Nope. I just don’t get. I honestly can’t say that I do. I personally rarely spend 15$ on a meal at a resteraunt and if I eat if my family, we might spend 50$ at the most.
I KNOW that there’s places that can be expensive, but I figured that would be like 50$ per person or something. But 100$?! 200$? A THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!??? Two Thousand!?
For that amount of money, the resteraunt had better be paved in gold with lobsters caught on Mars and waiters more than willing to provide “other sevices”.
I guess I must be cheap or something, because when I look for a resteraunt to eat at, the first thing I look at is HOW MUCH DOES IT COST!? If I see that a meal could cost more than my usual 12-15$(depending on whether or not I get dessert/appetizers), I DON’T GO THERE and I wouldn’t want to!
I get no joy from eating. It’s what I do to keep from starving to death. Sure, there’s things I like to eat more than other things, but none of them cost a fortune. My taste buds are not the finely-honed instruments some people have. I have a hard time believeing that a $150 meal will satisfy me far more than a $15 meal.
On the other hand, I don’t dig restaurants much at all. For me, a restaurant is a series of waits punctuated by food. Wait to be seated. Wait to order. Wait for food. Wait for check. Wait for receipt. Somewhere in there, eat. I know I’m strange, but a restaurant, to me, is a method for making something that should last about twenty minutes take an hour and a half.
So yeah, it’s all wasted on me. I’m sure the people in the fancy restaurants enjoy eating expensive food and being very important and discriminating diners. If it makes em happy, they don’t hurt me by doing it.
“In Sept. 1997, three diners at Le Gavroche, London, England, spent a record $20,945.92 on one meal. Only $345.92 went on food; cigars and liquor accounted for $1,352 and the remaining $19,248 went on six bottles of wine. The most expensive bottle, a 1985 La Romanée-Conti costing $7,920, proved ‘a bit young,’ so the diners gave it to the restaurant staff.”
You know, they used to decapitate people for spending money like that.
I have to agree with the OP. I also agree with Legomancer except that I enjoy eating (maybe too much!), but not enough to spend more than $15 a meal on a regular basis, even if I could afford to do so. I, too, really hate having to wait for a table, wait to order, wait for the food, wait for the check, wait for water and coffee refills, pay $5 or more for a beer I could get for a buck at a convenience store, and so on.
andros, if most people were like Legomancer, the OP and I, would there even BE expensive restaurants? How could they afford to stay in business if they couldn’t convince people that a $150 meal really was ten times better than a $15 one?
[quote]
[The Petrus restaurant – a self-styled destination for “movers and shakers” in London’s St. James’s district – released details of the bill to the media after the meal last July. But on Tuesday night, staff at the lush, low-key dining room said politely but firmly that they were not allowed to speak to the media about this issue.
The party spent 44,007 pounds – $62,679 – most of it on wine, including a bottle of 1945 Chateau Petrus Bordeaux priced at $16,500; a $13,400 bottle of the 1946 vintage; and a bottle of the 1947 Petrus at $17,500. The dessert wine cost $13,100.
Jab m’man, most people are like y’all. What, you think Wolfgang Puck is counting on people like us to pay his bills?
As long as the wealthy have too much money to spend, there will be a $25 foie gras appetizer.
As long as suits wish to impress other suits, there will be a $50 tapas plate.
As long as the Beautiful People wish to see and be seen, there will be a $75 lobster thermidor.
As long as a rock star wants to get a model into bed with him, there will be a $40 creme brulee with a $10 cup of Jamaica Blue Mountain.
Yes, to a certain degree it’s about the food, or about the vintage. But for most of the folks who eat at 44 or BybLos it’s the scene, the spending, the company, and they don’t even pretend it’s the food they’re after.
Then again, andros, there are people like me, too, who are willing to order a foie gras appetizer because they like foie gras, and it doesn’t come cheap. Who enjoy the wonderfully complex taste of truffles, even if they can’t afford to buy one more than once in a great while. People who might be willing to spend twice as much for a cup of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee because, to them, it’s twice as good.
Of course, there are other people like, I suspect some of those reading this thread, who are willing to walk into a Hops and spend $13.50 on crap. Or an Applebee’s and do the same. Or any of the other nationwide chain restaurants that serve you bland, low-quality food for what you could be eating exciting high-quality food for.
