One of the explanations for the tipping culture in the U.S is that in return, prices at restaurants in the U.S are cheaper than what you find in Europe, but is that a fact or just a myth?
I've been to New York, Miami/Orlando, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, and I must say that everywhere I've eaten, prices have been comparable to those that I find in Sweden, and western Europe in general.
In Sweden I normally expect one dish to cost somewhere between 120-190 SEK, or about 12-19 dollar, at a normal-class restaurant. Maybe around 100-110 SEK, or 10-11 dollars, if I want Thai food or Chinese.
Those prices are about the same as the ones I had to pay for food in the U.S, and on TOP of that 10-20% tip which in the end made it more expensive. I didn't even go anywhere fancy other than once or twice. Just your average everyday restaurant.
I don't mind tipping at all, I completely understand why it's a thing in the U.S, but I never understood the argument that, in return, food is much cheaper than in other countries. Because from my experience, it isn't. I'd say that food across most western European nations and the U.S cost about the same at restaurants. The only time I've really reacted on how cheap food was, was when I visited the Czech Republic, and Japan.
On the upside, I gotta love the free refills on soda. Now that's a thing that you can save money on.
Edit: I see that I messed up the title. I forgot to add "in the U.S".