How much is too much for dinner?

[Tenacious_D]

O.k. I should preface this by saying DH and I are a bit of food snobs, we have no kids and SO FAR a reasonable amount of debt....

DH and I and his old HS buddy went to the French Laundry when we were out in San Francisco last year and the bill for three people was.... $1,125.00 AHHHH! I never told my parents how much the bill was. The food was unlike anything I had ever had and the service was incredible. We got to meet the chef Thomas Keller (that part was free )

Anyway, it was a once in a decade sort of meal but boy was it worth it!

What's the most you have ever paid for a dinner?

Oh my goodness!!!!! That is quite the bill.

DH and I are definitely not foodies. When we eat out our bill normally comes to around $40-50 total. An expensive dinner out for us comes to around $70 total. We don't go out to restaurants where the bill is that high very often, because I prefer simpler fare. We also don't order alcohol, so that keeps the bill down. And as a vegetarian, my entree is usually quite cheap (usually pasta).

[MissCrabette]

Yikes!
The most expensive dinner I ever had came to a little over $100 per person. The only reason we even went there was because I had gift certificates that covered 90% of the cost.

Re: How much is too much for dinner?

The food was unlike anything I had ever had and the service was incredible.

I am curious about the costs of the individual entrees and why it's so expensive. What was the food like?

[alison]

Wow, Danielle! That's our rent for one month!
For three people?!

I think the most we've spent is $600 for 4 people.

When we are in Seattle, my parents like to take me/us out for seafood. Dh couldn't believe that we were ordering oysters depending on which bay they came from.

I prefer quality over portion size, but my limit is in the 3 digits.

[Tenacious_D]

A little background: The French Laundry is called the best restaurant in the world by a lot of critics. In order to get reservations, you must call two months prior to the day you want to eat there and when you call the phone is always busy. I had to use my cell phone and work phone to get through. There are about 15-20 tables in the whole restaurant which is in a beautiful cottage.

The webiste link has the menu: http://www.frenchlaundry.com/tfl/tflmenu.htm

It's a $210 price fixe per person not including wine but we wanted the entire experience. I still have dreams about the food we ate. :yum: this emoticon can't do it justice.

Wow! Did that include wine? I'm sure it was an incredible meal. ETA -- I've heard about the reservation policy. A friend was trying to get reservations for his parents anniversary (a gift in itself!) and it took weeks.


I think the most we have spent is around $250 for the two of us.

[DCJenn]

Not to worry Danielle- I'm right there with you- I think we've had two dinners (for four people) that ended up about 800 bucks.

Well, well worth it since we're still talking about them years later.

(Le Reve here in San Antonio, and Minibar at Cafe Atlantico in DC)

Jenn

(ETA: I just asked Rick and he said that one of the two (Minibar) was 800 bucks a couple. But we did have one bottle of champagne and two bottles of wine and port) (and we cabbed to and fro)

One thing I tend not to like about "fancy" restaurants is that the portions are tiny--and they're super expensive. Then I leave hungry.

[PrincessFiona]

I still buy christmas decorations from goodwill

I can't imagine any food would be worth that to me.

The most dh and I have spent is at a special place here that serves spendy meals...and the most we've paid is ~150.

For that kind of money I'd insist they throw in some lipo too. :>

kris

[MissCrabette]

Another thing that annoys me is the dress code that some restaurants have. I love dressing up and I don't just do it because of a coat and tie dress policy. But it annoys me to no end when some schmoe gets in wearing shorts and flip flops just because he's made of money.

[Tenacious_D]

One thing I tend not to like about "fancy" restaurants is that the portions are tiny--and they're super expensive. Then I leave hungry.

I thought we would too but the tasting menu really fills you up and the food at the end kept coming...I couldn't believe it.

[SuzySunshine]

We are foodies as well! When we lived in Palo Alto I met someone that knew the chef of the French Laundry and was getting us reservations before we left CA, however he decided to open his NY restaurant at that time and closed the FL for like the last two months we lived in CA, I was SO pissed. But we will go there someday, I guarantee it.

I'm not sure I can give you an exact number. We ate at Bistro Don Giavanni's in Napa one year and order a $300+ bottle of wine, you should have seen the look on the waiter's face when we ordered it. We were 25ish at the time and he probably thought we were totally kidding or were going to walk out on our bill. I worked for a great company in CA and we had sales goals, when we hit them the whole company got trips (like 8-12 people plus spouses). We went to Maui, twice. We stayed at a resort in Sonoma (hence the BDG dinner) and we were given an expense account for the trip. Most other couples spent theirs on massages, etc. but not us - like I said we're foodies and spent pretty much our entire expense account on two nights out.

Another expensive dinner was at the Princeville Resort in Kauai on our honeymoon, it was to DIE for. The wine was excellent, the lava cake was the best ever and we got to eat it on the terrace watching the sunset. Of course the in-laws paid for that one b/c we charged it to our room.

A good dinner out is a great way to recharge in DH & I's opinion. We of course don't do it as much now but when we're done with training food and wine will definitely be one of our common extras.

[DCJenn]

I agree. We count eating at fabulous restaurants as our hobby. We don't do it but maybe once a year these days (and I guess I'd better get the Fab 2007 planned SOON) but they're so worth the experience- if you're a foodie/wino.

Minibar is great- it was 30 different tastings- (ergo the "mini" part of mini bar) and you sit at a copper bar that seats SIX and the chefs prepare the food for you. It was GREAT.

I think I'll try to get us into Le Reve before he heads off to the desert.

Jenn

[mommax3]

We have spent over $150 for the two of us four or five times.....and our alcohol consumption is non-existent to low, so most of that is going to food. I agree that a nice dinner out is a great way to re-charge.

Sally