Most expensive dinner?

The a la carte thing really sucks. I'm paying $40 for a steak, don't make me pay another $6 for the mashed potatoes, $5 for green beans and $6 for a salad, too. I think part of the dissatisfaction comes from the feeling you're being nickel-and-dimed. Or, in this case, quartered and dollared.

 

Looks like we need to start a new thread on steak joints. Ruth's Cris is OK ... but Shula's is divine. And I don't really agree with the extraordinary costs for sides. Those prices are ridiculous.

 

It's Applebee's for the expense account set. It's safe high-priced food, as long as you're not picking up the tab. Not that I'd know; I've never been.

Most I spent on a meal: $200-ish when I took my mom to a four-star place for Mother's Day a few years ago. Can't remember the last time I busted $50 for a check that involved more food than drink. Being fat and hungry is more than offset by being fat and undatable, so that cuts down on the still-too-high cost of eating out for me.

 

Damn, even if you lived in a trailer, that's still a hell of ... a ... bill ...

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Went once with the wife and another couple for our 10th anniversaries (their's is three weeks before ours) to one in the Toronto 'burbs and it was awful. Service, food, everything was shit. Talked to the manager a few days later and he offered to have us back but I never saw that in writing (asked him to email it to me) and it never worked for us to go back again.

Most expensive - and best - meal I have ever had was in Nashville after the NHL Draft when my boss took three of us to Morton's. No idea what it cost, I didn't reach for the tab.

 

I do not get why so many people automatically head to a steak house when seeking a super-expensive meal. Steak is great. I like steak. But you know, you can go to a quality butcher, buy your own steak, buy your own bottle of wine at a packy, bake a potato and have pretty much the same experience (if you can cook at all), for about one-fifth the price. When I spend big money on a meal, I want to go to a place where the food has been fussed over, and in fact, where I might experience new tastes.

 

Agreed, Michael. I can make a great steak at home. When I go out pricey, sushi is always a good option -- that's something where you pay for quality, and it's definitely something I can't do for myself.

 

Dropped $350 for six people at the Chart House in Philly for my parents 40th anniversary. That included a couple of bottles of wine.

On the road for work, maybe $40 once or twice 10 years ago, but that would be it. Our bean counters shit at anything more than $20 now for dinner.

 

I few recent ones I remember: party of 6 at Lawry's in Vegas, $300-$400 range (also been to Lawry's in L.A. a couple of times as a guest).
Eiffel Tower restaurant at the Paris in Vegas. My wife and I, about $200.
Strip House at Planet Hollywood in Vegas. 3 of us, about $250. At that place I got the "nickel and dime" feeling. $45 for steak, $13 for salad, $9 for baked potato, $8 for a few asparagus spears. Only went there because another place we were going to try was closed that day.
Years ago: Berns steakhouse in Tampa, Palm in Dallas, Buffalo Room (at the Queen E??) in Montreal, Bookbinders in Philly, Chart House in Honolulu, Mama's in Paia, Maui.
I have never been to a Ruth's Chris. I was all set to go one night in Portland because it was across the street from the hotel I was at. I was covering a conference basketball tournament that the championship game was one of those Monday 9 p.m. things. Went over to the restaurant about 6 only to find out it was closed on Mondays.

 

Of the big steakhouses, the best meals that I've had are at Craftsteak and Del Posto. Bern's is pretty high up there as well.

I've never had a bad experience at any of the big places in NYC, but I'm still partial to Sparks.

 

The weekend before my son left to begin training for his deployment to Iraq, we went to dinner at Mary Mahoney's in Biloxi, which is the best restaurant on the Gulf Coast, by far. There were 14 of us, and my dad picked up the tab for about $450.