You've just finished dinner for two at a restaurant in town. The food was good, you didn't order much, say a burger, a half order of nachos and a pair of adult beverages (not cocktails). The bill comes...and it is over $50. Welcome to eating out in Washington State.

If you think I'm exaggerating, this report from the Washington Hospitality Association says otherwise. While the obvious driver of the high cost of dining is in Seattle (and to be fair, the surrounding area), the State as a whole is expensive.

Menu prices in the Emerald City are 17% higher than the AVERAGE for the 20 largest cities in the U.S. That is a stratosphere only shared by San Francisco and New York City. Before you start blaming tariffs, inflation, or anything else that's easy to point at the National level,

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