And yes, once in a while I like to spend $70 on a bottle of wine in a restaurant. So do many many other people. We’re not all schmoes trying to impress someone. Some, dare I say most, of us are people who enjoy good, interesting food prepared by some of the most underrated artists out there: chefs.
A lot depends on the restaurant in question, too. In my life, I’ve spent more than $100 on a dinner for two exactly twice.
The first time, we were in a resort-y place and were just appalled at what they charged us extra for ($5 for a baked potato?), weren’t pleased at all with the service, and the food was nothing that I couldn’t have made at least as well myself for about a third of the cost.
The second time was pure heaven. We had a reservation, so we got seated right away. They immediately had a veggie tray on our table and took our drink orders. As soon as we were done with the veggies, the bread came and they took our order. As soon as we were done with the bread, the salad/soup course came. As soon as we were done with that, the main course came, and as soon as we were done with that, the desert and the recipt came. Each course was good to excellent, and we ended up eating for about a half hour straight.
So, yes, there are some places where it really is worth it to spend the extra money there.
I agree with Necros. I do not think moderately expensive food is being consumed primarily to impess other people; I think the majority of it is enjoyed by people like Necros (and me) who truly think exceptional food is worth the money, or people who like good food and have so much money it is the equivalent of a Wendy’s 99 cent value meal. For me, the seven or five course dégustation at Everest or Ambria is damn well worth every penny; it brings me more happiness than a hundred cheap burgers, so it is a fair trade-off, IMHO.
I have no problem with spending money on special occassions. I’d like to make that clear.
I can see 100$ in certain areas and depending on what you get. But, anything more than that? I’m sorry, I’m going to question it.
And I frankly don’t give a shit if the expensive restraunts don’t “miss me”. I’m sorry if I like to save my money as often as possible. I’m sorry if I like something as good (TO ME) as possible while spending the least amount of money. :b
“So yeah, it’s all wasted on me. I’m sure the people in the fancy restaurants enjoy eating expensive food and being very important and discriminating diners. If it makes em happy, they don’t hurt me by doing it.”
Which is how I see it. However, I LOVE to eat!
"Of course, there are other people like, I suspect some of those reading this thread, who are willing to walk into a Hops and spend $13.50 on crap. "
But they don’t see it as “crap” though. Like, I don’t consider say Chili’s to be crap at ALL! Nor some of the other places I go when I ever decide to go out to eat. I haven’t been to Applebee’s in AGES though. Oh I know! Because I don’t like Applebee’s very much. Heee!
The most expensive places I’ve been to are generally the sea food areas in Destin, FL. So I’m able to understand like 50-75$ per person and I could afford to be less inquisitive about 100$ meals given that it costs quite a bit to make certain foods and they’re not THAT overcharged as people think(I still think that could be a bit much though, which is why I included it in my rant). But, like I said, anything else, I’m going to question.
And I barely eat at fast food places anymore. I recently found out that THEY overcharge more than the high priced places!!
Ever eaten at a resturaunt like that? Try Vongs in Chicago. I ate there once with my aunt. For 65 bucks a plate, you get seven courses. If you don’t like how something is done, it gets sent back and redone until perfect. As soon as your drink runs low, it is refilled. You are served duck, lobster, tuna, fancy deserts and crab. The waitstaff is excellent and attentive to your needs. Believe me, money does buy good food and good service. If that isn’t your thing though, pass. There are plenty of people to fill the niche.
What I want to know is this. For the people who think that anything under $50/plate is crap, and who have the refined taste buds to know the difference between a $500 bottle of wine and a $20 one, my question to you is: How do you make it through the day? I assume you don’t dine on this manna all day long, so how are you able to tolerate inferior food in-between gourmet dining experiences? How do you choke down the suboptimal food that your friends or relatives might prepare for you?
“Ever eaten at a resturaunt like that? Try Vongs in Chicago. I ate there once with my aunt. For 65 bucks a plate, you get seven courses.”
Like I said, 65$ might be more expensive than say 13.00, but I wouldn’t make a rant about that. My parents tend to eat at similar places on certain occasions and some of the places were WONDERFUL and others weren’t. As for me, I don’t out all that often, so my expriance, admitdly is limited to the Destin area restraunts that can be pricey, but not over 200$ a person and certainly not in the thousands!
“If you don’t like how something is done, it gets sent back and redone until perfect. As soon as your drink runs low, it is refilled.”
Well…I’ve gotten that at bar and grills. heeheheh…
