Protein costs show on menus
High protein prices are surfacing explicitly on restaurant menus, with a now‑viral $77 rotisserie chicken used as a flashpoint for public backlash. (Bon Appétit: cost of chicken) (bonappetit.com). Broader reporting shows beef prices have risen sharply this year and could keep pressuring everyday dishes like burgers and fajitas. (The Takeout: beef prices soaring in 2026) (thetakeout.com).
Restaurant menu prices are starting to spell out the cost of meat, and a Brooklyn chicken dinner became the clearest example this week. (bonappetit.com) Bon Appétit reported on April 14 that Gigi’s in Brooklyn listed a whole rotisserie chicken with roasted potatoes and three sauces for $77, while a half chicken was priced at $40. Influencer Mike Chau posted the half-chicken price, and New York City Council Member Chi Ossé amplified the backlash online. (bonappetit.com) The sticker shock landed as beef prices are climbing faster than many diners expect. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said food away from home was up 3.8 percent over the 12 months through March 2026, even before many restaurants fully reset menus for spring. (bls.gov) Ground beef averaged $6.701 a pound in March 2026 in U.S. cities, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The Takeout reported that burgers, fajitas, and other beef-heavy dishes are likely to stay under pressure through 2026 and into 2027. (fred.stlouisfed.org) (thetakeout.com) Federal agriculture forecasts point to the supply problem behind those prices. The United States Department of Agriculture said on March 17 that it cut its 2026 beef production forecast to 25.810 billion pounds and raised its slaughter steer price forecast to $242 per hundredweight. (ers.usda.gov) The cattle herd is also unusually small. The American Farm Bureau Federation, citing the January 30 United States Department of Agriculture inventory report, said U.S. cattle and calves totaled 86.2 million head on January 1, 2026, the lowest level in 75 years, and said herd expansion is unlikely before at least 2028. (fb.org) Chicken is a different market, but it is not cheap enough to make restaurants immune. Fresh whole chicken averaged $2.033 a pound in March 2026, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and restaurants still have to add labor, rent, service, and waste on top of the bird itself. (fred.stlouisfed.org) Wholesale meat costs have also been moving up unevenly across categories. The United States Department of Agriculture said wholesale beef prices in February 2026 were 13.0 percent higher than a year earlier and projected all food prices in 2026 to rise 3.6 percent, with restaurant prices expected to keep outpacing grocery inflation. (ers.usda.gov) Restaurants say premium sourcing and full-service dining can justify menu prices that look absurd next to supermarket rotisserie chickens. Diners are answering with side-by-side comparisons, and the $77 bird turned that argument into a public referendum on what a basic protein dish should cost in 2026. (bonappetit.com)
