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Homestory timeThe most expensive meal I will ever eat

The most expensive meal I will ever eat

At 25 years old, I can say with near certainty, I have eaten the most expensive meal I will ever eat in my entire life. EVER. How expensive you ask? One thousand dollars for four people expensive. My family participated in a 9 course, five hour dinner marathon Sunday night at a small restaurant called The Herbfarm. Here are a few pictures of the joint…

And here is an iPhone snapshot of our menu…

There are three things you will notice in the menu. 1. The theme was focused around Salmon. 2. There are a lot of fancy words used to describe each course, most of which I can’t pronounce. 3. There was a glass of wine served with each course…resulting in nine glasses of wine poured…resulting in a lot of drunk old people.

The restaurant seated about 70 people and was completely full. Reservations are required months in advance, and each attendant must pay a $50 security deposit to make a reservation. We made our reservations months ago. Basically, this five diamond restaurant means serious business. The only reason the Ninja clan found themselves seated amongst a bunch of disgustingly rich old people was because of  Groupon. That’s right, Groupon. Apparently, they ran a promotion a few months back and my mom took advantage (she’s kind of a Groupon whore).

I have no idea what else to say about the experience besides it was over the top, weird, but a great adventure. Thanks mom for taking me out to the most expensive meal I will ever have in my entire life. You da bomb dot com.

What’s the most expensive meal you have ever eaten? Would you ever drop $250 on dinner?

p.s. let’s have a moment of silence for all the George Washington’s that sacrificed themselves for the sake of the Ninja families appetite. You will be missed 🙂

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31 COMMENTS

  1. We’re huge huge foodies, but we try to keep it in check (otherwise, I’d be remortgaging the house). About once a year, we go out for a huge splurge dinner- usually somewhere in the vicinity of 400 for two, including wine.

    Interestingly, at that price point, it’s usually incredibly worth it, but so is the super-cheap food like schwarma or tacos from a taco truck. The meals I *really* regret are the 100$ ones. They’re right in the middle of price- just enough for it to hurt- and yet they’re rarely as good as the outliers.

    • It was a nine course dinner. The menu was set, so everything you see there, we ate. Some dishes were awesome, others were too fancy for my simple palette.

    • I have heard an old rule of thumb that if you have to ask for the price then you shouldn’t be eating/shopping there. I guess this was true here too.

    • That is exactly what I was thinking, Kevin. I got a little intimidated myself….I better not show this post to my girlfriend…

  2. Yeah that’s a little outrageous. It’s a special occasion when my wife and I go out and spend $75 on the TWO of us! The part that really depresses me is the first poop after a multi-hundred dollar meal. It’s the great equalizer.

    Austin

  3. I don’t think $250 is unreasonable for a once in a lifetime special occasion meal, but I don’t think I’d ever actually spend that much. Unless, of course, inflation goes through the roof. I think the most expensive meal I’ve eaten was maybe $90 for two including tip.

  4. I’m hoping that the wine was expensive. I eat out here in NYC all the time where prices can get outrageous, but that right there my friend, I don’t see $250 unless it was the wine. My mot expensive meal was probably $65 or $70 and it was just this past April for my birthday…and I didn’t pay. I’m not crazy! I’m cheap.

    However, Nobu has been calling my name and the minute I have $125 or so to burn I am all over that like ticks on a dog.

  5. I dropped close to $300 for two in DC last fall to celebrate. It was great but I’d keep it to once every few years. The experience was worth it. Making sure my wife doesn’t think it’s a normal thing, might be another challenge.

  6. Most expensive meal I ever ate was my graduation dinner courtesy of my great uncle. It was a super fancy steak house called Alexander’s in Cupertino, Ca. My a la carte steak was $85 for a 8oz filet mignon. Absolute insanity but it was delicious.

  7. I had a dinner last year that cost $264 for two. It was a 5-course meal at arguably the best restaurant in town, for my boyfriend’s birthday. And it was also the best meal I’ve had in my life.

