Collectively, we locals, left behind in the rush to leave the Island on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2, breathed such gargantuan sighs of relief that the Island almost levitated. What brought many of us back to reality is that fact that LBI restaurants are still so outrageously expensive that even now with vacationers gone, we still can’t afford to go out to dinner.

Yes, there are pockets of reasonably priced restaurants that stay open all year, but they are not the norm.