And it's sold out!

If you can please post any details about the actual food at the "rarities" - they only way I'll get to experience this is vicariously :o

Just out of interest, how do they present the caviar? On ice, with red onion , sliced eggs and sour cream? I am very fond of different kinds of fish eggs and quite strict on how to have them. What kind of vodka selection do they have? The Almas is the grey colored caviar?

It may vary I guess, but basically out of the tin on chilled ice, especially when you order by the tin, rather than by the spoon, which is possible. I asked for creme fraiche. I don't know about other condiments. I like caviar directly out of the tin, but when on toast points of blinis, nothing more than creme fraiche and unsalted butter.

I forgot the vodka, I myself didn't have any, my parents had it.

The Almas caviar is basically white Beluga I'm told. In the tin, it looks like shimmering white pearls. I was told they recieve less than 5 1.8kg tins of the stuff every year. It is absolutely the best caviar I have ever had. It is well worth it if you have 600 pounds to burn. The XXL Reserve Beluga was also fantastic. The berries were incredibly large, and had a rich buttery favour, that I never had before.

For now, when I'm back in Toronto, a nice tin of Rommens and Heydary Black Label Beluga or Imperial will do it for me.........

There are very interesting accounts on caviar in Russian literature. In Czarist times the Royals and wealthy businessmen used to order buckets of the precious fish eggs and later in the drab Soviet reality most train station restaurants still served caviar on traditional Russian "grey" bread with Vodka shots measured in grams. I remember reading about an eye-witness account of an Orthodox priest getting his fill of Vodka while wolfing down caviar sandwiches during the Stalin era.

I believe the Caviar House uses exclusively Iranian sources, which I hope are more aware of the need to preserve the sturgeon population than the Azeri and Russian black market fishermen.

Creme Fraiche is nice, but I prefer the orginal Russian Smetana which takes the sour taste up a notch. The red onion is also essential for my fish egg experience with it's mild taste that adds to the overall flavour.

For drinks, many Vodkas taste too "hard" for me and the only one I have liked so far is the Russian Cristal and some St.Petersburg local brand I cannot remember. Would actually opt for a Chablis if there is a decent one available.

Lunch at Delano, Miami - 6 of us; USD11,000 :cool:


Must have been the longest lunch I have experienced in my life, starting at 1pm and leaving at 8pm...... after 8 magnum bottles of Cristal and ALL the caviar they could find..... stupid but A LOT of fun!

Sorry Duplicate

Wow, I sound like a hobo compared to all of you :p $240 CDN for a beautiful french dinner in Quebec City for our party of 4. Entrees of soup and bread with escargots, main entree of Lobster, Veal, Steak, and Chicken with a desert of mixed berries and cheese cake with ice cream finishing it off with coffee and tea for the family. I actually saved some money with getting beer and not the expensive red wine :) Getting 240 miles paying with my Aerogold helped ease the pain :)

Caviar House uses Iranian sources for sure. The tin on the Almas said "Iranian Almas Caviar". Iranian caviar is in my opinion, far superior to Russian, and I like the consistency of the product, since it is government controlled rather than individualized in Russia. Another reason Iranian is better, since the Caspian Sea is more polluted on the Russian side, and the Iranian side is cleaner, the roe is a direct reflection of what the sturgron eats, and the Iranian tastes cleaner, in my opinion.

A few kinds of caviar can be enhanced with a drop of lemon for me at most. I leave the onion off, since it distracts the flavour in my opinion.

Sevruga has a bit too strong of a taste for me, and I don't fancy it very much. Beluga is my favourite, but I try not to eat too much of it, since it is a endangered species, and I feel guilty sometimes opening that tin.

Also one thing, Iranian caviar I notice is a lot more expensive than Russian. 50gms of Beluga from Iran in the stores in Toronto is $275 CAD($230 US) while the Russian is around $175 CAD (US$145)

I tried vodka to go with caviar, it never works for me. I had a few shots of the basic liquor store stuff, and its awful, it burns when it goes down. I once had Krug to go with it, and it was great.

Last night. Dinner for two at Per Se in NYC. $1,000.

Did that include the MFT (mint flavored toothpicks)?

Le Mer Restaurant
 

Hi all,

This seemed as good as any other thread to bust my cherry on. My most expensive meal happened in 1990 in Waikiki. My hubby, boss and his girl (and me), had dinner, without wines (but with a cocktail or two), for a total of $830.00 without tip! I remember promising my boss that I would take him out for dinner, if he could arrange for me to go on the trip; when the bill arrived, I bravely took out the charge card...luckily my boss picked up the check. What I remember most about the meal was that my hubby had something called the chocalate dream...it was 5 separate plates of the most heavenly chocolate desserts he (which I tasted) have ever had. BTW, the dinner was absolutely fabulous, the service has never been surpassed....and while we have spent more $$$$ on a few meals, it really wasn't considering our income in '90 (and inflation).

