Had dinner at the fanciest place I've ever been

[cantdrv55]

$3500 for 28 people and we brought our own bottles of wine! Ok, food was great but waaay tooo spendy. Can you believe $7.75 for a cup of decaf coffee? I guess I'm cheap but can anyone really tell the difference between, say a $50 meal from a $125 meal? I'm talking salad, main course of seafood, a chocolate shake and decaf coffee for $125. Sorry but that's freaking outrageous. I don't care if it is a noveau French joint. Good thing the meal was free.

Almost forgot to mention that the portions were small. I'm sure you've already assumed so.

[cool_chick]

LOL this reminds me of a restaurant I went to when I was in San Fran. A bowl of soup was 12 dollars. I was on expense account, but there was no way in hell I (or my company) was going to pay 12 dollars for a freaking bowl of corn chowder.

Same experience...really good food, small portions...nice deserts, hard to justify paying that kind of money though......fortunately I didn't have to either.....

[Joeaksa]

Flew some people to Aspen in the early 80's. They invited us to dinner with the group, who were a bunch of trust fund babies. They did not know the meaning of work but sure had a lot of money to throw around.

We went to one of the nicest places in town, then into a private room off to the side. About 20 people there, everything was pre-ordered and the food coming for hours. Any kind of booze you wanted and your glass was always full.

Desert was the most interesting. Waiters brought several silver serving trays around. Turns out that one of the hosts had also brought "party favours" along and the waiters had turned it into long lines of white "Peruivan marching powder" for desert. As we were flying them home the next day, the flight crew had a good excuse to decline to join in the activities...

Was later told that not including desert, the dinner was over $10k...

Joe A

[Porsche-O-Phile]

So you guys snorted coke lines and then flew airplanes the next day? Very nice.

As a pilot, I really hate reading stuff like this. It's precisely this kind of behavior that has undermined the credibility of the industry. When I was flying commercially, I religiously observed the 8-hour rule and never put anything like that into my body. . .

You're damn lucky you didn't turn that airplane into a big smoking hole in the ground and kill a bunch of people.

[}{arlequin]

he said that he and the crew declined...

[alf]

O-phile,
Joe said the flight crew passed on dessert.

I would like to own a place that sells >$150/head dinners

alf

[cool_chick]

Originally posted by }{arlequin
he said that he and the crew declined...

Exactly.

I met Joe, and somehow, I don't get the feeling, even back then, that Joe did drugs.

I think he just appreciated having an "excuse" to decline so as to not potentially offend.

[LeeH]

Originally posted by cantdrv55
I guess I'm cheap but can anyone really tell the difference between, say a $50 meal from a $125 meal?

Location, location, location.

[Joeaksa]

Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
So you guys snorted coke lines and then flew airplanes the next day? Very nice.

As a pilot, I really hate reading stuff like this. It's precisely this kind of behavior that has undermined the credibility of the industry. When I was flying commercially, I religiously observed the 8-hour rule and never put anything like that into my body. . .

You're damn lucky you didn't turn that airplane into a big smoking hole in the ground and kill a bunch of people.

As a pilot, I assume that you know how to read, since the written and FAR's are required to get a license. If you were on a commercial level, then getting an ATP really requires a lot of reading, and you need to be able to understand what the material.

When you get finished re-reading my post, especially the last part of the third paragraph, I assume that you will post an apology?

Joe A

[}{arlequin]

i guess everyone has an "off" day

[singpilot]

Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
So you guys snorted coke lines and then flew airplanes the next day? Very nice.

As a pilot, I really hate reading stuff like this. It's precisely this kind of behavior that has undermined the credibility of the industry. When I was flying commercially, I religiously observed the 8-hour rule and never put anything like that into my body. . .

You're damn lucky you didn't turn that airplane into a big smoking hole in the ground and kill a bunch of people.

I see a definate threat to the credibility of the industry, but it's not Joe.

It's talking heads on CNN right after an accident and in public forums being the first to speak out on a subject without even reading the evidence (thread / post), and then opening their mouths speaking from a supposed position of competance. If you 'had flown commercially' you'd know that most commercial operators require 12 hours, and random testing is an everyday potential and occurrance. Whenever I see the words "When I used to fly commercially..." I ( as well as Joe), know exactly what that means.

I have got to call you out on this one.

Sorry, I am also waiting for an apology for Joe as well.

[scottmandue]

I think the worst I have done is drop $100 at a sushi bar... but it was worth it... unfortunately I have a taste for very expensive sake.

I also just spent $140 on two eighteen year old bottles of scotch, ouch!

FWIW Porsche-O-Phile seems like a nice guy and is probably off line. I wouldn't be surprised if he offers an apology as soon as he reads the rest of this thread.

[dd74]

Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
So you guys snorted coke lines and then flew airplanes the next day? Very nice.

As a pilot, I really hate reading stuff like this. It's precisely this kind of behavior that has undermined the credibility of the industry. When I was flying commercially, I religiously observed the 8-hour rule and never put anything like that into my body. . .

You're damn lucky you didn't turn that airplane into a big smoking hole in the ground and kill a bunch of people.

