Since I came back from the continent this summer, where thanks to the Euro we now have total price transparency, I've been doing a lot of complaining about prices and general rip-offs over here. Some of our prices are unavoidable: the high price we pay for wine is entirely down to the massive tax take imposed on it by the government, so console yourself with the thought that you're helping Charlie McCreevey out of an economic black hole every time you buy a bottle of wine. We pay high prices in restaurants as well, apart from the cost of wine. New Yorkers are reeling in shock from the recently announced statistic that since 911 their restaurant prices have rocketed to an average of €35 per person for dinner. Yup, that's right; you can dine in Manhattan for €35 a person. €45 buys you dinner in London and if you're very careful where you go, €45 might just get you dinner in Dublin.

So why are Dublin restaurants more expensive than those in Manhattan? Partly it's the cost of the raw ingredients, which cost more in Ireland than anywhere else in Euroland. Once you've subtracted the VAT from your restaurant bill, about 35% of what's left goes on the raw food costs. Wages take up the guts of 40%, so there's 25% left to cover everything else. That 'everything else' also happens to include insurances, an expense on businesses that shows no sign of easing off. This year restaurants around the country are being hit for massive increases in their insurance premiums. This extra money has to be got from somewhere, and that somewhere is from the consumer. We all get to make insurance companies richer every time we eat out. Isn't that a comforting thought?

So apart from the government and insurance companies, who else gets a slice of the bill? Why, the banks of course. The raft of health legislation and everything else that applies to restaurants means that you couldn't set up a restaurant and get change from €250,000. Not many people have that sort of sum hanging around in a bed-side table, so it nearly always comes from a bank. Servicing that money alone takes up a big chunk of your bill, as does replacing breakages, food waste, maintenance, telephones and light and heat. If you think restaurants are being greedy and are making huge profits, you may change your mind as many of them start to close in the coming twelve months. The truth is that too many people and institutions are taking slices of the pie and what's left is barely enough to keep the successful restaurants going.

Despite all this, I'm still outraged at the cost of bottled water. At an average of a euro a litre on the supermarket shelves, it costs more than petrol. But when it comes to you at a restaurant table at anywhere between €6 and €10 a litre, you really need to take stock. It's simply insane to pay that much for water. Let me encourage you to do this: first ask your waiter 'how much is the bottled water per litre?', if the answer's over €5 say 'I'll take a jug of iced tap water, please.' It's time for consumers to make themselves heard and end this madness.

Here's another thing that annoys me in restaurants, and judging by your emails to me, it annoys a lot of you as well. It's the credit card slip that leaves a space for a 'gratuity' after a service charge has already been added to your bill. Frankly this isn't on; you either leave a tip or you pay a service charge, you can't be expected to do both. And before any waiting staff email me to say that you don't get the service charge and you rely on the tips that are left over and above that, let me suggest you take action against this illegal behaviour of your employer by reporting him to the relevant authorities. You can't expect the customer to pay for someone else's law-breaking.

With all that off my chest you could be forgiven for thinking that I was becoming pessimistic. Well, I was a bit. But then a trip through the midlands revived my faith. My wife and I were driving to the West and all we wanted was a simple lunch. We stopped at a well-known truck stop on the N4 and were appalled at the scruffy, untidy and litter-strewn place. Despite our hunger we got back into the car and drove on as far as Rathowen, where another road-side pub, Feerick's Half Way House, sported several trucks in its large car park. The name was perfectly apt for our journey, so in we went. Don't expect to see the name outside - I didn't see any name at all - but the one I've given you was on the bill.

Inside it was bright, clean and comfortable and even though it was after 3pm they were still serving lunch. The service was friendly and prompt and we ate well. Nothing gourmet, just well made food and presented simply and cleanly. A steak sandwich and chips for me, egg mayonnaise and a salad for Susie, as well as potato salad for both of us. It's as easy to make food this simple taste awful as it is to do it right, but here it was faultless and it put me in a great mood for the rest of our journey. We drank a glass of lager each and then I got change from €20. It's been a long time since I got value for money like that, and it shows that it can be done.