Food at PAX is what you would expect to see at a convention, lunch and dining options like fried dough, Italian ice, empanadas, and sushi. The prices at PAX ranged from 10 dollars to 18, both at the first floor vendors and at the food court upstairs. The convention was situated in Seaport, which is already known for being a pricey place. Food around the Seaport area is bound to be expensive. This made people likely feel more compelled to buy overpriced food at the convention, due to the lack of cheaper restaurants and cafes in the area. The closest places to find affordable fulfilling meals are around a mile away.
Although the food is amazing, for how much you get compared to the prices, it doesn’t make a person feel great, spending so much money for the little amount of food that won’t fill a stomach for the rest of the day. Like 2 empanadas for a whopping total of $16. A convention attendee of PAX who bought them said, “The empanadas tasted very good, I had the Argentine beef and Italian sausage, it tasted delicious but not $16 good. Even if it was decently sized.” At your local 7-Eleven it would’ve cost around 4 dollars for 2 empanadas. At PAX the price is almost double if not triple the usual amount of money.
The prices of drinks usually sold for a couple bucks were driven up by a whole lot. At PAX East even a basic soda is sold for around 5-12 dollars. Of course this did depend on the stall you went to buy a desired refresher at. Lets just say, you’ve been desperately craving for a refreshing drink, nothing too sweet, nothing too sour. Just then you spot a boba tea stall. You cheer! Maybe inside to yourself, or to a nearby friend. But then you stare at the drink’s price tag, $12. Your jaw drops, you can probably imagine the cobwebs and the flies practically flying out of your wallet with just how pricey it is for such a simple drink.
This situation was similar to the one my friend got themself in after an eventful day at PAX where they had spent most of their money. “The drink tasted good, not too sweet,” they said after taking a sip. Still it was quite expensive for such a drink, as refreshers you’d usually get in touristy places are around 5-10 dollars; and at boba places like Gong Cha and Molly’s tea it is never $12 for a single drink. Even simple sparkling water cost $5.
The food at the food court upstairs was good. The fries were crunchy, and chewy-mushy potatoish on the inside. I did wish they were a little more salty though. Buying the fries was a very confusing process, as I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to buy the food at the register first then get the food or to get the food then pay at the register. It did end up just getting the food first, which was $6 for a decent sized portion, and then I paid.
There are almost no available restaurants around the convention center besides the food in the food court and the food trucks outside the convention hall. The closest places to get food from PAX are at least within a mile of PAX, and the cheaper food can only be found in different neighborhoods instead of Seaport. Of course you can bring food into PAX but for people like me, and my friends, who either walked there or took public transportation, carrying food for long distances is a tedious process, and after a long day of walking around PAX, the food would likely not taste as good and possibly go bad.
Overall the food is delicious but it is astronomically overpriced.
