Most expensive dinner?

I've only been to one - Daniel. I was there for a birthday dinner (someone else's) about a year and a half ago and didn't see the bill. There were 8 of us and a lot of very expensive wine was consumed. It was an amazing meal. One of the best I've ever had.

I'm surprised Komi in DC is on there. I haven't been, but I can't believe it's on the list and Le Cirque or any number of restaurants in Vegas aren't.

 

I've never been to any of those and I don't think I've missed anything.

 

As it's been mentioned, you can do all of those places for much less if you're not ordering very expensive wine.

The top two are both owned by Thomas Keller, who's been considered the best chef in America for over 10 years:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Keller

A lot of top chefs have worked under him.

Alinea is run by Grant Achatz, who has laid claim to Keller's title.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Achatz

Achatz worked for Keller for a time. He also worked very briefly for Charlie Trotter who owns the number five restaurant, which is just around the corner:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Trotter

Trotter was just 28 when he opened his place in 1987.

Before Trotter, restaurateurs -- owners -- drew headlines and brought in crowds. Trotter's was a chef driven restaurant. He was the original wunderkind chef.

He was probably considered America's best chef until Keller took the title.

A lot of guys started under him, including Graham Elliott. Considered tough to work for, but th restaurant is supposed to be incredible.

You have to remember too, that dinner at these places can be a four hour affair. (That's what it was at the joint I went to on Friday.) So, instead of dinner & a show, this takes the place of both.

On New Year's Eve we did a nice dinner and a Broadway (in Chicago) show. If you don't do the show, these places look more reasonable.

They're not everyday places, but some of these chefs are true artists in every sense of the word.

 

Been to 10 of the places (1, 2, 5, 9, 11, 12, 14, 20, 22, 25). French Laundry was easily the best, while Del Posto was the most overrated. We like good wine and most of those prices are way out of whack to what we spent.

 

$60 at Shula's in Baltimore, but I didn't pay the tab. I'd like to be able to eat at fine dining restaurants, but can't afford it. For those who can, I'm envious, but it doesn't bother me that others can enjoy that type of meal. I can be happy with a $10 meal.

 

YF, that may be true but I usually find that interesting trumps "well-known" every time. Some of the best places I've been to in many cities around the world are not the places that everyone's writing about but one I've gotten a tip from a cab driver or a hotel clerk or someone else about. Of course, that's not at all true when it comes to Joe's Stone Crab. All bets are off then.

 

Counting the Scotch and wine before dinner, probably about $250 for Mrs. SixToe and I in Florida on an anniversary dinner so many years ago I don't remember the name.

We've also eaten at The French Laundry. With wine, probably a couple of hundred. Try the cassoulet if you ever get in there. Also ate at Bistro Jeanty and The CIA while on vacation in Napa.

Friend of mine and I were in Dallas and tossed almost $200 at The Mansion at Turtle Creek one night, just to see if it was that fancy and that good. It was, on both counts.

As a group, probably $1,400 for six or seven of us at Bern's in Tampa one night.

I've been in groups that drank much more and pushed the bills to between $2,500 and $4,000 before, for one night. Thank God I wasn't paying for those.

If the food's good, it's a special occasion and I have the money, then I'm going to enjoy it and price be damned.

 

Miss L and I ate at a little restaurant in Rocheport, Mo., a few weeks ago. Eight tables. A different menu every day, which they brought to you on a dry-erase board. Everything made that day, from the seafood ravioli to the pies. We had an appetizer, four beers, two main courses and two desserts. Bill was $82 and change. I left $100 on the bill and felt like I was getting a bargain. I would have gladly paid another $50 for that meal.

The food was phenomenal. The small beer selection was a perfect mix of hops and grain and dark. The eight tables ensured that your meal was made to order. My new favorite restaurant: Abagail's.

If you're coming through Columbia, Mo., make it a point to get a reservation. It won't be the most expensive meal you've ever paid for, but it might be the best.

 

A friend of mine was taken to The French Laundry as a wedding gift.

He said their tab for four people was about $2K. Granted, they're wine aficionados and I'm guessing half the bill was on that, but still...

 

I went there around 2003. Four of us was a little less than $1,000. We had three bottle of wine (and a cab back to the hotel), but I seem to remember the food about $100 per person.

 

I love experiencing these kinds of places. I'm glad I went to some of the places I did when i was single and when I was married before we had kids, because once you have kids, spending $100 for dinner gets harder and harder to justify unless you're a hell of a lot richer than I am...

 

Bern's is worth every penny. Especially the dessert room!