There are still places in Manhattan, Chicago, Atlanta, etc where you can do it, SF is no different.
Now, if you want to judge a city only on it's higher priced places or whatever, that's on you. Food culture is a whole other thing, and how people want to play into it is their choice. That said, if you're trying to find steak dinners for 30 dollars(all in: tax, tip, and drink) in a major US city, I don't know how to help you.
TL;dr- "17 dollar salads" aren't a problem unless you're trying to write a disparaging blog about a city you moved away from.
The question is what's the median price of a salad. If median is 17, it is relatively expensive, even if it is possible to compile a list of cheaper cafes and restaurants.
Or put it another way: if you have to check for restaurant prices, that city is too expensive for you, even cheaper places exist.
> if you want to judge a city only on it's higher priced places or whatever, that's on you
I'm not saying is bad. If you want to live on Manhattan, prepare to spend a lot on everything, from rent to salad.
I think the author is saying: SF is expensive, and they cannot afford it. And that's good reason to leave. And that's good reason for other people to avoid moving to SF.
> TL;dr- "17 dollar salads" aren't a problem unless you're trying to write a disparaging blog about a city you moved away from.
Well, if for 17 dollars salad you could buy low crime and low poverty, that would be OK. But these things combined are enough reasons to write a blog.
Anyway, not going to defend SF or criticise SF, just triggered by arrogant statement "Nobody is forcing this guy to buy a $17 salad", which is not far from "if you don't have bread, eat cake".
If that's true, and SF prices are moderate, that's good. But that's very different from the original statement "Nobody is forcing this guy to buy a $17 salad either."
> If you’re worried about prices, take the two minutes to check a menu online first.
The point is that some people want to enjoy life, not worry about prices.
Median salad price makes a city cheap or expensive.
I suspect SF is more expensive than average by this metric, but I'm not sure, I didn't dine in SF much.
I care. Sometimes I consider moving to other places, and these personal experiences of people living in different places are much more helpful than very limited experiences of people never been outside of NY. Even if it is only one data point and the experience is very subjective: I'll read more, someone else will write how happy they are in NY, and I'll decide which opinion is more important to me.
> Nobody is forcing this guy to buy a $17 salad either.
People expect to eat in good cafes, buy quality foods and generally expect standard of life higher than in some third-world countries.
Of course it is possible to eat cheaper, but people want to enjoy their lives, while focusing on their work, not on food budgeting. In particular, just walk in a good looking cafe or a restaurant close to the home without reading their menu prices first.