Zagat prices ruined by barflies

Interesting article in the New York Post says the Zagat Guide greatly understates meal prices because it includes items only served in the bar. "Zagat is still low-balling prices - sometimes to a ridiculous degree," Steve Cuozzo writes.

Examples:

• Eleven Madison Park's cheapest dinner is $76 without drink or tip, but Zagat lists a $66 average. The bar's $12 baby pizza brings down the average.
• At Gramercy Tavern, $76 will get you the cheapest prix fixe without drink or tip, but Zagat estimates an average $76 including those things. The assumption is you may eat at the bar.
• Gotham Bar and Grill: $100 a head, compared to $70 in the guide.
• Chantrelle's mandatory prix fixe starts at $95, but Zagat said dinner drink and tip average $93.

I don't imagine the situation is quite so severe in San Francisco, but this certainly illustrates one technique a less-than-scrupulous restaurateur could use to bait-and-switch customers via Zagat.

(Item via Grub Street.)