If You Take It That Way, It Must Be Friday('s).

A little over a week ago I was looking for a place to eat before a concert with some friends. The concert, Morrissey, was at Radio City Music Hall, which culinary-wise is in no man's land. At least not if you're on a budget.

After walking around for half an hour, we settled on an old stand-by. Let's be clear. Very clear. We were hungry and our choices were limited by time and money. As we walked west, we found ourselves in Times Square. In a pinch, we ran into T.G.I.Friday's.

I say in a pinch because, lets face it, out of 3x10³² restaurants, I picked fk'n Friday's.

After sitting down and perusing the menu, we noticed something was awry. Having lived in Michigan and eaten at Friday's on more than one mall occasion I was familiar with the pricing scheme of their menu. I clearly wasn't in Michigan anymore.

Prices were more than doubled. Then it dawned on me. Those from out of town were being charged a premium to not venture out of their familiar dining habits. The big bad city wouldn't eat them alive emotionally because they can eat in the family-friendly red and white striped safety zone. Instead Friday's would rip them off royally.

Well not us. We folded up our picturesque menus and headed out. The waiter took one look at us, and said - no joke - "I don't blame you."

So last night, I'm watching T.V. and I noticed something I've never noticed before. Perhaps I took it for granted, but never again. The advertisement was for the Jack Daniel's Chicken, starting at $10.99. "Starting at"...I've seen that a lot. I didn't think much of it, probably because I was eating at a "Starting at" location. I certainly wasn't going to eat at an "Ending at" Friday's. That's for sure.

Sure enough, on the T.V. and the website is a bit of fine print qualifying the "Starting at" doctrine.

Next time anyone visits me from out of town, I'm just gonna mug them in the airport when I pick them up, that way it softens the blow.

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