Posted on 12/08/2013 9:57:30 AM PST by Kip Russell
Determining which restaurants in the nation offer the steepest prices is a tricky task. Most of the restaurants on this list serve the rarest, most premium, and freshest ingredients available, from kitchens run by chefs with expert levels of craftsmanship and artistry, in dining rooms with an exceptional quality of service provided by the front of house staff. But regardless of the justifications, the fact remains that the restaurants on this list are outrageously pricey.
To arrive at the top 25 we compiled a list of restaurants commonly known for being outrageously expensive (such as Masa, which is known for its $450 per person omakase menu). We started by first pulling data from The Daily Meal's 101 Best Restaurants in America for 2012, and then expanded the research to include a more comprehensive spectrum of fine dining restaurants across the country. From there we gathered data compiled by Bundle.com (a site that tracks average customer spending at restaurants) and Zagat's price ratings - finally, once the list was narrowed down to 50 restaurants, we contacted each one and asked a series of questions, such as their average party size, the percentage of diners that choose the tasting menu (where applicable), and what the average bill totals. From there, we ranked the top 25.
Of course, there are exceptions to consider. Some restaurants are known for offering a particularly expensive tasting menu based on seasonal ingredients. For instance, Spiaggia in Chicago offers a truffle tasting menu each December that costs $295 per person. However, during the rest of the year their tasting menu costs $90 a head (not pricey enough to land a spot on this list).
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FReepers have fancy folks of their own.. I’ve been to 2 of them, and I must say they were both expensive and worthy.. Just to enforce the guidelines for a high rating of the major gourmet organizations, to be rated is exorbitant, to say the least..
I owned 4 of the most highly rated restaurants in the US during the 70’s and 80’s.. Le Pavillon, Houston, New York, and Elan’s, Houston, Dallas.. Each Restaurant had Master Chefs, and European waitstaff, with a wine cellar that was unequaled anywhere in the world..
Both Le Pavillon, had 12 strolling Violins and fireplaces in several rooms, average entree was $75.00 .. We had 10 Elan’s, and each were private Club, Discos, with thousands of members, at $1000 per year cost, dining was pricy as well..
A lot of people have that reaction; not me, I've been a Disneyphile since I was a kid.
Vegas affects me the same way, fake, Disney with booze and hookers.
You can get booze at most restaurants in Disney World, the Magic Kingdom being the exception...although the new "Be Our Guest" restaurant in Fantasyland is the exception to the exception.
Did you ever dine at the Quilted Giraffe during its heyday?
Do you remember when there was only one or two locations - I think the main one was in Charles Square? You would wait at community tables on the second floor and watch a giant chalkboard. As fresh fish/seafood came in, a waitress would write it on the board; as Legal ran out of that item, a waitress would scratch it off and those who had been waiting on it would moan.
At the same time, in the late 1970s, there was a place called No Name Seafood, down in an industrial area off one of the piers. There was no sign; the door was a beaten and rusted metal door, one of many in a large, unlit potholed parking lot.
When you opened that one special door, you were in a large, loud room comparable to Legal Seafood.
New Orleans restaurants are all for tourists. If you want the best restaurants in the nation, come about 100 miles or so west on I-10 to Lafayette...
If you eat at these places, you likely have all the guns and ammo and vehicles that you want to begin with...Those are for people who have nothing left to spend their money on...
I do a lot of gilding on my artwork with 23K gold leaf: same stuff fancy chefs use and same stuff suspended in Goldschläger. I've eaten quite a few scraps of it over the years. It is entirely flavorless. You wouldn't know it was in your mouth unless you looked in a mirror.
While it's not exactly cheap, it's not as expensive as one might think either (it's hammered very, very thin) and about the only reason I can think of adding it to a dish is to make it look like something the consumer thinks they really ought to be paying a whole lot for.
I remember the No Name very well. Used to go there frequently as well as Anthony's Pier 4 and Jimmy's which were all on the same street. I think they are all shut down now as they are completely rebuilding that entire area.
Real dogs don't grow that long...
You eat at In N Out for a buck?
Sounds likt The Alchemist in Princeton.
Joe, I can’t agree. For many years we visited New Orleans, not as tourists, but as friends of people who lived there. We visited in their homes and ate in their favorite restaurants, which were most often, not famous places. The best meal I ever had was “Across the Lake” in a little shotgun building with Formica topped tables.It was on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain.
We have about 5 or 6 places just like that every block in Lafayette, each one serving better food than the last :-)
I don’t doubt that. The same food is there to prepare. Aren’t there a lot of Vietnamese there? I love their food.
A lot of Vietnamese moved into the shrimping industry and are in the more coastal areas just south of here. Lafayette has traditionally been more petro-industry oriented, as well as the heart of Cajun country.
Nope. I doubt I ever will.
That looks like an Allen Brothers (specialty meat provider) ribeye steak.
There is a pretty neat little place in Mandeville, over on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain called, “Rips.” Makes for a nice stop after spending a day at Fontainbleau State Park....
My friend and his sister built a very nice vacation home not too far from Mandeville and over the years I got to spend a lot of time there. I believe former Governor, Earl Long spent some time in Mandeville, too.
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