~1500$ US For Shabu Shabu and drinks for 4 in Ginza, Tokyo during my internship!

I recall last year a few FT'ers drove with Rudi and Gisela from Basel to a lunch in rural France for his birthday.

There was a small Michelin listed restaurant he wanted to visit

It was a very long lunch ..... 4 hours IIRC? Maybe longer, but it was superb. Punki and Hunki were also there. I think Punki just ate salad. ;)

Lots of courses, and all accompanied by a specific wine the sommelier chose specially. Maybe 7 bottles - I have misplaced the copy of the menu Rudi later kindly mailed me with all the wine labels on it, that the sommelier presented him with.

Restaurant hand-made on site, pate de fois gras ..... the works.

The bill was about 1000 Euros if I recall. Pretty serious lunch money seeing none of us were expensing it. But a VERY memorable way to spend an afternoon. ^

1000/6 = EUR166 per person.... for lunch and 7 bottles of wine that is VERY reasonable. You can drop that kind of money at any decent resturant for lunch and not get a drop of wine...

I have been to lunch at a 2star Michelin restaurant where the bill for the wine alone was over EUR1500, and there were only 3 of us :D Once you start drinking the good stuff it adds up pretty quickly.

I remembered it as 1,200 Euros, but what the heck, it was Rudi's birthday, and Rudi and Gisela's anniversary. I am still trying to finagle a way to pop back over again to celebrate again this year.

One of my portions of "salad" consisted of very tender and amazing first harvest white asparagus. Yummy, yummy. :)

I really don't like champagne, but that peach champagne was one of the most amazing things I have ever tasted.

Was it wonderful? I would love to read a dinner report.

a year ago, how about a repetition this year?

here is Punki's photosite (including the Menue we had and all labels of our wines)

And, for once, if I remember correctly, Punki couldn't resist the chocolate desert either ...

from the Michelin red guide France: (this Restaurant has one Star *, fotos inside show former french President Mitterrand as a guest)

* Aux Armes de France (Küchenchef: Gaertner)
* Adresse: F - 68770 Ammerschwihr
* Telefon: 03 89 47 10 12
* Fax: 03 89 47 38 12
* E-Mail: [email protected]
* Öffnungszeiträume: geschlossen mittwochs und donnerstags
* Preis der Mahlzeit: € 30 (Mittagessen),€ 72/95 und Karte € 88 bis €113
* Zimmerpreise: € 65/82
* Küche: lokale
* Kommentare: Treten Sie ein in dieses typisch elsässische Restaurant und entdecken Sie die traditionellen, modern zubereiteten Köstlichkeiten in zeitgemäßem und gemütlichem Ambiente.
* Spezialitäten: Bonbons aus frittierter Stopfleber mit Kartoffelfäden. Rotzungenfilets mit Nudeln ¿Pierre Gaertner¿. Leicht paniertes Kalbsbries.
* Weine aus der Umgebung: Tokay-Pinot gris, Riesling.
* Nützliche Infos: mit Zi.; Jardin d'Eté

Thanks for remembering that great photo montage Rudi ... and yes ... there are all the wine labels in one of the shots!

This is one of the best Birthday candle shots of all time ......

http://punki.photosite.com/Switzerla...Rudisbirthday/

Yes, yes, we must try and do it again in 2004. ^ ^ ^

I do remember that at least, the Peach Champagne was not on that label montage.

So maybe we drank less than I remembered? (But punki had only 1 sip of anything.) ;)

It's a coincidence (for me, anyway) that the OP's login name includes "arcola," because the first really expensive meal I ever had was at the French Embassy in Arcola, Illinois. I treated my sister and my cousin to dinner there for my graduation. I don't remember what the total tab was, but I do remember that AmEx called me the next morning to ask if my card had been stolen.

most expensive for me was my first trip out to the Roppongi district in Tokyo a couple years back with co-workers and friends.

the total for the evening on just myself was near 2,500 US. Part of that was 900 bucks alone for an hour back behind in the "champaigne room" at a hostess club. That cost me 75 bucks per 5 mins and if you say "well thats not a meal", I beg to differ ;)

I was 24, im much wiser now :D

Well can only agree with that , my favourite restaurant, 750 Euros for 4 persons doesn't sound too bad.

It is actually interesting with me.

My most expensive meals were also the one which were the biggest disappointments.

700 US$ for 2 at Charlie Trooters as well as 400 Euros for two at Bernard Loiseau in Seaulieu.

Otherwise lots of diners in the 200-300 Euros Range which have been all very satisfying

Most Expenisive Burger
 

Not the most expensive meal, but the 60.00 burger at Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay Vegas should be mentioned.

http://www.usmenuguide.com/lasvegas.html

Per Se vs. Upgrade
 

$750 at where else but Per Se.

