Most Expensive Restaurant Meal

[dougiezerts]

What's the most expensive restaurant meal you've ever eaten? And was the food worth it?
A few years ago, my brother-in-law treated us to Ruth Chris Steak House. The total came to over $300 for six of us. He paid, thank God!
Also, my girlfriend and I had dinner at a restaurant in London. Don't remember the name. The bill came to over 60 pounds, about $120.
Were they worth it? Yes, I'd say they were.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Hi DZerts,

Same as you Ruth Chris was the most exspensive ever, and it was delicious! And I learned how to make a salad they had served which made it worth it! But it will be a once in a lifetime thing I am afraid! LOL, I can not imagine paying those prices for a meal more than once in my life, just to say I have eaten there!

My favorite meal ever was some Crawfish Etouffe at a little hole in the wall, it was to-die-for!!! And they served it with a crusty french bread and oh gosh....yep it was heavenly and seasoned to perfection.......that was in Mobile, Alabama, so was Ruth Chris (in Mobile, AL)for that matter!

I wish I could get you menus from all the joints I have ever visited! There was a place in the Everglades in Florida years ago called "the Green Frog Inn" they served their famous frog legs, and they had remarkably good food!!! And it was not very exspensive just good.

This is a fun thread! I like it and the memories of great meals, well I could ramble on. Just last night I made......and the night before........hee-hee!

[KYHeirloomer]

Do dollars relate to fine food? Not necessarily. And the cost of fine dining is high, anywhere you go.

In all due respect, D-serts, I don't consider $50/person to be particularly high priced. Not by today's standards. I've spent more than that at places like Carabas, for instance. And you can come awfully close at places like Out Back Steakhouse, which I wouldn't walk into a second time.

I'm not saying that 50 bucks isn't a lot of money for folks like thee, and me, and Cathy. But relative to what high-end restaurant meals can cost, it isn't much.

The question is, what is the value of the meals you have had. Like Cathy, I've eaten great meals in hole-in-the-wall dives. And I've had expensive food, in "the best restaurant in town" that wasn't worth eating.

Anyway, to answer your question directly, the most expensive meal I've ever had was $110 for two, in a run of the mill, neighborhood Chinese restauant in Sweden That's not the most I've spent on a meal, you understand. But it was the kind of meal I can get, here at home, for about $21. And it's ten years later.

[dougiezerts]

I'd like to revive this thread. Do any of you have stories about the most expensive restaurant meal you've ever had?

[Mama Mangia]

In all honesty - I've eaten in dives that had better food than some of the high priced restaurants.

C'mon - luncheon - appetizers, salads, soup, bread, rolls, and grilled chicken - to the tune of $129 each - which did not include beverages and desserts.........and it definitely wasn't that good -

[chubbyalaskagriz]

Great Topic for Discussion, dougiezerts!

My reality is a wee bit different from most folks though, when it comes to dining out. I worked for years in fine dining and rarely had the time to eat at other places. When I did it was usually under work-related justification (checkin' out the competition!) so I rarely if ever had to pay for it myself- employer always picked up the tab.

Today? Now that I'm out of the industry- after so many years playing with fussy gourmet groceries? My tastes in my personal life run less than ultra-high-end. I much prefer a simple burger over anything fancy. In fact, I can't recall the last time I bought a restaurant meal that cost me over 20 bucks! And when I date or do special things for loved ones- I tend to prefer to cook myself rather than go out.

Don't get me wrong- I certainly enjoy and appreciate fantastic food... But it's kinda like that whole "bus-man's holiday" thing. A man who drives a bus for a living rarely will climb aboard a Greyhound for a cross country trip during his off time, when it comes time for his own vacation.

Similarly, I also worked in hotels and resorts for a long time. One of the fantastic benefits was $10 and $25 room rates for we staffers. I stayed in some beautiful rooms for little or nothing... Today? If anyone thinks I'm gonna EVER be willing to fork over $300.00 for a hotel room- they're NUTS! Ha! I honestly get little or no joy outta staying in hotels. I'd much rather stay in a BandB, or camp.

BUT- I'm glad dining out and staying at hotels are luxuries that many DO enjoy, 'cause for years it was my bread n' butter!

[jfain]

The most expensive meal I have had was at Maisonette. It's a French restaurant and even has a michelan star. We went for our 10th wedding anniversary and got the 7 course menu with wine pairings. It was AMAZING. The kind of meal that made me want to ask if I could work in the kitchen for a few months. I don't know what he did but everything just tasted the essence of what it was. A spear of broccoli was more broccoli flavored than any other broccoli you have ever had in your life. Sauces were complex, wine pairings were clever, it was wonderful. It cost $400 for the two of us and worth every penny.

[chubbyalaskagriz]

eeewwww, Mapiva! Gordon Ramsay? EEEKKK! ;-)

[jfain]

No it's in Cincinnati Ohio. Kind of far for you to drive but if you are ever in Ohio now you know where to go for dinner.