You need to get around more David, haha. BTW, the meal usually will include water and remember, I said comedor, not restaurant, there is a difference. Comedors don't charge itbis.
Also, how can you compare a small burger with fries to a real meal? Dominicans typically eat there main meal at lunch and something much smaller at dinner, so it shoul be understandable that fast food restaurants here are mere status symbols for the most part for the rich. Those same people drink mile beer and somehow think they are fisno because of it, haha.
Ive been to comedors and roadside places in probably 15 different towns around the country and the current price seems to be around 80-100 pesos for a plato del dia...but unless you ask (at least if you're a gringo) they'll bring bottled water, not the free pitcher. And if you order a coke, they're usually 30-40 pesos.
A double cheesburger deluxe, fries and coke for 110 pesos, isn't "that much" less filling (or that much less nutritious) than a small serving of pollo frito, a mound of rice and a couple of pieces of lettuce and a cup of water...
But in any case... no argument here about the merits of fast food vs. anything else...I eat "local" at least half my meals...and Fast Food very rarely, my point was just that American Fast Food here is about the same price as in the states...with pretty much the same service...
For average Dominicans, this is not a restaurant culture, most meals are usually eaten at home, with family and/or friends, so any kind of restaurant, fast food or otherwise, will never be the norm...unlike the US.
Quick story... I took my GF at the time out to dinner for her birthday to a nice restaurant in Cabarete. I wanted it to be a little "special" for her. We had a great meal, lobsters, shrimp, drinks, etc. and the bill was around 2000 pesos. She's from a middleclass-ish family from Santiago...she almost flipped out when she saw the bill and was apologizing that I spent so much...I tried to tell her it was a "special occasion" and I was happy to do it...she just couldn't understand why it cost so much. To me $60 for a great birthday dinner is "nothing"... to her, something completely different. I don't guess she's ever been to a McDonald's either... :bunny: