A traveler who spent a substantial $79 on a meal at Newark Airport in New Jersey faced criticism from the restaurant after he expressed dissatisfaction on social media with the pricing.
A restaurant at Newark Airport has criticized a journalist who complained about his $78 dinner, claiming that it's because he spent a significant portion, approximately 80 percent, of his money on alcoholic beverages.
New York Times columnist David Brooks posted a picture of his cheeseburger, fries, and a drink on X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday with the caption: "This meal just cost me $78 at Newark Airport. This is why Americans think the economy is terrible."
But after his tweet went viral, SmokeHouse Barbeque took to Facebook to accuse Brooks of being misleading about the actual cost of his meal. The restaurant also claimed that he had consumed a considerable amount of alcoholic beverages.
The restaurant said: "It appears that someone indulged in quite a few drinks - the bar tab was almost 80%, and he's complaining about the cost of his meal [thinking face emoji] keep drinking buddy - we get paid off everything,"
The restaurant also created a mocking poster for the D Brooks Special which it posted online, stating that a burger and fries cost $17.78. Smoke House Barbeque claims that the rest of Brooks' check - $60.22 - was spent on whiskey.
Brooks's tweet lashing out at the restaurant currently has over 18,000 comments, most of which are mercilessly mocking him.
One person said: He isn't wrong though.... food at the airport is the closest thing to legal price gouging we can ever get.
A second wrote: So his food was $16...that sounds about right... even though it's higher than buying it outside the airport. That's why you take your food or snacks.
A third commented: Then, to be honest, they over-served him. This is why there's so much trouble with passengers now. They are not using the same rules for restaurants not at the airport.
Someone else said: I had a layover in Newark. The food and water and packaged items like chips were grossly expensive. I decided to just not eat. Yes, this reporter embellished way too much. But he's on to something at Newark.
The restaurant is being disingenuous as well. I travel through Newark often and drinks cost upwards of $30 each so in reality he had two drinks. Someone added.
