NEW YORK, April 29 -- Hugo Hivernat's restaurant was only open for a few days before he got dragged into New York's cost of living row for pricing a half rotisserie chicken at US$40 (RM158.05).

For some, the cost highlights how dining out has become prohibitively expensive in one of the world's culinary capitals. But Hivernat insists that steep overheads leave little room for profit.

"We are at the mercy of the affordability crisis," he told AFP at Gigi's, a small, wooden-floored restaurant in a trendy Brooklyn neighborhood.

"Maybe people think we're driving a Porsche in the Hamptons on the weekends with our US$40 chicken, but we're like everyone here," Hivernat added, referring to a wealthy beach resort in the New York area.

The cost...