Heart and Mind

The Price of Pizza

Back in February, I posted a blog entry about how vending machines with cruddy toys only take quarters these days. In that discussion, I mused briefly about how it was typical and predictable—and therefore, arguably kind of boring—for any aging individual to start griping about how expensive things are compared to how things used to be. I even specifically mentioned pizza and about how I wasn't going to complain much about it. But now, in light of recent situations, I've changed my mind and I am going to start complaining about it.

When I was growing up, pizza was always the ultimate "dollar food." A slice of pizza was about a buck. It was cheap, but beyond that, it was easy. A dollar a slice...nice and simple. You got a buck, you got a snack.

Then at one point something happened. Pizza went over a dollar. Not much at first, and not everywhere. A few select pizza parlors with ambitious mercenary goals started being bold enough to start charging $1.10 a slice.

This was a big annoyance for me. Hey, it's not that the dime was all that big of a deal. What's a dime? The bigger problem was that it was no longer "dollar food," food you could get for a neat and clean exchange of a single bill. Now, you had to have spare change one you. And if you didn't, you had to fork over $2.00. Even though you were bound to get 90-cents back, it still felt like you were spending $2.00. Paper money in your pocket is much more comforting than change. It's much less fun to depart with. Especially when you were still a kid and a dollar might have counted for more than it does now.

This new price scheme worked against you when dealing in multiple slices, too. $2.00 couldn't get you two slices anymore.

It just wasn't comfortable anymore. And, if you think I sound like a cheapskate, you should know that I wasn't alone in this battle. I knew other people who didn't like it either. It just seemed weird that a slice of pizza should have costed more than a dollar. Dollar bills seemed almost made for pizza. Like if you had to explain what the value of a dollar was to someone from another planet—a planet who happened to eat New York Style pizza–you'd say, "Oh, it's worth about a slice of pizza."

Well, as time went by—and this took years, but eventually it happened—the $1.10 places went to $1.25 and then $1.35 and eventually everyone started charging over a dollar. And, eventually, I got used to it. These days it's hovering around $1.75 to $1.80, I'd say, at most places. So, although it took me a long time, I long ago learned to accept pizza as the "dollar and change" food. In 2007, I guess I have to admit that it's still a pretty good deal.

But something unsettling has happened recently.

I have had the experience where I go in to grab a quick slice, I've got the two bucks in my hand ready to fork over, and...

"Two-fiteen, please!"

Damn!! Over two dollars? For a slice of pizza? "Why back in my day, that would buy two slice AND a soda if you bought it during the lunch special, " says the crotchety middle-aged man!

The writing's on the wall, man. This is where it's all going. It's going to take me years to get used to the idea that I have to be carrying at least three singles if I want a slice of pizza and have no loose change on me. That just sucks.

(That's the end of the blog entry, folks, but as a post script, let me just add a comment before someone else brings it up. You may be thinking, "With all this 'dollar-only' business, doesn't it all go out the window on account of the fact that you usually buy a drink with your pizza, anyway?" And the answer is, "Actually, no. I eat a lot of pizza, and, while I certainly buy a drink with it often enough, the majority of the time I buy just a slice or two without buying a drink." Really. Especially if I'm at work where my bottle of water is usually nearby.)

posted by Steve @ 9:31 PM