Most expensive meal you've ever had?

[sarah]

125.00 at a Steak House in Washington D C. What made it memorable was the company

[Goldy1]

I was about 21 years old and invited on a casual date by a businessman a few years my elder.
IT was at the Golden Mushroom in metro Detroit. The place is now defunct due to the economy. It was 4 star I believe.
I remember calling the restaurant in advance to ask if they had any vegetarin entree options. (I was vegetarian at the time, but no longer am) They did have one.
I remember getting there and feeling uncomfortable with the valet parking. (I met him there)
He ordered expensive caviar. (I hated it) I also don't care for mushrooms and we had an assortment of rare ones for a starter.
It was a very pleasant and memorable meal due ot the abviance and conversation. I don't remember the entree much though

I miss dating sometimes(not being spent money on, but I love talking) lol

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

My most expensive meal was about USD3000 in a top class restaurant in Shanghai.

Goodness! What was it --hummingbird tongues and creamed rhinoceros horn?

[GREENBACK]

Goodness! What was it --hummingbird tongues and creamed rhinoceros horn?

Lol... it was more likely bear gallbladder and raw snakes blood. This is real stuff over there and is very expensive but supposedly cranks up the libido.

A'int no way.

[mom-from-missouri]

We had a dinner my husbands work sponsored at a fancy place in Kansas City. It was around $125 a person. And we left hungry because the portions were so small. We stopped at Sonic on the way home....and met several of his coworkers and their wives doing the same thing. Needless to say, the dinner was moved to a different place the next year.

[jasonnoguchi]

Goodness! What was it --hummingbird tongues and creamed rhinoceros horn?

You won't believe it, it was nothing exotic at all. In fact, I can't name 90% of dishes and the whole table was filled with like over 20 dishes; some fishes, some meat, some vegetables etc... incredibly, there were no abalone nor sharksfin. I just had them bring up all their best dishes and it worked out to that amount. Apparently, the fish that was nothing more than steamed alone costs about USD500. Said its some rare fish or what.

[KTP]

I *almost* had a very expensive meal :-)

We were in vegas and noticed one of the only michelin rated 3 star restaurants in the MGM....at about $400 per person I think.

I made a half joke that if I won the $25 buy in poker tournament at the luxor I would treat us to this place (having never eaten in even a 1 or 2 michelin star)

Believe it or not I beat out 70 other players to win the texas holdem tournament...was paid about $590 for first place. Long story short, we decided to keep the $590 and ate for about $20 a person somewhere else instead :-)

[Pitman]

This is probably my "cheap" side coming out, but I'll never understand why people would spend over $100 for a meal when the portions are so small, and unfulfilling. I went to an "upscale" restaurant, and the prices were and small servings left my stomach . After that experience, I told myself I'd rather spend $20 on a full solid meal from a "hole in a wall" restaurant that serves excellent food, then spend hundreds in these so called top Zagat places, and leave just as hungry as I came in.

FYI- when I say "hole in a wall", I mean a place that doesn't look like anything from the outside, but inside is a whole different story, and the food my goodness the food is perfection. I highly recommend "Ripe Caribbean Restaurant" located in Mount Vernon for all my Westchester/NYC members. If you want "upscale" approval, it has been featured on the food network dozens of times.

Just my $.02

[disneysteve]

This is probably my "cheap" side coming out, but I'll never understand why people would spend over $100 for a meal when the portions are so small, and unfulfilling.

Pitman, I agree with you. I wouldn't want to spend $100 or more for a meal that was small and unfulfilling either. The expensive meals I've had and have referred to in this thread were top notch, excellent feasts. I absolutely didn't walk away hungry from any of them. They were truly memorable experiences that you simply couldn't replicate anywhere for $20.

Absolutely nothing wrong with the "hole in the wall" places. That describes some of our most favorite restaurants that we visit frequently.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

My hole in the wall places keep closing. Y'all please support your local hole in the wall! Go out and look for one if you don't know of one. A good idea is to look for an ethnic one.

