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Spread between American and Canadian restaurant increases as eateries go upscale
By: Ish Theilheimer and the Straight Goods team
Canadian and American restaurant prices appear roughly similar - if you like eating at the golden arches. If not, you're likely to pay more in the States to eat out, according to our Straight Goods survey of restaurant prices.
The Straight Goods team surveyed restaurants and bars in three Canadian cities and comparable American ones in border states. The results should come as no surprise to any Canadian who has ever pulled off the Interstate and plunked down eight to ten dollars for a breakfast at Big Boy or Denny's or Stuckey's.
The table shows how well McDonalds has managed to keep costs roughly similar on both sides of the border. Other restaurants don't fare so well.
Although our team sampled menus in other kinds of restaurants, our tables only look at McDonalds and "pub grub" because it was hard to find other restaurant categories that were comparable across six cities. McD's and pub grub are pretty standard for ordinary Canadians on ordinary budgets, though, so we've included them.
It probably isn't too surprising that food items in glitzy New York City can be more, after exchange, than double what you'd pay in seen-better-days Montreal. But even in rural Northport, Michigan, a burger or fish and chips costs more at face value than in a comparable tavern in Pembroke, Ontario.
Even the bars of high-price Vancouver compare well with Seattle. And when you get into the better restaurants, the spread is more pronounced. A steak dinner in a nice hotel restaurant in Seattle came to $30 US for our dinner there. In Vancouver, the same dinner in the same kind of place got to the table for $29 Canadian. That's a difference of $15 CDN per meal. A glass of house red in the Vancouver hotel restaurant was $7.50 CDN as opposed to $10.00 US in the Seattle hotel.
So if you're travelling on a budget in the US, our advice is to bring a knife and some serviettes, or else get used to fast food.
|
Item in Cdn and US prices |
Montreal |
New York |
|
Big Mac, CDN |
3.32 |
3.61 |
|
Big Mac, US |
2.29 |
2.49 |
|
|
Large coke, CDN |
1.75 |
1.72 |
|
Large coke, US |
1.20 |
1.19 |
|
|
Large fries, CDN |
1.95 |
2.59 |
|
Large fries, US |
1.34 |
1.79 |
|
|
Chicken McNuggets, CDN |
3.05 |
3.52 |
|
Chicken McNuggets, US |
2.10 |
2.43 |
|
Bar food |
|
Fish and chips, CDN |
6.99 |
17.69 |
|
Fish and chips, US |
4.82 |
12.20 |
|
|
Burger, CDN |
3.50 |
10.87 |
|
Burger, US |
2.41 |
7.50 |
|
|
Bottle of beer, CDN |
3.19 |
4.35 |
|
Bottle of beer, US |
2.20 |
3.00 |
|
|
Glass of coke, CDN |
1.79 |
1.81 |
|
Glass of coke, US |
1.23 |
1.25 |
|
|
Chicken wings, CDN |
6.00 |
10.87 |
|
Chicken wings, US |
4.14 |
7.50 |
|
Item in Cdn and US prices |
Pembroke
ON |
Northport
MI |
|
Big Mac, CDN |
3.16 |
3.03 |
|
Big Mac, US |
2.18 |
2.09 |
|
|
Large coke, CDN |
1.71 |
1.79 |
|
Large coke, US |
1.17 |
1.24 |
|
|
Large fries, CDN |
1.92 |
2.16 |
|
Large fries, US |
1.32 |
1.49 |
|
|
Chicken McNuggets, CDN |
3.20 |
5.93 |
|
Chicken McNuggets, US |
2.20 |
4.09 |
|
Bar food |
|
Fish and chips, CDN |
6.79 |
11.52 |
|
Fish and chips, US |
4.68 |
7.95 |
|
|
Burger, CDN |
4.29 |
6.16 |
|
Burger, US |
2.96 |
4.25 |
|
|
Bottle of beer, CDN |
3.35 |
3.26 |
|
Bottle of beer, US |
2.31 |
2.25 |
|
|
Glass of coke, CDN |
1.75 |
1.88 |
|
Glass of coke, US |
1.20 |
1.30 |
|
|
Chicken wings, CDN |
6.69 |
10.87 |
|
Chicken wings, US |
4.61 |
7.50 |
|
Item in Cdn and US prices |
Vancouver
BC |
Seattle |
|
Big Mac, CDN |
2.79 |
3.17 |
|
Big Mac, US |
1.92 |
2.19 |
|
|
Large coke, CDN |
1.39 |
2.01 |
|
Large coke, US |
.95 |
1.39 |
|
|
Large fries, CDN |
1.59 |
2.01 |
|
Large fries, US |
1.09 |
1.39 |
|
|
Chicken McNuggets, CDN |
2.79 |
1.29 |
|
Chicken McNuggets, US |
1.92 |
0.89 |
|
Bar food |
|
Fish and chips, CDN |
12.95 |
11.96 |
|
Fish and chips, US |
8.93 |
8.25 |
|
|
Burger, CDN |
7.25 |
10.80 |
|
Burger, US |
5.00 |
7.45 |
|
|
Bottle of beer, CDN |
3.95 |
5.07 |
|
Bottle of beer, US |
2.72 |
3.50 |
|
|
Glass of coke, CDN |
1.95 |
1.81 |
|
Glass of coke, US |
1.34 |
1.25 |
|
|
Chicken wings, CDN |
7.95 |
10.51 |
|
Chicken wings, US |
5.48 |
7.25 |
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