Dinner for 2, $1,000???

From the NY Times;

"Masa, which reopens Jan. 11 after a holiday break, is arguably the most expensive restaurant in New York. Lunch or dinner for two can easily exceed $1,000."

Rest of the story at;
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/29/dining/29REST.html

Sushi dinner for 2, a 1,000 bucks. Heck, I'd probably leave the place still hungry.

MikeS.

I honestly could not enjoy a meal...no matter what the menu... that had a price tag of a grand attached. The knowledge of that immense cost would overshadow my ability to concentrate on anything but the wasted resource going into the meal, rather than the meal itself.

to take the word "Masa"--a food of simplicity--a food of the people--and plop it down with a $1000 menu-is somehow just plain weird--do you know how many tamales you can make for $1000??seems they ought to call it "Massa"--as in Yes Massa---right away,Massa--whatever you wish,Massa! People dont go to a place like this for FOOD--they go to impress themselves and the friends. Oh well, i guess it does answer the question--What do you do with your SECOND billion dollars

This is the first Japanese restaurant to receive 4 stars since 1983. But what's the point, Frank Bruni? Just who can go to this place? It's barely a "public" restaurant. How about 4 star ratings for restaurants that folks can actually afford to go to? Can there be a 4 star "joint"?

I think Masa is the name of the owner.

We live in a new "Gilded Age" with all the trappings of ostentatious spending. Read your Veblen.

Cheers, John

quote:

Originally posted by tiki

to take the word "Masa"--a food of simplicity--a food of the people--and plop it down with a $1000 menu-is somehow just plain weird--do you know how many tamales you can make for $1000??seems they ought to call it "Massa"--as in Yes Massa---right away,Massa--whatever you wish,Massa! People dont go to a place like this for FOOD--they go to impress themselves and the friends. Oh well, i guess it does answer the question--What do you do with your SECOND billion dollars

All of which raises an interesting question...just where would you (and I don't mean you specifically, tiki) draw the line on how much you would pay for a meal? I can tell you that I've been to The French Laundry and some other comparable places that had very hefty price tags that, to me, were worth it. But, they didn't approach Masa, and we didn't skimp on the beverages.

quote:

Originally posted by seafarer john

We live in a new "Gilded Age" with all the trappings of ostentatious spending. Read your Veblen.

Cheers, John

Ah, yes, Thorstein got it right. You're a well-read scoundrel, Seafarer.

heh heh, I have to admit that when Masa had his restaurant in Beverly Hills called Ginza Sushi-ko, I took my Mom and Dad there for Christmas one year. A relative bargain compared to his new restaurant - three could dine for less than a $1,000. Now this is all ridiculous but no more so than any other four-star restaurant. First off, the food was exquisite but ok, so are a lot of other foods but the difference is that the chef Masa is actually personally preparing the food for you. In this day and age when all the big name chefs are jetting off here and there and running a dozen restaurants in as many cities how much chance does one have that the celebrity chef is personally preparing the food for you let alone being in the kitchen that night. I wouldn't go back to Masa until I make my fortune but you can actually run-up a similar bill at a lot of other restaurants without the personal touch. My friend went to Per Se recently and the bill for him and his wife was $800. and who knows if Thomas Keller was really there. I guess my point is that, in some ways, if you are going to spend a lot of money Masa is a more authentic experience of a chef's cuisine than a lot of other big ticket places. Masa does have a bistro side for a much more affordable experience. Of course, none of this has anything to do with Roadfood so bring on the chili dogs.

Happy New Year!

Rayme

To paraphrase one of Martin Mull's old jokes, "$1,000. for dinner. Oh, that's right--with tip, $1,001.!"

there's NO way i'd EVER pay that much for dinner for two.... that's a mortgage payment for me.. nooooooo way... i only hope if you are willing to drop that much on a single dinner-- there had better be a LOT of extras with it.. like full body massage and stuff like that... :)

I have paid $100.00 per, at numerous upsacale restaurants.
$1000.00 seems absolutely absurd.
Give me a break as some newscaster used to say.
Why?
Couldn't you do it somewhere else with the same
quality for much much less?

I guess $1000 is nothing to some people, but to me it just seems wasteful and I would feel guilty eating something that cost that much whether I had the money or not. (which I definately don't)