  8. What I most want to know is, “How much was the Groupon for, if the total was a thousand bucks???” 🙂

  9. I once spent about $200 for two people. It is very rare for us to spend that kind of money on food. It tasted good and the service was great. Would I do it again? Probably not! It was not that unusual or that good.

  10. hmmm I’ve had meh experiences at most of the fancy dining places I’ve ever gone to. I think that once you’re past a certain price point, maybe 40-50 bucks a entree, everything just tastes pretty good. I wouldn’t even be able to discern between a $1,000 amazing meal with a $100 one.

    Guess you were paying for the ambiance too. Hope you had some bombass views.

  11. I think the most we’ve paid was about $120 for the 2 of us (incl. wine and tip)… awesome steaks, but we only do that once or twice a year.

    Austin hit the nail on the head… the first poop after an expensive meal is almost heart-breaking!

  12. $100 for two is the most expensive dinner that I know of. My dad likes to eat at fancy places so perhaps I’ve eaten a more expensive dinner but I didn’t see the bill.

    We only spent the $100 because we had a gift card to the place. That will probably be the most expensive meal I’ll ever eat.

  13. Wait, so did you actually PAY $250/head? Or did you pay less with the Groupon? You haven’t made it very clear….

  14. To date, I think the most I’ve ever spent on a meal was $300 for my husband and I at a really fancy restaurant here in Denver.

    That said, one of the items on my life-list is to go to one of the ultra-crazy-expensive-celebrity-chef restaurants like the French Laundry or Momofoku Ko and have an evening of pure, unadulterated decadence.

  15. Oh, also: Several years ago, I was in Venice, Italy with some friends – they were vacationing for 2 weeks, but I was in the middle of a year-long shoestring budget backpacking excursion. They decided they wanted to go to Harry’s Bar for dinner one night, and me – not knowing what that was – agreed. Turns out, Harry’s is just about the most famous restaurant in all of Venice, and also among the most expensive. I’m talking 100 euros for a plate of pasta expensive.

    Given that my daily travel budget was somewhere in the neighborhood of $40 per day for all food and accommodations, I wound up sitting there and didn’t eat or drink a single thing (because they charge you for absolutely EVERYTHING), because seriously? 100 euros for PASTA?

    NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!

  16. $1200 Australian that’s like $1300 of your american dollars:) is the most expensive bill I’ve ever seen for 4 people. There was wine and yes it was amazing (the celebrity chef deserves the reputation) and no I didn’t pay for it thankfully, I’ve driven cars that cost less than that.

  17. One time I supersized my combo meal at McD. Does that count as expensive? Honestly, I don’t think I could eat $250 worth of food in one setting, but I’m a meat and taters kind of guy. I WILL splurge for a good steak now and then!

  18. Even though some of the commenters’ meals were very expensive, sounds like they were all delicious.

    The Herbfarm is one of the best restaurants in the country. Paying $50 an hour for 9 courses, booze and all of the staff, in my mind, is very cheap. French Laundry, arguably the best restaurant in the country, costs $270 per person minimum and doesn’t include drinks!

    I wish I lived near one of these restaurants. I went to an excellent one in Kansas City. The flavors and food pairings were absolutely amazing.

  19. Hmm, we went to Nobhill at the MGM Las Vegas and blew about $375 for the two of us with no alcohol. Unfortunately, we have a weakness for food and tend to spend about $500 a month eating out (maybe more…shudder…). We need to join some kind of eaters anonymous or something. Too much disposable income maybe? Gluttony is a sin right? 🙁

    Then again we work pretty hard so I guess we play hard too? Ugh, too much rationalization…

  20. How was the service?! i bet it was impeccable: just one very knowledgeable guy waiting on you the entire time while the servers whisked in quickly and quietly to place your meal disappear? Yea, I love that shii.

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