LISTEN HERE for the full podcast! And available everywhere podcasts are found “Let Me Tell You Why with Jeremy Jacobowitz” But below is a summary of my discussion on why I don’t talk about menu prices.

People often ask about it, and I get why, they want to know if a restaurant is within their budget. But for me, price only matters if it’s part of the story. If I find a $2.50 burger or a $250 burger, that’s inherently the story. But for 99% of places, prices fall somewhere in the middle, and talking about them doesn’t add value. It usually just sparks negative arguments in the comments rather than meaningful conversations.

For example, I once filmed a falafel pita shop in Williamsburg. The sign showed that the pita cost $14. People lost their minds, calling it overpriced and comparing it to the old days when falafel cost less than a dollar. But that reaction ignores context. Williamsburg rent is high, ingredients cost more, maybe they’re paying better wages, and that’s just how pricing works in New York. For me, $14 for lunch is normal, I spend that every day. But I understand others have different reference points. What feels expensive or reasonable is entirely relative to where you live, what you earn, and how you value food.

It gets even trickier when traveling. Like in Japan, exchange rates change so much that including prices becomes confusing or even misleading. What cost $10 one month might convert to $8 a few months later due to currency shifts, so price details often don’t hold up over time.

Ultimately, everyone values things differently. For some, $14 is steep; for others, it’s fine. In my world, living in New York, in my thirties, where food and restaurants are how I socialize, spending on meals makes sense. Other people might spend their money on skiing or collectibles instead. That’s why I avoid turning every video into a debate about whether something is “too expensive.”

Of course, if a price itself tells a story, like a $600 beer that turns out to be aged and rare ,I’ll talk about it. (they have one at Momoya, if you all promise to watch and engage, ill finally go pay and try it!) That’s interesting. But a $6 beer vs. a $24 beer? Not so much. Unless price truly shapes the meaning of what I’m showing, I leave it out. That’s my philosophy for now, but that doesn’t mean its locked in stone.

TV

I showered praise on the first season of English Teach on FX last year, and last week I binged season 2 and it is even funnier! Like there were moments I was crying laughing so hard, that I had to go back and rewatch the episode because I missed so much. This is such a perfect mix of my kind of dark, kinda fucked up, absurdly funny humor! And such an easy watch, with just 10 episodes in each season. And on top of it all, there really is a great heart to the show holding the whole thing together.

TV

Speaking of my kind of humor, An Intimate Evening with Adam Pally debuted on HBO Max, and I want to call it a comedy special, because that is how its marketed, but it feels like a disservice just to call it that. It takes place and includes alot of his live show that I attended, i think a few years ago, but much of the story and humor comes from the “BTS” and putting the whole thing together. One of the weirdest and funniest specials you can watch, and I adore his humor, so this was absolutely for me.