"Behind disdain for extravagance is always envy. They may not envy the thing, but the ability to buy the thing on a lark."
True but don't forget another angle on this, men naturally deride a man that suckers third man's scam. No man wants to play the fool regardless of how little it effects his wealth. I'll bet more than a few girls that ate this, thought the guy was a loser for buying it for them.
In truth, the thing is a publicity gimmick. Serendipity isn't a bad place. It was one of Warhol's hang outs when he first hit NYC. It's not ridiculously expensive. Very quaint and a little precious, but they don't care if you hang out for an hour or two drinking coffee and talking...
Sssshhhh.....girls' deep dark secret....guys who flash money around are fakers.
Guys who really have money don't flash it, b/c they don't want girls to love them just for their money.