Most you have ever paid for a restaurant meal

[Really Nice!]

Those of you sick of hearng about my French Laundry meal bear with me....

And this will cross reference the whole tipping thing in Dark Tales From the Recession.....

French Laundry, total bill after wine and 18% grat. ( a service charge added to the bill), 944.    I added, or tried to add the 56 extra to make it a perfect 1000.00.  But as Thomas Keller was making his way to my table to meet me I slipped up when doing the addition and added 66.  They ran my card based on my over-pay and the final bill ended up costing 1010.00--a nomial expense compared to the experience I'm left remembering.

First trip to FL was me alone. Tasting menu was $105. With wine, gratuity, and tax, the bill came to $220.

Second trip to FL was with my girlfriend. Tasting menu was $105. With wine, gratuity, and tax, the bill came to $650. Went higher with the wine.

[Really Nice!]

I'd rather pay Thomas Keller $400 to roam freely in his kitchen for a day than pay for a meal.

It's actually $1,100 to $1,400 for two days. I have an article in the New York Times from September 4, 2002 in the dining out section titled, How to Boil Four-Star Water. It might be on their Web site but I don't like subscribing to online newspapers so I don't know. The article focuses on how ametuer cooks can intern at a four- or five-star restaurant anywhere between two and five days.

If you want to intern at The French Laundry (Chef Thomas Keller) , Daniels in NY (Chef Daniel Boulud), L'orangerie in L.A. (Chef Ludovic Lefebvre), L'Arpege in Paris (Chef Alain Passard), Restaurant Guy Savoy (Chef Guy Savoy), Gary Danko in S.F. (Chef Gary Danko), Charlie Trotter's in Chicago (Chef Charlie Trotter), etc., etc., etc., you can find more information at here or call, 212 856 0115.

A five day internship costs $1,900 to $2,600 and a two-day program costs $1,100 to $1,400. Cost does not include your transportation to and fro, nor lodging while there. You also need to bring your own chef's uniform (including the proper shoes) and a knife kit that includes tweezers, scissors, saucing spoons, and a variety of knives.

FYI, the following U.S. restaurants are booked through the end of 2003: The French Laundry, Daniel, Jean Georges, and The Inn at Little Washington. The site says to check back after November 1, 2003 at which time the new calendar for 2004 will be open for booking.

From the Web site:

Have you ever dreamed of watching a world-renowned chef in action?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to cook in a famous kitchen?

Now, for the first time ever, there is a way to realize this dream. Through an innovative one-on-one internship program known as L'École des Chefs Relais Gourmands, many of the world's greatest chefs have opened their doors to amateur cooks with a desire to learn and a true passion for fine food.

[hollywood]

Without alcohol, it seems you really have to work hard to get over $200 per person. To build a check, you have to have aperitifs, a degustation or some personal attention from the chef, dessert, after dinner drinks, and luxe items such as caviar, foie gras, etc. would assist. But to get there in a hurry, you have to do wine--perhaps a paired tasting menu. Otherwise, in a business context, you need greedy clients to build a big check. I've had some $200 meals, but I can't recall ever getting over $250. It's hard work.

[rhubarbd]

$1,600, dinner for four, ADNY (with items comped, too). So for me alone, $400. Not worth it. Bought a gorgeous pair of boots last year for a little more. Have gotten lots more pleasure from them!

[jeniac42]

I think the upper limit of what I've spent on dinner, per person, is probably $50 including tax, tip, and alcohol. I was planning a restaurant tour of NYC for this year and am wholly sure that figure would've gone way up, especially now that I actually LIKE wine (until last year, I thought it all tasted, well, horrible). Alas, it's now cancelled due to financial constraints.

No great expense account meals, either.

[lamb]

$1,600, dinner for four, ADNY (with items comped, too).  So for me alone, $400.  Not worth it.  Bought a gorgeous pair of boots last year for a little more.  Have gotten lots more pleasure from them!

How true!!!

I know this is a food website, but I'd rather have gorgeous pair of shoes than a one time meal. Can wear the shoes until they have holes in the bottom, have the meal just once!

[pixelchef]

I place more value on culinary adventures than I do on fashion. Although, I am one fashionable young man. :P

[rhubarbz]

Yay lamb! Where do you live? - let's go shopping!!

[butterchik]

I place more value on culinary adventures than I do on fashion.  Although, I am one fashionable young man.  :P

Word - although sorry pixelchef, can't back you up on your fashion sense (believe you, just don't know you).

I rarely regret spending money on a luscious meal - and as a worker on the other side of the pickup counter it is always hard earned and almost always worth it. Perfect example, my recent meal at Tetsuyas in Sydney - $300 pp AUD ($200US) for 22 perfect dishes with 14 wines, a glass of port and tip. Considering I had the chance to speak with the ever gracious Tetsuya himself and left with a signed copy of his cookbook it was a bargain (although I think the cookbook essentially comes with the meal).

The menu was very similar to one recently written about by Anthony Bourdain here

Then there are the times you save and anticipate and are SO disappointed - like my tasting menu at Vong in London, where I paid almost 200 pounds for the privilege of finding porcelain shards in my spring rolls, eating undercooked foie gras and a soup so salty I couldn't manage more than two spoonfuls. The maitre'd comped most of the alcohol, which wasn't nearly enough damage control (I'm talking about multiple shards here) but he obviously didn't give a toss about a couple of Canucks on holiday. Soured me on all Vongreichten (sp?) establishments for good.

