prices

Fine-dining restaurants and upscale food vendors, typically wary of participating in online deal programs, are taking a careful look at LivingSocial Gourmet, LivingSocial’s invitation-only channel for food-savvy consumers.

According to the samplers hanging in your finer Mongolian yurts, “If the herring stings when slapped across your face, don’t suggest a flounder.” Actually, I made that up, but you can almost see the scale marks on the faces of fast-food executives these days, so there’s some license to be taken. Besides, all of them should be dispatched to Mongolia if they go ahead with what they’re considering.

Putting a value on Red Lobster isn’t a done deal in the view of some Darden Restaurant shareholders. And the only things sharper than their pencils appear to be their tongues.