In Texas, Do as Texans Do

Posted on January 28th, 2010

In a recent article from Vanguard reviewing my latest book, Stop Acting Rich, the author referred to the story about "a restaurant with bugzappers."  This topic generated a lot of comments. Here are the details from the book.

After I interviewed an entrepreneur from Texas with a net worth in the mid eight figures, he told me that he was pleased that his profile would be included in my forthcoming book. I then insisted that I treat him to dinner; he countered with an offer that I could not refuse. But first, he asked what type of food I liked. “Ah, Mexican,” I said. Al and his wife then offered to take me to their very “favorite dinner spot,” a Mexican place often frequented by “Texas born and bred millionaires.”

A few hours after interviewing Al, he and his wife picked me up at my hotel in Al’s well worn ten year old Lincoln. After a short drive, we pulled into a parking lot adjacent to the restaurant. It looked more like a small single story factory than a restaurant. This place had no greeter, no palm trees, no maitre d’, no morning suits, and no wine consultants. It did have a sign that read “seat yourself.” The tables and seats, aka benches, all painted bright yellow were of the picnic bench variety often seen in public parks. Also, several electric bug zappers (designed for outdoor use) were strategically hanging from the beams inside the restaurant.

Al noticed that I was a bit surprised by the décor, and said, “Don’t let the looks of this place fool you. It is the best Mexican restaurant in Texas.”

I had confidence in Al, although it did waver a bit after looking over the menu. The most expensive item was priced at $9.95! Plus, I did not need a wine guide to help me select the ideal vintage. Just two types of wine were listed: red and white. In contrast, the variety of brands of beer offered was substantial.

Shortly after our waitress served us a large basket of tortilla chips and salsa, Al stood up and reached inside his jacket pocket  He proceeded to remove from his jacket a quarter pound bar of “real” butter brought from home and placed it in the center of the picnic table. With that he said something I will never forget:
"I hate the synthetic stuff (margarine). That’s the only problem with this place, no butter. Please help yourself."

You may wonder why a deca millionaire would carry his own spread to a restaurant. Why would a multimillionaire couple even consider dining at a restaurant filled with picnic tables and “synthetic stuff” that required patrons to byob (bring your own butter)? Why would the financially secure Al and his wife dine at a place where the most expensive item was $9.95? The answer to all of these questions is quite simple but something that many people do not understand. There is not a perfect correlation between how satisfying customers find the food offered and the price a restaurant charges for it. Al and his wife apparently were well aware of this fact. Plus their judgment of the food offered by their favorite restaurant was not negatively influenced by picnic tables, a limited wine selection, or even the absence of butter. Al and his wife dine where they want to dine and not where food critics dictate they should. Certainly they could afford to eat at a four star restaurant each and every night of the week. But according to Al, it has been many years since they last set foot in a so-called four star restaurant. Some may argue that Al and his wife simply don’t have taste (pun intended). They may be rich but they have no appreciation for the finer things in life.
 
Al and his wife are not just rich (or rich rubes); they both graduated from a top-20-rated college. But they don’t need to define themselves according to where they dine. Like most of the self made rich, they do what they want to do and are not embarrassed by how they live. It is not a threat to their self esteem to eat dinner off a picnic table garnished with a bar of brought-from-home-butter.

Category: Studying the Wealthy
Tags: Stop Acting Rich, Vanguard,