Question about expensive/high end restaurants

Its like why do some women spend so much money on designer shoes? Because they can.

Why do some people eat at the most expensive restaurants? Because they can.

Why do some Leaf fans spent $1000 for Platinum seats? Because they can.

And why do some men spent $300-$500/hr on an escort? Because they can.

Closest I've spent is at Michael Mina in San Francisco. Dinner and Wine tasting was about 175 per head. 4 courses plus a couple of "amuse"(this is a spoonful the chef sends out of a dish he is working on for the next menu to test).

Add on taxes and tip a fairly expensive night. And it was worth every penny.

Closest I have been to high end is Timmy's I also like Wendy's.

It is a status thing. Has nothing to do with value for money, taste or quality. You need your nose way up in the air and more money than brains.

How about a $5,000 hamburger??

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/23/i-tried-a-5000-hamburger-and-it-was-absolutely-worth-it.html

Will get to restaurants like this as often as schedule, and particularly travels, will allow. Hyperbole aside, you're looking at 300 to 500 a seat for the tasting menu at a 3 star Michelin in New York. Good times.

Best thing I've ever eaten cost about $1. In around the watery delta where the Thai / Burma border is sort of messy and undefined a lady had some fish that was just caught. She skewered it with some lemongrass and threw it on a fire. That's all she did to it and god was this incredible.

She was an artist with her food. She knew what to do, and what not to do with her canvas. Many of the true chefs are artists and they tend to rise to the top. Not always, and not all that rise are the true artists. Generally though, the line order cooks that work in 99% of the kitchens we'll ever walk into are not artists. They may be decent craftsmen, but there's nothing really memorable about competent craftwork.

Taste is as individual as fingerprints. Art can only been seen through your own experiences. Life can only be lived by your own choices. Maybe I'm strange, but I can't even begin to think why I would compare my choices to someone else's.

golforge said:

Really? So you're telling me that steak you ate at Ponderosa is as good as the one I enjoyed at Ruth Chris'. OK.

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So true, and funny, I grew up with ponderosa but now you have to go south to enjoy lining up.

Mable said:

It is a status thing. Has nothing to do with value for money, taste or quality. You need your nose way up in the air and more money than brains.

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It is the same thing in terms of what ends up coming out the other end into the toilet, how it enters dictates the prices. Status is king in the consumer world, including buying food, clothes, cars, sex.....

I like to indulge in heading out to a really good restaurant from time to time. Yes, it can be expensive, but I do find that the experience is usually worth the high dollars.

In Toronto, I have been to Momofuku Shoto and Kaji several times. Both are tasting menus, which I like because it offers me the opportunity to sample food I might not have tried otherwise. Usually the bill for 2 people is $400.00 to $500.00 all in. I have read and heard about Alo on Spadina, however, it seems impossible to make a reservation. Is it worth is? To me it is. It's not something I do all the time, but I do look forward to going once the reservation has been made and I can honestly say I've always had from a really good to outstanding meals every time.

When I'm just looking for a nice night out, with an excellent meal, there are several restaurants in Toronto that I frequent where the bill will run around $200.00 for 2 people.

The most expensive meal I've ever had in my life was Nobu in Las Vegas. It was eye watering expensive, but that was because the other couple I was with was ordering high end sake like it was going out of style. (And I picked up 100 percent of the tab.)

The most expensive restaurant I ever considered, but passed on, was in Florence. It was a 3 star Michelin joint where the tasting menu (without wine or service) was about $400.00 per person. That seemed over the top to me. But I did consider it as a "once in a lifetime" thing.

A Chevy cruz will get you A to B just like a Jaguar F Type. Same like Red lobster will fill your belly just like Momofuku Shoto. But saying it's the same thing is absurd.

Mable said:

It is a status thing. Has nothing to do with value for money, taste or quality. You need your nose way up in the air and more money than brains.

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Hahaha. You're making comments about things you seem to have never done. It's like a virgin talking about anything to do with sex.

Two examples:

Kaji Sushi Toronto ($130 for the tasting menu) has sushi that tastes about a million times better than your average sushi place.

Eleven Madison Park New York ($295 usd per person) has a dining experience that is incredible. From the service to the way they combine ingredients to create unique flavours.

Good doesn't always mean expensive. Their are some great inexpensive food places in Toronto.

Oh well, you won't understand until you try it. But you won't try it as you've already made up your mind.

golforge said:

Really? So you're telling me that steak you ate at Ponderosa is as good as the one I enjoyed at Ruth Chris'. OK.

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I do not know. Maybe. I have never been at that establishment. Last year I was at a very high end steak house and sent back 3 steaks. Terrible. Ponderosa is not in Ottawa, but when it was I do not recall ever sending anything back. But, then it was a buffet. Somewhat of a different niche.

Mable said:

I do not know. Maybe. I have never been at that establishment. Last year I was at a very high end steak house and sent back 3 steaks. Terrible. Ponderosa is not in Ottawa, but when it was I do not recall ever sending anything back. But, then it was a buffet. Somewhat of a different niche.

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I'm calling bullshit on this one. No-one EVER sends a steak back 3 times at high end steakhouse. Sorry. (Unless your idea of a high end steak house is Applebys.)

At WORST, it might on a rare occasion happen once. But not 3 times. That's like being the survivor of a plane crash and you get sent home on the next plane and it crashes too and then you get put on the third plane, and it crashes too. Just doesn't happen.

Bonne Appetite at the Red Lobster.

I find the service at some of the high end places is what the experience is about.

The complaints here are like bashing a $500/h escort by saying they can get off with a $40 backpages bj? If that's what you are into then great but others disagree.

golforge said:

Really? So you're telling me that steak you ate at Ponderosa is as good as the one I enjoyed at Ruth Chris'. OK.

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Probably, Ruth Chris's doesn't impress me much.

The most expensive restaurant I've eaten at is Scaramouche, it was worth it. Unless Susur Lee is the Chef, I'll stick to the tavola calda and the Jewish Deli.

It goes like this:

Greasy spoon burger/souvlaki place
Priortiy 1: Great food, fills you up
Priority 2: Low price
Priority 3: Good service
Priority 4: Clean and nice decor
Priority 5: Not trying to impress people

Super expensive place
Priority 1: Pretentious
Priority 2: Clean and nice decor
Priority 3: Good service
Priority 4: Low price
Priority 5: Great food, fills you up

lomotil said:

It is the same thing in terms of what ends up coming out the other end into the toilet, how it enters dictates the prices. Status is king in the consumer world, including buying food, clothes, cars, sex.....

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And that's unfortunately true. People can spend their money on whatever they like, but higher price doesn't mean better.

It's a laugh how people will buy up certain products at higher prices due to perceived branding and packaging at the companies I worked for, when the actual product isn't really much different than the core product. But people would never see that because they don't see how it's manufactured.

The best is companies making private label store brand. Some companies make unique products and package it in their store labels. Some products are 100% the same and packaged in the store brand label. People would never know unless you worked there, but just about everyone (if asked) would say the branded bag is better when in reality both contents are the same, but just have a different package art.

I have this well off friend who is Argentinan. Big meat eater
His very First trip to Paris he goes to a classy restaurant, orders a meat meal They bring him dinner consisting of a few slivers of vegetables and a very small patch of beef. He laughed, and tells the waiter he's ordering 3 more of those meals. And that he wants them all on one plate

In my mind there is a clear difference between "status" and "experience".

As I get older I value unique experiences more, and will pay more for them. I've done the high-end thing and paid gladly for it when I am sharing the experience with a loved one or special lady. This applies doubly when you're taking someone with you who might not otherwise have the experience if it weren't for you.

KK