Edited May 6, 2003 by butterchik (log)

[cinghiale]

If we're including wine and we're including business dinners, I've done around $2k (US) per person on a few occasions

And then about the $62K dinner at Petrus last year, FG said:

Quick poll: Was anybody with a brain (Tommy don't answer) unaware before reading this article that rich investment bankers, lawyers, and others go out all the time and drink super-expensive bottles of wine with their clients' money?

Ergo, FG is not a rich investment banker, lawyer, or other, since $2K is his limit. Or, he eschews super-expensive wines while dining out, business or otherwise.

NYT article

[Pollux]

$200 a head is not difficult any more so I'm surprized.

[lamb]

Yay lamb!  Where do you live? - let's go shopping!!

Live in NJ - work in NYC.

Can easily drop a couple hundred on footwear in one fell swoop.

Life is good.

Do I hear a shopping expedition starting? Count me in!!!

[Matthew Grant]

I'm surprised the way this thread has gone. There are plenty of people here who ,and this is not meant to be critical in any way, have spent relatively little on food out yet have an extroadinary love of food. I thought that a lot more poeple would have spent more than $150 a head. In the UK it is difficult to get over £90 a head excluding wine, unless you start ordering Caviar and Foie Gras.

Interesting also to note the lack of regular British posters responding, must be something to do with us being polite and not talking about money

[Chef/Writer Spencer]

I'm surprised the way this thread has gone. There are plenty of people here who ,and this is not meant to be critical in any way, have spent relatively little on food out yet have an extroadinary love of food. I thought that a lot more poeple would have spent more than $150  a head. In the UK it is difficult to get over £90 a head excluding wine, unless you start ordering Caviar and Foie Gras.

Interesting also to note the lack of regular British posters responding, must be something to do with us being polite and not talking about money

Matthew,

I suppose you're the spokesman for the Brits that don't like to talk about money then huh?

[Matthew Grant]

I'm surprised the way this thread has gone. There are plenty of people here who ,and this is not meant to be critical in any way, have spent relatively little on food out yet have an extroadinary love of food. I thought that a lot more poeple would have spent more than $150  a head. In the UK it is difficult to get over £90 a head excluding wine, unless you start ordering Caviar and Foie Gras.

Interesting also to note the lack of regular British posters responding, must be something to do with us being polite and not talking about money

Matthew,

I suppose you're the spokesman for the Brits that don't like to talk about money then huh?

No

[Marlene]

Personal

Last night, dinner for two, Ruth's Chris 550 pre tip Cdn

Delmonico's Las Vegas - $800 pre tip US

Business:

3k Cdn Ruth Chris - about two years ago.

[grill-it]

Recently about 700$ CAD at Cube (for 3). Had a wonderful meal, and a wonderful time. I left feeling great - but a great big hole in my pocket. No regrets though, I can only do this once in a blue moon. ;)

One comment about spencer's cost breakdown - he mentioned stemwear... I don't think many people realise how expensive this can get. Especially when considering that high-end wines require quality stemwear. Now say a server drops a few crystal glasses, or they break when carelessly washed/dryed - at 50$+ a glass , that can throw a big kink in the bottom line.

Edited May 10, 2003 by grill-it (log)

[elyse]

Where do you buy your stemware??? And welcome.

Spencer...wha?

[mcdowell]

Paid $750 USD for two of us at the Ritz Paris (after a $200 bar tab in the Hemingway Bar), $450-ish each at Fleur de Lys in San Francisco, both about 2 years ago.

We stayed at the Ritz London on our way to some great food at Gleneagle in Scotland, and joined the private casino club in the basement. We ate in the club restaurant, expecting to pay about $500 for the experience before gambling away the the rest of the money we didn't have at the craps table, but they comp'd it because it was our first visit. Go figure. It was an amazing meal. American restaurants could learn something about service from these places.

Before the "pretentious eater" alarms start going off, note that my usual idea of fancy eats is the $10 special at the local crawfish festival...

[elyse]

And local would be....

Welcome!

[NewYorkTexan]

New Years Eve two years ago at Gotham Bar and Grill, $475 pp. The scary part was that we did not order any wine, which usually helps inflate the bill. We just kept drinking cocktails.

[Tonyfinch]

Interesting also to note the lack of regular British posters responding, must be something to do with us being polite and not talking about money

Went to Gordon Ramsey last week. Dinner was £65 for three courses. So drinking tap water you could get away with about £75 for two inc. service. Wine/bottled water/coffeee obviously extra but even so we "only" spent about £110 each.

And this is the most expensive restaurant in the UK besides Sketch in London and (probably) Le Manoir near Oxford.

Seems three stars in France and top places in NY are much more expensive.

[grill-it]

Where do you buy your stemware???  And welcome.

Thanks for the welcome! :) And just to re-iterate, I am referring to high-end stemwear... I really don't think that the majority of fine-dining establishements spend that much - but some do...

[tommy]

Personal

Last night, dinner for two, Ruth's Chris  550 pre tip Cdn

what wine?

[Marlene]

Personal

Last night, dinner for two, Ruth's Chris  550 pre tip Cdn

what wine?

Hubby had a glass of Gewurtztraminer Hugel, Alsace, 1997, I had a glass of Amarone Classico Capitel De Roari 1996

He also had two Strathisla (sp?) Scotches, I had a martini, and we also had a glass each of Gould Campbell 1980 Vintage Port.

Edited May 11, 2003 by Marlene (log)