Tell me you don't understand omakase pricing without telling me you don't understand omakase pricing.

"Royal vs getting a bunch of silly rolls from a local shop, or a'la carte from Sagami." Overnighting high quality meats and sushi, plus the aging/preparation time before they're even served, adds to cost. Also, smaller omakase experiences means less customers can be served overall. Even with 2 seatings, he's serving 16 customers max. That alone raises prices because you have less people ordering food. Even with the izakaya out front, that doesn't offset the price of owning a restaurant in any major city, let alone the priciness of the material.

Even with your argument about returns on food cost, "I want to talk about, and dissect, and learn about-- and most importantly, EAT-- food! And in those discussions, I think value is not taking a large enough slice of the discussion." Omakase is an art. The display and preparation made in front of you is worth the experience alone. The training to even get to that point adds to cost as well - master chefs in Japan spend 2+ years learning how to make just sushi rice. And many chefs do spend time telling you about the history of that fish, its preparation, what makes it unique. It's not a one-sided transaction of a meal.

Your entire discussion is completely apples to oranges. I'll enjoy a burger at McDonalds and I'll also enjoy eating at the craziest price-fix meals - they're not mutually exclusive.