Great evening and a lot cheaper than a first class upgrade, but much better food and much more memorable. I always think about what I get by paying for an upgrade (especially at CO) and compare it to an evening at Per Se. Per Se wins easily.

Was the $750 at Per Se just for dinner or is that including the price of wine as well?? Also, is that a dinner for two or was it $750 per person??

Dinner at Per Se is $175 per person, before wine and other beverages, tax and tip (plus the occasional upcharge for certain menu items; when I was there I paid an extra $25 for the fois gras).

I think the least expensive a couple can reasonably get out of Per Se for, without impacting the quality of the experience, is $350 for the meals, plus $75 for wine, plus tax ($35) and tip ($85), which would bring the total for two to about $545.

Is it worth it? It's hard to say, and truly is an individual determination. I thought it was. As Nevsky pointed out, you might pay a similar amount to upgrade on a flight (e.g., if you have to buy 500-mile upgrade stickers or pay the new $250 international upgrade fee on AA), and I would gladly trade the upgrade (and I am someone who hates suffering the indignity of coach) for a meal at Per Se.

I eclipsed my record last week: $1,700 for two at Il Mulino in New York, not including the $50 tip I gave the maitre d' for getting us a table at prime time. It did include two very expensive bottles of wine (probably close to $1,000 of the cost) and a very generous tip (about $400). Fortunately, the same very affluent friend who treated me to Per Se took me to this one, too.

US$360 at Picasso's in Las Vegas (two people, $180/ea) - fantastic food and I don't think we had very much wine, either.

US$600 at Fifth Floor in San Francisco (four people, $150/ea) - fantastic, too.

Both were personal, non-expensed. I've had more $150-$200 dinners for three people on work expense than I could possibly count.

I suppose this thread makes more sense if you give an average cost/person too - just saying "$1800 at xxx" doesn't mean much if you don't have a headcount. I suppose I could claim $140 at the Olive Garden if you count the time I picked up the tab at the family reunion!

--Doug

I guess my record is a little over $400 at Le Bec Fin in Philly - mid way between Valentine's Day and our anniversary last year to make up for the fact that I was in Asia for Valentine's Day and Europe for our anniversary - or was it the other way around?

Similar spend but in Canadian $$$ at Toque! in YUL. Both meals memorable.

Slightly OT- when you spend megabux on a meal does one still leave 20% for excellent service? I always do, but somehow it seems like a lot of money. Then again, at these places they have a lot of servers per patron so one gets a lot of service. Still if one orders a $200 bottle of wine the waiter doesn't do any more work uncorking and pouring than on the $40 bottle.

in a UK london greek restaurant
 

hey all,

one of my additional card holders, ex - additional card holders, had a dinner once in a greek restaurant in london, i dont know the name, but after throwing plates ( a greek must be )

the bill which popped up was 15 000 Euro.

i dont know if this was meissen porzellan, but at least he sent me the money and told me it was worth it...

dp

Paris at New Years
 

Taillevent had a crazy price for New Years, so we dined there the night before (probably still among the top ten most expensive)

Ended up doing New Years at Lasserre, dinner for two, cocktails, full bottle of a nice rose champagne, half bottle of a nice Latour, coffee, after dinner drinks, a little gratuity for the outstanding service, around $1,800 USD.

Have dined at Lasserre a couple of times, many think it touristy but for a classical French meal it's superb. Enjoyed it more than Taillevant, however, the server and maitre'd at Taillevent were engaging and a little more casual.

Cheers,
Jeff

Eiffel Tower New Year's Eve 1999
 

We planned far ahead and had dinner at the Eiffel Tower Jules Verne restaurant on New Year's Evening 1999. The total tab, including a fairly good botle of wine, was $450.00 but worth every cent. It was an occasion we'll never forget.

Ahh, back in the days. With the current economy and exchange rates, that dinner would have been three times the price. Had lunch there a couple of days after New Years and it was about the same price for two - $400-500 if I recall.

Great views.

Cheers,
Jeff

Approx $500 Lunch @ the Jules Verne in Paris :D

$500 per person at the French Laundry, including wine, tax, and service.

Has anyone eaten at Masa in NYC? Their prix-fixe is now $350 per person plus beverages, tax, and service.

Not even in the ballpark for most of you, I know, but for me it was ~$1600 for six at some place in Orange County a few years back. The President of Shokagukan Publishing of Japan picked up the bill, and $1200 of it was wine/alcohol.

alain ducasse , New York ! 2000 $$
 

i went with 3 friends , first year he opened , i think 00 september 1950 $ + tip .
probably only 5-700 $ of it was wine !!

1500 SGD at Senso in Singapore for 4. That is a lot of money for food in SIN.

Still I think Dieter Mueller in the Schloss Leerbach is the best cook I have been privileged to taste from.