really hungry and craving Indian, try their dinner tiffin with tandoori salmon, lasooni palak, dal makhani, lemon cashew rice, and naan. The lentils are so rich and smoky. https://t.co/r6GxIW64sJ
Whenever we celebrated a special occasion with a pair of friends in the backyard, we ordered a paella feast for four from @jaleo. Comes w/ a paella of choice, gazpacho, salad, bread, tortilla Española, and flan. You can keep the paella pan! https://t.co/LTnSBUi4nN
.@TheGreenZoneDC still serves some of the most interesting cocktails in D.C. To get them delivered, you have to purchase one food item. That's how I continued to fall in love with their muhammara (red pepper, walnut, and breadcrumb dip with pomegranate). https://t.co/22lf4iRjib

.@SUSHITARO_DC shelled out for great to-go packaging worthy of what's inside. Like this tuna-only chirashi (tekka chirashi). https://t.co/U51mtcFWIn

.@BombayClubDC is becoming one of D.C.'s longest tenured restaurants. When you're really hungry and craving Indian, try their dinner tiffin with tandoori salmon, lasooni palak, dal makhani, lemon cashew rice, and naan. The lentils are so rich and smoky. https://t.co/r6GxIW64sJ

Whenever we celebrated a special occasion with a pair of friends in the backyard, we ordered a paella feast for four from @jaleo. Comes w/ a paella of choice, gazpacho, salad, bread, tortilla Española, and flan. You can keep the paella pan! https://t.co/LTnSBUi4nN

Over most holidays, the Sweet Partner in Crime and I usually do some culinary-themed travel. Since we're at home this year, I present to you: The Thread of Good Food!
A delivery with dry ice at the start of our staycation offered us a start with Spooky Manhattans.
First up: a Rigatoni Pasta Bake that originated as a batch of Pasta Puttanesca and quickly escalated. (Pairing: Ca'Rozzeria Chianti Classico Riserva)
Next came a wonderful Turkish fish stew with capers and olives. (Pairing: Rhinegeist Truth IPA -- trust me.)
https://t.co/Miyn9PXrHR
Up next: Waffle tots with sausage and arugula, topped with a fried egg.
Xmas day brought us this wonderful lamb stew with a Guinness base. (Know the pic's not 'gram worthy, but hey...)
Paired with Gargantua Pantagruel Syrah.
https://t.co/u0irJKwRtI
A delivery with dry ice at the start of our staycation offered us a start with Spooky Manhattans.

First up: a Rigatoni Pasta Bake that originated as a batch of Pasta Puttanesca and quickly escalated. (Pairing: Ca'Rozzeria Chianti Classico Riserva)

Next came a wonderful Turkish fish stew with capers and olives. (Pairing: Rhinegeist Truth IPA -- trust me.)
https://t.co/Miyn9PXrHR

Up next: Waffle tots with sausage and arugula, topped with a fried egg.

Xmas day brought us this wonderful lamb stew with a Guinness base. (Know the pic's not 'gram worthy, but hey...)
Paired with Gargantua Pantagruel Syrah.
https://t.co/u0irJKwRtI
