The Industry Cafe has been open for a couple of years now and in that time I've visited no less than 6 or 7 times. I've always been delighted by the combination of a relaxed atmosphere, typically great live music (with no cover) and authentic Ethiopian food (also beer & wine) at very reasonable prices. After my experience last night, it seems clear that a change has occurred for the worse. First, the menu has changed in such a way that the cost of a meal for 2 people has doubled. A platter with 2 meats and vegetarian stews that once cost about $14 now costs over $30 since you have to actually order 3 dishes to recreate the platter. Honestly, I could have overlooked this since their food was indeed very cheaply priced. But what really put me over the edge was the bottle of wine. We ordered a bottle of white wine (no wine menu to speak of)... we were served a bottle of Charles Shaw sauvignon blanc (a marginally drinkable wine -- $2.99 at any Trader Joes)... and at the end of the evening our bill read $25 for the 1 bottle. Whoa!! I'd been thinking about it during our dinner: what price would be reasonable for this bottle in a restaurant? $18? $20? Yeah maybe... but $25? That's just sad. If you're going to aggressively gouge your customer on wine at least have the decency to go fetch something obscure so the illusion remains that you care about your customer's sensibilities. Word.
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