You could be enjoying more meals by counting the cost - or working less and enjoying more free time. I feel like that's more along the lines of the point.
If you're spending that much time analyzing what food to get when you're out to avoid getting "ripped off", I think maybe you should just learn to cook for yourself because it's a lot cheaper and rewarding in the long run.
Someone who thinks that way probably isn't a good tipper either, so enjoy the free ride on the restaurants' pathetic cashflow.
There's a reason why margins are high on certain menu items in restaurants; running restaurants are a rough business, labor-heavy, and the day-to-day take is volatile and meager, often to do factors entirely out of your control.
Calm down, no need to be throwing plates at each other.
Nobody is stealing anything. We are talking about picking the most cost effective option on the menu while intelligently avoiding traps made by the menu's designers. Picking the item that is "under the fold" instead of the one that has been carefully crafted by the designer for you to pick.
Personally, I use the money I save by taking those items over the featured items by ordering more wine! Everyone is winning here.
