Americans are cooking at home again, but the kitchen didn't win an argument, it won by default. Eating out priced itself out of an ordinary week.
The USDA expects restaurant prices up 3.6 percent this year against 2.8 for groceries, and 40 percent of diners already go out less. So people retreat to the dishes they cannot get wrong: Costco's rotisserie chicken, held at 4.99 dollars since 2009 and sold at a loss; the comfort food that topped meal priorities at 55 percent, while 40 percent of Gen Z said they cannot afford to experiment. Eggs crashed, but beef hit record highs, so the relief never reaches the plate. Call it a renaissance if you like. It is a spreadsheet with skin on.