[disneysteve]

My hole in the wall places keep closing. Y'all please support your local hole in the wall! Go out and look for one if you don't know of one. A good idea is to look for an ethnic one.

We've had some trouble with that around here. The problem is these big national chains move in and even though they have inferior food and inferior service, they have the name recognition marketing muscle to draw people in. There used to be a truly excellent Greek seafood restaurant near us. They were wonderful. Great service. Very friendly. Servers were extremely knowledgeable and would describe each dish in great detail. If you told them the types of fish you liked, they would recommend things on the menu that you would enjoy. They served all fresh fish flown in daily from the Mediterranean region.

A McCormick and Schmick seafood place opened across the street. Within a few months, the independent place, which had been there for a few years, was closed. I've eaten at McCormick and Schmick one time. It was lousy. The shrimp was dry and inedible. The salmon was burnt. I would never go back there. I don't care how many locations they have.

Give me the independent chef or family-owned place any day.

[elessar78]

Probably around $130. Steakhouse, wine, dessert, and tip. I wouldn't say that was too bad and def not a regular thing. I think I've paid for 2 meals like that in my life.

[GREENBACK]

We've had some trouble with that around here. The problem is these big national chains move in and even though they have inferior food and inferior service, they have the name recognition marketing muscle to draw people in. There used to be a truly excellent Greek seafood restaurant near us. They were wonderful. Great service. Very friendly. Servers were extremely knowledgeable and would describe each dish in great detail. If you told them the types of fish you liked, they would recommend things on the menu that you would enjoy. They served all fresh fish flown in daily from the Mediterranean region.

A McCormick and Schmick seafood place opened across the street. Within a few months, the independent place, which had been there for a few years, was closed. I've eaten at McCormick and Schmick one time. It was lousy. The shrimp was dry and inedible. The salmon was burnt. I would never go back there. I don't care how many locations they have.

Give me the independent chef or family-owned place any day.

This stuff is a major issue in my area. My community is demographically diverse and is a great testing ground for the chain restaurants. There is one of everything here. When I moved here nearly 20 yrs. ago it wasn't quite that way and most restaurants were essentially Mom and Pops. No more. I've seen a ton of places go out of buisness thanks to the chains.

I use to eat at a lot of these places as much for the atmoshere as the food but that is now a thing of the past. There are only a couple of them left and I try to patronize them as much as possible.

[disneysteve]

This stuff is a major issue in my area. My community is demographically diverse and is a great testing ground for the chain restaurants. There is one of everything here. When I moved here nearly 20 yrs. ago it wasn't quite that way and most restaurants were essentially Mom and Pops. No more. I've seen a ton of places go out of buisness thanks to the chains.

I use to eat at a lot of these places as much for the atmoshere as the food but that is now a thing of the past. There are only a couple of them left and I try to patronize them as much as possible.

It really is a shame. We're slowly losing the local flavor and regional dishes. Food in New Jersey shouldn't be identical to the food in Texas or California or South Dakota or Tennessee. Years ago, it wasn't like the way it is now. Everything is getting homogenized. Unfortunately, lots of people seem to like it that way. When they travel, they take comfort in eating at the same lousy chain restaurants they eat at when they are home - Chili's, Applebee's, Friday's, Olive Garden, McDonald's, etc. They apparently have no interest in trying new things or having new experiences when it comes to dining. Personally, we think that is an important part of travel.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Homogeneity gets to be downright grotesque when it comes to food. A couple of times I have seen a commercial for "gourmet Italian" sandwiches at some national chain restaurant. On screen they show two hamburgers! One of them has breaded, deep-fried, mozzarella sticks on it. Excuse me, that is not gourmet, that is disgusting overindulgence! Do that in the privacy of your own home, if you must, but please don't televise it and call it "gourmet." Thank goodness I do not have a large screen TV. Gag.