Eating and Price

Two interesting developments in eating...yesterday I went to Tacos Por Favor, probably my favorite Taco spot in LA and certainly on the West Side. They raised their prices significantly all around. Hardshell asada tacos were now 3.25 instead of 2.70. Chorizo and cheese tacos (what they are famous for) were now 2.50 rather than about 2. These are major bumps in price, not just the normal, sneak up on you 5-10 cent raise. Why, I wonder? Is this store specific? Or are we seeing a major bump in food prices combined with increased gas prices? Isn't this pure evidence of inflation?

Second...interesting lunch today at Sauce on Hampton. Felt like sitting down and reading, so I was grabbing lunch there. When the bill came, it had a note - they automatically added 15% tip and didn't expect (or leave a place for) additional tip when I paid with credit card. The note said something along the lines that there was a new trend in restauranting whereby tip was included and it went towards waiter wages and no additional tip is required or expected. I actually like this idea as the whole tipping thing doesn't actually make that much sense unless you are eating at a super high-end spot where service actually matters. I wonder if it takes off.