Tag Archives: Marginal Revolution

The Curious Surge of Productivity in U.S. Restaurants

Posted on 2025/03/12 by .

We document that, after remaining almost constant for almost 30 years, real labor productivity at U.S. restaurants surged over 15% during the COVID pandemic. This surge has persisted even as many conditions have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Using mobile phone … Continue reading →

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Is Indian food the world’s best?

Posted on 2024/12/19 by .

From my latest Bloomberg column: Why is the food so good? I have several overlapping hypotheses, most of them coming from my background as an economist. Interestingly, India’s culinary advantages can be traced to some good and some not-so-good aspects … Continue reading →

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Why do the servers always want to take our cutlery and plates and glasses away?

Posted on 2024/08/26 by .

I have noticed repeatedly, over the course of many restaurant visits, that my servers want to take away my plates, my glasses, my cutlery, and indeed almost anything else — before I really want to give it up. The ratio … Continue reading →

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Rules for Tri-State Italian food

Posted on 2024/03/30 by .

Piers emails me: You’re a NJ native and great at finding good restaurants. So what are the rules for finding good old school American Italian restaurants? Not like modern farm to table places full of natural light in Brooklyn or … Continue reading →

Posted in Italian, New Jersey, New York, Outside DC | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

San Francisco dining

Posted on 2024/03/26 by .

Dwarkesh brought me to the very good Sizzling Pot King, 139 8th St, San Francisco, genuine Hunan food and yes I have been to Changsha. Don’t walk there though, take an Uber or better yet a Waymo. Dwarkesh was kind … Continue reading →

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“Around since xxxx”

Posted on 2023/12/24 by .

From a reader, Matt: Is “Since 19XX” a positive or negative signal for a restaurant? I passed a BBQ restaurant in Denver recently with such a sign. If it’s been around so long but is good, why haven’t I heard … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Dining | Tagged | 1 Comment

How to eat well in Sri Lanka

Posted on 2023/07/31 by .

Food here is excellent, but eating well involves some counterintuitive advice. For one thing, there are few “undiscovered gems” along the roadways. It is just not a thing here, and several Sri Lanka residents have confirmed this to me (one … Continue reading →

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Agglomeration externalities from restaurants

Posted on 2023/06/17 by .

We estimate agglomeration externalities in Milan’s restaurant sector using the abolition of a unique regulation that restricted where restaurants could locate. In 2005, Milan abolished a minimum distance requirement that had kept the number of establishments artificially constant across neighborhoods. … Continue reading →

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Singaporean hawker centre in Manhattan

Posted on 2023/03/17 by .

Urban Hawker, On 135 W.50th, 17 vendors Here is a NYT review, good photos of the key dishes. The Hainanese chicken rice was amazing, worthy of Singapore, get it poached of course. Condiments! The Malaysian lontong was quite good, the … Continue reading →

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The decline of Michelin-starred restaurants

Posted on 2023/02/23 by .

That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one bit: And then there is the spread of the Michelin brand. There are now Michelin guides for many US cities, which has caused the brand to lose some … Continue reading →

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