Not trying to be a snob, but that isn’t really in the same league as the restaurants the OP is discussing.
Or, if it is, then the answer to her question is “false”.
Trust me, I am none of the things you mention. I did go to Tru once, though - my BF at the time had a lot of very wealthy clients, and one of them gave him a gift certificate to Tru as a holiday bonus, with strict orders to take me there. She knew I was a foodie and would thoroughly enjoy the experience, though. Nice lady. (Can’t say as much for the ex, though.)
It was an experience I’m glad I had, and I was certainly not hungry at the end of the meal. I wouldn’t spend my own money to go there specifically again, though I reserve the possibility that there is some other restaurant of that caliber that I’d be willing to splurge on at some point in the future. And I sure as hell ain’t rich - but I do scrimp on many, many things so I can splurge once in a while on something I consider worth it. Food does fall in that category now and again.
Just FYI, Gand is the pastry chef at Tru. The executive chef is Rick Tramonto, who is generally considered to do really excellent work.
My sister and her husband eat at the kind of high end restaurants I think we’re talking about in this thread, mainly in Manhattan, a few times a year. For most of them they have to make a reservation well in advance. They don’t just look at eachother and say “Man, I’m hungry, let’s go to Per Se.”
They are often served what seem like tiny portions. When she’s describing them it is clear that there are tiny portions that are so sublimely creative she’ll still be thinking about them weeks and months later. If she says “it was elf food” I know it was small and not so special.
They both sound good! But I think that’s a cylinder (prism?) of pineapple.
Most of which seems like an elaborate, centuries-long practical joke on the rest of the world.
Presumably any place charging that much for a meal would have superbly trained wait staff who would explain how one consumes each dish.
Not any more! It’s caviar on a fennel cream!
Way to spoil the surprise.
No - the surprise is the mousetrap hidden in the fennel cream.
A mousetrap? You wish. Some of the kitchen help are dedicated anarchists and are a bit annoyed by the whole idea of spending more than the yearly earnings of a good portion of the world’s people on a single meal. You really don’t want to know what surprises await you when the cook turns his back.
I quite often take the tasting menu approach when I’m cooking at home for people. I’ve never done a dinner party under 6 courses and the most I’ve done is 22.
I’ve also been to Alinea which was mentioned upthread and it’s important to place Alinea in the context of fine dining. Alinea is all about pushing the boundaries of what it’s possible to do with food. Inventing new techniques of both cooking & serving (which is why some of the service pieces look so weird). It’s intensely brainy food but, at the same time, focused and deeply reasoned. There’s a specific reasoning process behind each technique, and everything is bent towards the process of making food better.
Back in the dot-com era, we opened up an office in Japan. I was the point person in the US side for HQ. After the dignitary filled speechifying in, well, where ever the event was, about 10 if us from the US retired to the sushi bar in our hotel for sushi and drinks.
I happened to be seated next to the CEO, who being ranking picked up the check. No tips in Japan, but in about 1 hour we racked up 15,000 US dollars in sushi and drinks.
We were not hungry anymore but I seem to recall we had some more drinking to do in at the lobby bar.
Good times. 
I recall going to a moderately high end restaurant for a business lunch back in roughly 1989. I ordered the Elk Ravioli.
I got three, count them, three ravioli, about 2" square. In barely enough sauce to cover them, for a price in the mid teens (about $30 in today’s money).
Yes, I was seriously pissed off and left the place hungry.
A point worth considering…
Thats it IMO.
At some point (regarding all things “cultural”) it ceases to be its expensive because it good (due to lots of skill, rare resourcess, whatever) and becomes its “good” because some smart ass charged a bunch for it and laughed all the way to the bank…
dot-com being what it was, that bill was not even 50 shares of stock, of which there were probably about 50,000,000 outstanding at the time. It also was far less than the airfare to bring all of us there from the US and Europe, and certainly way less than the budget for the press event we had just returned from.
And before you leap all over it, that company still exists today almost 10 years later.
Dear Og, I can’t even imagine wanting to spend 7.5 hours sitting at a restaurant table. I would go insane.
And I’m a cook.
That you/somebody had money to burn has nothing to do with the point I made about sometimes IMO it quits being about expensive because its good and becomes “it must be good because its expensive”.
Actually, that you had money to burn implies to me that they could charge more than its “worth” because you folks didnt care about the costs.
If it was great food…well good for you guys then…but it have better been for 1500 a person IMO.
“Not caring about the costs” and “believing it’s worth what they’re charging” are two different things.
At this level, we’re talking food as art. At least in most cases - I’m sure there are situations where restaurants are just expensive because they can get away with it. But let’s assume we’re talking places that are truly attempting to make excellent high end food. There’s a lot that goes into that beyond food & labor costs; El Bulli, for example, widely considered to be the best restaurant in the world, closes for 6 months a year for research and development.
Granted, not many restaurants take it to that extreme. But you are paying for more than just the sum of the parts, much like if you purchase a piece of fine art you’re generally paying more than just the cost of the paint & canvas. In a fine restaurant, you’re paying for the decor, the ambiance, the highly-trained servers, the sommelier, the cost of maintaining the wine cellar, etc. etc.
It’s not for everybody; if you’re just looking for a meal, there are plenty of places that produce really good food for reasonable prices.
I am sure it was not the best sushi in Japan, but it was far far from the worst. And as others have said, the price is not just about the food, it is about the overall experience. This place was there to provide a venue for a certain type of experience, just the type we were after, and they delivered. In essence, it is a tricky minuet between customer and restaurant, but at higher prices, you expect the restaurant to be a better dancer.
Athena said:
If I’m dropping $200, there better be strippers.
Fair enough.
Shalmanese said:
For certain definitions of “better”.
I used to think high-end, arty, expensive restaurants were a waste of time and money, too, until I actually, y’know, went to one.
Hmm. I’ve done moderate, by the standards of this thread, prix fixe dining - $185 per person including a generous wine pairing. I found the portions more than adequate - in the case of the ‘entree’, I thought there was actually too much on the plate, and only ate about a third of my portion.
Very high end? I’m still waiting for someone to agree to go to Per Se with me.
Oh, and I’m not a supermodel or married to Donald Trump. We just like eating.