A TV host and food writer complained on social media about the prices at a new eatery in Dallas, but chose not to name the place. Then, the restaurant showed up in her comments section.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we talk about the cost of dining out in Dallas lately?\u201d Roni Proter asked in a Sept. 23 video<\/a> with hundreds of thousands of views. \u201cAm I the only one that is having sticker shock every time I eat out, especially at these nice restaurants?\u201d<\/p>\n Proter explained that, a week prior, she went to an unnamed restaurant and ordered a cocktail she called \u201cdelicious by the way,\u201d and while looking over the menu, she noticed steep prices.<\/p>\n \u201cOur server says, \u2018Let me know if you have any questions, just so you know, everything is portioned out for individual portions,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n So, she asked about the portions and found out the $30 scallops had two scallops, and the $72 redfish was eight ounces.<\/p>\n \u201cThis restaurant is in a rundown strip mall next door to a Domino\u2019s pizza in Old East Dallas,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n \u201cI understand when you go out to a really fancy restaurant and you\u2019re paying for the atmosphere. This place was minimal, which I didn\u2019t mind. I love it, and the food was delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n In the end, Proter and her fianc\u00e9\u2019s bill came out to $250 for two cocktails, one glass of wine, two appetizers and one entree.<\/p>\n \u201cSit with that for a second,\u201d she said. \u201cWe do live in Dallas, right? This is not New York or L.A. Just checking.\u201d<\/p>\n The unnamed restaurant decided to reveal itself as the costly eatery in question by commenting on the post.<\/p>\n \u201cLuckily, nothing you had was ordered through Sysco or national distributors where food safely is overshadowed by profit,\u201d Oloyo, an upscale Mexican restaurant in Dallas, wrote in a now-deleted comment. \u201cThe chicken is a local pasture raised chicken here in Sunset, TX and unfortunately because it\u2019s not produce by Tyson \u2014 our cost is 3x more and we\u2019re supporting our local economy\/farmers here in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n The restaurant described the provenance of the scallops, which were served \u201con a tostada raspada made from heirloom corn grown with [regenerative] practices by Mexican farmers,\u201d and the corn was nixtamalized and ground using a volcanic stone molino, then hand-pressed to make the tortilla and finished with Sal de Colima.<\/p>\n Oloyo declined to comment to TODAY.com.<\/p>\n While Oloyo doesn\u2019t post its prices publicly, a May 28 blog post<\/a> includes a photo of the menu, with dishes ranging in price from $12 to $140.<\/p>\n The comments section was divided on the issue, to say the least.<\/p>\n \u201cI totally respect the restaurant industry etc\u2026 but for years now I can not justify paying what is essentially a grocery store haul for a sit down experience,\u201d wrote<\/a> one Instagram user. \u201cI have too many other bills to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe cost of ingredients has increased dramatically in the last three months. $250 isn\u2019t bad at all,\u201d wrote<\/a> another. \u201cDid you patronize this restaurant a year ago, and if so, were the portion sizes larger? Did you look at reviews before going? It doesn\u2019t sound like they\u2019re overcharging \u2014 it sounds like they\u2019re passing the cost of ingredients and rent to the customer, as they should.\u201d<\/p>\n