America's 10 Most Expensive Restaurants

[JoePhilly]

38. Scary thread ... how much is too much for dinner?

Back in 1990, on our honeymoon, in Barbados, my wife and I spent more than $100 just for dinner. That included the bottle of wine. And it was the most we'd ever spent for dinner.

By our 5th anniversary, we'd found a very small French restaurant in Raleigh. There we broke the $200 level. Of course dinner at that restaurant (Tartines) was a 4-5 hour activity. The restaurant had maybe 15 tables, and there was no rush what so ever. Bread. Wine. Unique Appetizers. Wine. Salad. Wine. Duck. Lamb. Venison. Wine ... then Dessert. We'd stay so long that the staff would join us and we'd discuss french and US politics.

I can see paying big numbers for a dinner in where it is the evening. The meal is not rushed.

But I'm not into the "you have to pay because you came here" nonsense. At a conference I ended up in Shula's restaurant in Orlando. You get to pay for a giant steak that a full grown lion could not finish. And you're at a conference, so its not like you can take a to-go bag. Wine is way over priced, so is the meat ... and the veggies. And yet its supposed to be a great place to go. Total BS.