“Really?”. That was my reaction after I read an article in The Globe and Mail about Ferran Adrià when asked about McDonald’s – The full quote being “It’s too easy to criticize McDonald’s. But give me an alternative for €3? What can you make better than that?” (For reference purposes, as of October 10th, 2008, 3 Euros was around CDN $4.75, around US$ 4.10).
Before I continue, I have read about Mr. Adrià; however, the likelihood of me visiting ElBulli, the restaurant he runs, is nil. Sure, it is an expensive place but, if I commit myself to do it, cost would not be really an issue. No, that’s not the problem; the problem instead is that the restaurant is open only a couple of months per year and there is always a waiting list. As for his cooking methodology/ideology, well, it is a bit unfair to comment about it without having actually tasting it but, if Alton Brown of Good Eats is the “mass” version of the ideology, I can only say “it sounds good!”.
Now let’s get back to the main issue: What you can purchase with $5? (For sanity sake, I am rounding this number and any reference to currency is in Canadian Dollars, as mentioned above, as of October 10th, 2008, 3 Euros ~= CDN $4.75 ~= US $4.10). In my case there are lot of things I can think of and most of them better than MickeyD’s… For example:
- A hot dog in Japa Dog.
- A deluxe burger in Save on Meats Coffee Shop (blog about this place coming soon in Jessica’s blog!).
- A take out in Robson Teriyaki, a food stand in Robson Market (blog also pending there!).
- A six inch sub in Subway. Of course, chips and drinks are optional.
- A can of tuna (or cold cut), a kaiser bun (or two), a tomato or some other veggies – all from your local (super)market.
And the list could go on but I am sure you get the idea.
To a certain extent, I have the odd feeling Mr. Adrià is a bit detached of reality. Sure, $5 might be what he will spend for a pound of tomato or a small chunk of mozzarella but those are his standards. More often than not, for the average Joe or Jane, there are cheaper alternatives. It is a matter of us wanting to act on it or pay $5 for our laziness and patronize MickeyD’s instead.
(Of course, all this is based on Canada costs; YMMV depending on your country!)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I have to agree with you. You can get so much for $5. When I was in university I lived on $7 every two weeks for food. I ate a lot of spaghetti and looked fabulous since I ate once a day!
I’m still bewildered about the Save On Meat post (I took a peak!). I never knew they cooked stuff. I lived on Georgia and Hawks for 2 years. Absolutely LOVED living in the DTES. My neighbors were hippies and artists and I felt completely safe walking down Hastings any time. But, I never went in to Save On Meats or anything. Just a little cafe.
$5 can get you a small bag of salad, a potato and a small piece of beef at the store.
You can always get breakfast at Ikea for 99 Cents!
Hi Jessica,
Well, it is not the butcher who will be cooking it; instead, it is a small dinner-like area at the back. BTW, you are spoiling that post!
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