Shrimp Scampi in Edison

8 restaurants in Edison list shrimp scampi on their menus. The cheapest is Fratelli's Pizza at $19.99. The typical price across town is $23.00, and the dearest we found is $29.95 at Cafe Gallo Pizzeria & Ristorante, so the two ends of the list are $9.96 apart, which is 50% more for the same dish. Of the 8 kitchens listed, 3 charge more than a dollar under the typical price, 2 sit within a dollar of it and 3 charge more than a dollar over.

We track shrimp scampi in 272 other areas and compare them all on shrimp scampi across United States. The typical price there runs $23.00 at the median, so Edison is about average, with a lower typical price than 133 of the 272. The lowest best price anywhere we cover is $8.99 at Via Italian Table in Worcester, MA, and the highest best price is $32.00 in Red Bank, NJ. The nearest area with it is Fords, about 3 mi away, where the best price is $18.50.

Where is the cheapest shrimp scampi in Edison? Fratelli's Pizza, at $19.99 on 999 Amboy Ave. The same dish reaches $29.95 elsewhere in town, so where you order it changes the bill by $9.96.

What should shrimp scampi cost here? About $23.00 is the typical price across the 8 kitchens in Edison that list it. Of the ones listed above, 3 are more than a dollar below that and 3 are more than a dollar above, so the typical price is a middle rather than a floor.

Is it cheaper nearby? The nearest area we track it in is Fords, about 3 mi away, where the best price is $18.50. That is $1.49 less than the best here, though whether that is worth the journey is your call.

Why do the prices differ so much? We compare what each menu calls the same dish, and menus are not identical: portion, cut, sides and the kind of room you are sitting in all ride on the price, and none of that shows up in a number. Part portions and half sizes are kept out of this comparison, and a chain charging the same at several addresses is counted once, so the spread above is between genuinely different kitchens rather than the same one repeated.