In the high-end restaurants I’m talking about, you’re paying for both. Unfortunately it seems like there’s a fair bit of restaurants out there sailing along on atmosphere and reputation alone.
Ruth Reichl - food critic for the NYTimes for many years - has a really interesting book out called “Garlic and Sapphires.” She talks about going to some really high-end places both in disguise and as herself (any restaurant worth the money knew who she was). Reading how she was dissed as a nobody versus how she was treated when recognized is really entertaining.
Yes often enough. I am also the cook of our household, and get a little bored of cooking sometimes. But my husband thinks that the best food he has ever eaten was at home, and we’ve had a lot of fine dining because of work or just being out and about and hungry. I don’t dress up to eat at high end restaurants; it is just what’s in the area and what we feel like eating. I’d rather go to my hole in the wall Pakistani restaurant than to Trader Vics if I had a choice. Location and what restaurants are there, how hungry we are and what we feel like eating are the only factors that come into play when selecting where we eat. I hate dressing up and so does the hubby. Actually I only dressed up once in a dress to a restaurant and felt very shy and foolish being dressed up. I was in the space needle restaurant on a date. I am suspect of ordering a chef’s tasting though and prefer to order from the menu.
I used to go all the time for work, I miss those days. I changed jobs and I’m not so much on the “wine and dine” side of things any more, so alas! my Ducasse days are over.
Mr. Del and I are not as inclined to go to high-end restaurants socially, it’s not his thing. Also, he doesn’t drink, and while I’m sure that it’s completely possible to enjoy some of these places to the fullest extent without wine, not to mention apertifs and digestifs, for me it’s a key part of the experience.
I go maybe once a year and, honestly, I’ve never been to one that’s been worth the price. (Actually, I lie. One place in Hungary–Kepiro–was worth it. The quintessential fine dining restaurant there, where all the foreign dignitaries go when they visit is the Gundel. I’ve been there three times and found it very disappointing all three times) I find myself gravitating much more towards the $20-$30 per entree places rather than the $50-$75 joints. I really don’t give a shit about the atmosphere. I like casual classy restaurants, if that makes any sense.
Other classy joints around here I’ve been to, like The Pump Room or Gibsons, were very mediocre, especially given the price. I seem to have much better luck finding mid-range restaurants than pricey ones.
However, I’d be more than willing to spend a couple hundred bucks at the French Laundry, just to see what it’s like.
DC has some pretty nice places as well. I’m much more of a hole in the wall type of diner but for a more upscale type of place, Poste at the Hotel Monaco was nice. Plus, DC has a good number of fairly expensive well reviewed restaurants. Its not all just steakhouses for the lobbyists.
Here is a link to Washington Magazine’s Restaurant page. If you want fancy click on the link for 100 best restaurants and you should find what you are looking for.
For me, I occasionally eat at high end places. I do tend to avoid chain restaurants since I prefer true hole in the walls.
Funny, I quit being a hard-working for low pay chef to get a techie job.
And to answer the OP - I love eating at high end, dress up, 4 different servers for your table restaurants.
I’m not a big fan. While I do like new and exciting foods my favorites usually end up being entrees that are in the $14-$23 range.
Places in the Twin Cities like GraniteCity, Redstone for lunch, Brits
Orlando- Cafe TuTuTango, Wolfgang Pucks, Bahama Breeze
are more my liking.
Once you get up into the $35-$45 entrees, I’ve never been much impressed.
Absolutely. Especially when I go into NYC for theatre or whatever. I mourn the passing of Lutece.
I haven’t been to any of the REEEEEEELY high end stuff - Le Grenouille, Daniel, etc., but I do love the Four Seasons.
The best part is you don’t have the screeching, whining, dervish-like kids you encounter at “family friendly” restaurants. I’ve only encountered well-behaved kids (translation - mindful parents) at the higher-end restaurants.
lno, you need to call Goodfellows. IIRC, there is a day where they open the calendar for all of next year. I don’t know what day that is (if you call, they will tell you). Be ready to call that day - and I think quite early. Its a challenging table to get. I don’t think its available each night. But its a great experience.
