Dining in the fall at Quilty's, a stylish New York restaurant, Jaime Wolf knew something about his $23.50 pork chop was bothering him. When he looked at his plate, he realized what it was: The price.

"The food was good, but it didn't seem good enough to match the price," recalls Mr. Wolf, a lawyer. So how much did his meal cost the eatery? About $6.25.

So...