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Old 09-19-2020, 08:34 PM
 
1,154 posts, read 362,144 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerobime227 View Post
The kind of food usually only very well off people eat at like 3 star Michelin restaurants etc. Where you pay hundreds for just a little bit on your plate, is it really worth it or do most just eat it as a status symbol? You really never seem to have much on a plate and spending loads of money for it. And for a person used to an American fast-food diet how would eating such taste?
The food is usually delicious, as would be expected, but what you’re really paying for at that price point is the the superior service and setting.
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Old 09-19-2020, 10:07 PM
 
14,394 posts, read 11,090,579 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by abbottkd71 View Post
The food is usually delicious, as would be expected, but what you’re really paying for at that price point is the the superior service and setting.
What you pay for is consistency. As in being consistently excellent.

I’ve enjoyed meals in 2 or 3 star restaurants like Per Se, Masa, Guy Savoy and La Chèvre d'Or. Not often, but these are meals I remember 10 or 15 years later.

But they don’t have to be super “fancy”. Some of my favorite meals have been a simple lunch in some little bistro in a village in Provence.
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Old 09-20-2020, 06:00 AM
 
Location: North America
4,430 posts, read 2,665,626 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerobime227 View Post
The kind of food usually only very well off people eat at like 3 star Michelin restaurants etc. Where you pay hundreds for just a little bit on your plate, is it really worth it or do most just eat it as a status symbol? You really never seem to have much on a plate and spending loads of money for it. And for a person used to an American fast-food diet how would eating such taste?
This question invariably arises from someone who either does not have the means (usually) to spend 'hundreds' for an entrée, or simply does not desire to do so. They therefore question the 'worth' of such a purchase. But value is all relative.

Last week my wife and I went out to our favorite restaurant. We go there a couple of times a year. It's a place that has absolutely nailed the ambiance and service, and produces excellent food. The bill was $128 + $30 for a tip. We can do that twice a year, no problem. And we very much enjoy it. To us, it is definitely 'worth it'. On the other hand, an expenditure like that would have been positively insane and unthinkable when we first met, even if adjusted down for early-1990s inflation. In the opposite way, if we made half a million $/year, we'd probably eat more often at even more upscale places.

Even very modest meals regularly eaten by most of the posters here would be well beyond the means - and thus 'not worth it' - of billions of people the world round (nearly half of all countries have an average income of less than 10,000 US$). To most of us, a nice $20 breakfast for two seems a simple and fairly cheap pleasure. To others out there, it would be a luxury well beyond their means. Does the fact that it is beyond their means make it 'not worth it' for anyone to spend that $20 on breakfast for two? Of course not. Similarly, just because I'm not about to plunk down $600 for a dinner at some high-end restaurant it does not follow that it is 'not worth it' for anyone to do so.
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Old 09-20-2020, 06:12 AM
 
Location: The Sunshine State of Mind
2,379 posts, read 1,483,195 times
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When I worked in the kitchen of a restaurant that was always 1 of the top restaurants in the state, I can tell you this, they ordered the best quality of everything for their diners. It didn't matter what food item, they consistently sought out, within reason, the best they could find. It didn't hurt that everything was artistically presented and the dining area was aesthetically appealing.
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Old 09-20-2020, 10:02 AM
 
Location: Honolulu/DMV Area/NYC
30,463 posts, read 17,896,116 times
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Yes, these places are generally very good and "worth" what you pay (both in terms of food and service . . . as others have mentioned, the food quality at these places is almost always on point as people are paying a premium for quality and service) in my experience. That said, I do NOT make a habit out of eating there, and prefer small hoe in the wall joints with amazing food at cheap prices.
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Old 09-20-2020, 10:51 AM
 
Location: Southern MN
11,909 posts, read 8,231,719 times
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Eating for me is about the taste, the experience, and of course, nutrition. It's never occurred to me to eat for reasons of status. In years past I have eaten in places I "couldn't afford" and that was because I was there and wanted to have the opportunity. I've also been keenly aware that others may have had status in mind when I was seated in the blue jean booth behind the potted palms. LOL

Over the years I've accumulated a lot of cookbooks and can duplicate many fine dining recipes at home if I can get the ingredients. But when I travel I'm looking for new experiences and I am neither intimidated by high end nor put off by shack on the sand. It's all about the experience and whether I enjoyed it or not.
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Old 09-20-2020, 06:16 PM
 