Twin Cities, I’ve been to the following pretty often: Murray’s, Morton’s, Manny’s, St Paul Grill, Table of Contents (sadly R.I.P.), Vincent’s, Schumacher’s (again, R.I.P.).
I still have plans on going to La Belle Vie and Lake Elmo Inn but haven’t been to either yet.
My friend just showed me that Vincent’s has a prix fixe bistro menu which is “only” $32 for three courses M-TH. So, I’m gonna have to go back.
Then again, I also went home for lunch a nuked a hot dog. To me, it’s not the dressing up part, but the food that’s more important.
That’s something else I like about Vegas. I never take a suit and tie with me, but you can get into some fairly nice restaurants there in casual dress. I don’t know that I’ve ever been to a ultra high-end joint, but some places with a guy that stands there ready to fill your water glass after every sip, umpteen waiters, that sort of stuff.
I forget who mentioned not wanting to try the chef’s tasting menu, but I have to try to encourage you to do so.
On business (once…I still don’t know how we talked Finance into taking this bill…), we once took a valued client to Charlie Trotters. There were 4 of us, and my boss (a real foodie, if ever there was one) made us all get the 7-course degustation. It was the single most interesting (and tasty) experience my tongue’s ever been treated to. We had the sommelier do the wine pairings, had the pastry chef out to yap at us, and even had a going-away gift (well…so did everyone) of chocolates and petit-fours.
While I will admit I felt a little out-of-place from a food-knowledge perspective, I never got the impression from the wait staff that I was an idiot with my questions (I have a severe seafood allergy, and I must have asked about each dish). After course three (with my question), my next course had a hand-written note from Trotter himself (I assume…I didn’t see him write it) telling me to “not worry about the seafood…I’m on it”. I still have the card.
While I doubt I’d go back on my own dime (outside of a 25th wedding anniversary or something), it was a real memorable experience. If there are any truly flush foodies on the SDMB, let me recommend it as being worth the hype. Get your res now, though…I think they’re 6 months out now.
I love going to high-end places and used to go 3-5 times per month; alas, those days are in the past. Although I still probably go several times per year. Mostly in and around Boston -
No. 9 Park
Maison Robert (now closed)
Dining Room at the “old” Ritz Carlton (now closed)
Aujourd’hui (at the Four Seasons)
Hammerley’s Bistro
Grill 23
Olives (atmosphere is low-end; food is heavenly)
Lydia Shire’s places - Pignoli (closed), Biba (closed), Locke-Ober, Excelsior (haven’t been yet)
The one reeeeaaally high-end place I’d like to go in Boston is L’Espalier - probably the most expensive and best restaurant here. Somehow I’ve never made it in 15 years. Anyone interested? It’s about $150-$200 per person. I’ve know a lot of people who have gone and nobody, ever, has said it wasn’t worth it. I guess you’d have to be a foodie though to want to spend that much.
I like lower-end places too but there’s nothing like fine food and service by people who really know what they’re doing.
I’ve never been to a high-end restaurant, at least the kind where one dresses up. My idea of fine dining is The Keg and Canyon Creek Chophouse. For a long time I was too broke, but I always found the idea intimidating and out of my league. I put it in the same category as dating a rich well-dressed woman.
I did once spend an afternoon in the tearoom at the Hotel Intercontinental in Toronto though. I don’t know how that counts on the high-end-ness scale, but I found it uncomfortable. Possibly going in there in normal street clothes had something to do with it: I felt like a grotesque troll as I advenced across the carpets.
I suspect that Miss Manners would say the the truly good high-end restaurant works to make the customer feel comfortable.
For a long time I was too broke, but I always found the idea intimidating and out of my league. I put it in the same category as dating a rich well-dressed woman.