Originally Posted by nba1017

Back on subject a bit....

I have two places I frequent 5-6 days a week for breakfast. One is a local luncheonette counter that fries eggs on a grill, the other is the main dining room of a five-star hotel. Both offer me something the other doesn't, and I enjoy them equally.

The first gives me cheap, greasy, and delicious standards I grew up on with coffee that I've used to clean scratches off my car in a pinch. I've never paid more than $12 for a couple of egg sandwiches, coffee, juice, and a short stack of pancakes. I've also never been in there for more than 20 minutes at a time.

The second provides a luxurious setting for entertaining, reading, relaxing, making phone calls, and simply enjoying the morning. When I walk in there is a stack of six local, national, and international newspapers at my table, at an approximate value of $20 in total. The coffee is from a local purveyor, served in fine china, and the menu offers interesting and healthier fare such as Chinese and Japanese speciality breakfasts, five kinds of local sausage, and so on. The average cost for breakfast is around $30-35, or ~20GBP. Is it worth it? Yes, for what it is. Assuming I sit for two hours, and the food should probably cost 2/3 of what I'm paying for it without a hotel mark-up, I just look at the additional $10-15 either way as a cover charge for the perfect service and additional amenities included.

Overall, it just depends on what role breakfast, and for that matter, what any meal, serves in your day.