In comparable restaurants with similar diner profiles, the total cost

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The passage suggests that, because restaurants process more meal transactions in Fairview (where a steak dinner is also more expensive) than in Centerville, restaurant owners in Fairview are more successful than those in Centerville. There are a lot of ways that connection could be flawed, and when a question asks us to identify what would be "most useful" to know or to compare in evaluating this argument, the right answer will usually be one that best relates to those possible other explanations. It isn't clear how the land area or climate of the two cities affect the wealth of their populations, so (A) and (B) are out. Choice (C) makes sense. If Fairview had far fewer restaurants than Centerville, it makes sense that the restaurants in Fairview would have more transactions, and their owners would be more successful. People presumably still want to eat out, but they have fewer options, so they end up at the same places. Of course, this doesn't complete the whole picture, but it's the best option we have so far. Choice (D) mentions "restaurant licenses" and how difficult it is to acquire them, which is not as clearly related to wealth as (C), and (E) refers to "other cities," which wouldn't tell us anything about people in Fairview and Centerville.

The correct answer is Choice (C).­