Some time ago, I was in an Irish bar in Santa Monica and got to talking to three Southwest pilots, who were also putting 'em back.

...Or maybe I should say I did most of the talking, because they were slurring.

I'll never forget one of them saying (not very clearly at that): "We have to fly out tomorrow at 7AM."

The worst part was I don't think they were flying out as passengers.

[SLO-BOB]

I've been traveling quite a bit for work lately. One of my incentives is to eat really well. I like finding a good, local restaurant and having a great meal-price be damned. This week in Indy we ate at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse-$250 for two and a bottle of Rodney Strong cab reserve. That's the most I've spent. Week before, Lincoln NE. Not sure of the name, but it was a brewerey that served great USDA steaks. Goes to show that you can get a decent meal for under $100 for 2 as it was only about $80. Week before that, Murai in Chicago/Wicker Park for sushi. $180 for 3 people. Fantastic food-and tasty sake martinis. Yeah-I know it sounds fruity but try one.

Of course I exceed the per diem by a little, but ya gotta make yer conditions. I also refuse to stay at any hotel that doesn't have "glasses". I haven't drank from plastic cups since college.

[kjb]

Originally posted by cantdrv55

Almost forgot to mention that the portions were small.

That's the kind of place I like! The idea is to eat more courses to compensate. Any restaurant where I can have an appetizer, an entre, a cheese plate, and a dessert without rolling out the door has the serving sizes right in my book.

Life's too short to eat bad food,

Johan

[fastpat]

I don't know. My wife is cooking fresh Pozole, an interesting soup, tonight so my concept of good food is skewed.

[aways]

There are restaurants out there that I'm sure hike the prices in order to attract the business of a certain segment of the public that doesn't really care about the quality or quantity of the food, as long as it costs enough to make them feel special. I wouldn't turn down a chance to eat at one of them for free however.

[John Rogers]

I remember one night we had dinner in Hong Kong in 1971 atop the Hilton hotel in the Gengis Resturant. I had a 2 pound Kobi Beef steak and one of my buddies had one that was about 3 pounds! With all the courses it took us about 4 hours to eat and enjoy the cigars at the end. I think dinner was about $50 per person that night?

[Zeke]

I was raised going to nice restaurants. We had lots of good restaurants to choose from. The difference between a good restaurant and an average one is consistency and service. Five star restaurants just take that to a higher level.

Today, I don't go to restaurants. Servers, (what I used refer to as waiters) don't have a clue. It's not a profession anymore. A good waiter is part butler, part psychologist, is well traveled, informed and knows his food. He knows when to be there and when to be around the corner. And no one, I mean no one, comes up to the table when you are in the process of eating unless there is a need or they have been summoned. And the cardinal rule is to never ask, "Is everything OK?" If you are in a decent restaurant, they know if things are OK and don't have to be solicitously extracting your approval so you'll leave a bigger tip.

The moment I hear that, I deduct 2% and keep reducing the gratuity by a similar amount for each infraction. But, that's a different topic. The thing is, when you are dining less than 8, you decide the tip and when dinners are a buck and a quarter each, you're tipping 25 a plate. For that, I expect the best service possible. But, that doesn't happen anymore, so I quit eating out.

It also doesn't help that I'm a vegetarian. That would be for 21 years, now. A few years ago, I went to dinner at the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point. I'm in the grand solon of restaurants with chandeliers from a Russian palace and there is nothing on the menu for me to eat. No problem in a 5-star restaurant, they should be able to prepare you anything you want. A menu is simply a suggestion. So, this clown brings me something that he'll "have the kitchen prepare especially for (me)."

Turns out I get the greasiest plate of brazed vegetables with some Uncle Bens. For about 16 bucks. Never been back to that hole.

But, the question was how much has one spent on dinner. Well, some 30 years ago, for my grandparents 50th, my folks had a banquet at a 5-star French restaurant, the name of which has escaped me for years as they closed down a few years later.

The table was set with linen, crystal and china, as you would expect. The centerpiece was a magnificent affair with gilded leaves that trailed down and off to each place setting like the tentacles of an octopus. There were about 30 guests and 10 waiters, bussers, a captain and a sommelier. Dinner took 4 hours and we never stopped being served a course or getting the wine changed to the next variety. The final act was the finest brandy, slightly warmed in the snifter with an alcohol torch. After a moment, they tipped the glass and let the warm brandy flame for just a few seconds. Smoother than honey. Get your head by just holding the glass up to your nose. In today's money, out the door with the valets, the whole works, would have easily been 250 a copy.

I don't believe for a second that could be duplicated. Now for the fun: My wife returned from NYC last year and had to go to what?, the Four Seasons or something for lunch. She couldn't afford dinner there. Hamburgers were $30. Cracks me up. I think that day I ate all day for the amount of her tip.

[Island Boy]

Was in NYC for X-mas; dinner and play for 2? Mind u, 3 course dinner with a cocktail and wine with dinner....$400-$500 easy!!
Major treat tho'-won't be back there for a while. Oddly enough, it felt like it was worth it.