Location: I am right here.
4,977 posts, read 5,721,715 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lubby View Post
Is it worth it? IMO yes and I have been to various 3 and 4 star places. it's a nice evening out where I get dressed up, have a fancy drink and enjoy a nice meal with my husband. We are overdue to go out like that. it's been 1 year. Gary Dankos comes to mind, ate there on our honeymoon. Do we eat out like this often? No, maybe 2 times a year.
I LOVED Gary Danko. I was there about 18 months ago. Very worth the price, and I'd go again if given the opportunity. I've had the honor of dining at several Michelin starred places, and that one is tops, IMO.
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Old 09-21-2020, 12:03 AM
 
Location: PNW, CPSouth, JacksonHole, Southampton
3,730 posts, read 5,717,254 times
Reputation: 15073
I'm partial to Le Coucou. I don't have to worry, that the chef can supply ENOUGH meat, prepared simply, to provide my one-meal-of-the-day (or the last meal before a day or two of fasting). Right off the menu, you can get Lobster, Caviar, and Veal Tongue, which is plenty-simple, and plenty-nourishing. (not that I stop with that - having, among other things, more Omega3-laden Caviar while the rest of our party is having dessert). I'm hardly the only customer on a nearly-no-carbs/one-meal-per-day regimen. I'm hardly the only customer whose stomach cannot handle reduction glazes. They understand. They CHARGE for understanding.

At this point, they know I'm coming, and that I need more than a pound of meat. They know my husband needs THREE pounds of meat. (we both lift - HEAVY - daily) They know an assistant will be there, handling our phones, interfacing with waitstaff, and handling payments. So, I'm not distracted from whatever business is being discussed. We just get multiple courses of competently-prepared protein, whose safety I don't have to worry about. So, we get a steady stream of little meaty or oceanic surprises, brought to us, without our having to interrupt whatever consensus we're shaping.

Nor does Le Coucou fail to delight our vegetarian children, or the totally permissive and eclectic among our groups. Everybody is uniformly happy - particularly those more open to being wowed.

Other, more spectacular venues, I have trouble persuading not to wow me with things which may stray from my narrow dietary path. So, I generally have nothing but mineral water, while our guests or hosts CLEARLY are delighted with what they're served. I can tell more by their faces, than my own taste buds could tell me. I dislike dining-out, and we only do so for strategic reasons. Fancy places underscore my Position Power and credibility. That justifies the price.

We USED TO love grabbing food, ANYWHERE IN MONTREAL - a city where bad food seems an impossibility. Poutine brings as much joy as does the freshest caviar. But that was then, and this is now, and you don't get unadulterated, cooked-exactly-right Ketovore-friendly food, in little brasseries on sidestreets in Vieux-Montreal. Nor can such places be instrumental components of power plays.

In the best restaurants, fabulous production and experience, and succession of gastronomic thrills, have their PURPOSE. So, yes, those superior gastronomic thrills ARE "worth the money" - once context is considered.
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Old 09-26-2020, 12:12 AM
 
439 posts, read 287,222 times
Reputation: 637
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2x3x29x41 View Post
This question invariably arises from someone who either does not have the means (usually) to spend 'hundreds' for an entrée, or simply does not desire to do so. They therefore question the 'worth' of such a purchase. But value is all relative.

Last week my wife and I went out to our favorite restaurant. We go there a couple of times a year. It's a place that has absolutely nailed the ambiance and service, and produces excellent food. The bill was $128 + $30 for a tip. We can do that twice a year, no problem. And we very much enjoy it. To us, it is definitely 'worth it'. On the other hand, an expenditure like that would have been positively insane and unthinkable when we first met, even if adjusted down for early-1990s inflation. In the opposite way, if we made half a million $/year, we'd probably eat more often at even more upscale places.

Even very modest meals regularly eaten by most of the posters here would be well beyond the means - and thus 'not worth it' - of billions of people the world round (nearly half of all countries have an average income of less than 10,000 US$). To most of us, a nice $20 breakfast for two seems a simple and fairly cheap pleasure. To others out there, it would be a luxury well beyond their means. Does the fact that it is beyond their means make it 'not worth it' for anyone to spend that $20 on breakfast for two? Of course not. Similarly, just because I'm not about to plunk down $600 for a dinner at some high-end restaurant it does not follow that it is 'not worth it' for anyone to do so.
I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about places where you have to spend $500-1,000+ for a meal, like in this video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMF9tfxigGw
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Old 09-26-2020, 03:34 AM
 
1,584 posts, read 968,965 times
Reputation: 2609
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerobime227 View Post
The kind of food usually only very well off people eat at like 3 star Michelin restaurants etc. Where you pay hundreds for just a little bit on your plate, is it really worth it or do most just eat it as a status symbol?

Who eats a particular food as a status symbol rather than because they like it? I'm smelling a straw man here.
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