The $400 Steak Illusion

So, fellow shrews, tell me if I am crazy. What I am seeing makes no sense, and I am curious to know if any of you see this as well.

A colleague—one I have helped quite a bit in their career—took me out to dinner the other night. We went to a Canadian favourite, “The Keg,” which is a typical medium-to-high-end steakhouse chain. After a nice filet, a drink, salad, and dessert, the bill for two people landed at nearly $400. Four hundred dollars!! Good lord. And the place was packed. The lobby was so jammed with waiting steak consumers you could barely squeeze through.

“The Keg” is like yesterday’s “Bonanza Steak House” concerning its clientele. Not to sound like a snob (because I am including myself here), but most of my fellow diners were not part of the elite of Aurora. Sure, some had money—a few doctors, lawyers, and car-sale managers—but most were kids (anyone under thirty is a “kid” according to my old self), and the rest were just plain ol’ folks out for a steak and potato meal. The casual T-shirts, relaxed chatter, and easy laughter made it feel like just another Thursday night out, not some rare special occasion reserved for the wealthy. Maybe they all do this only once or twice a year, but I don’t think so. The energy in the room suggested this level of spending has become normalized for many, even as headlines scream about affordability crises.