How Much is Too Much for Dinner?
At the end of the month, I’m spending a few days back east with the whole fam damily. Several family members are bandying around the idea of going to what must be among the most expensive restaurants in Canada:
Fans book months in advance, bring their own wines and drive for hours for the experience. Serving eight guests at a time in the serene and idiosyncratically decorated farmhouse, chef-farmer-guru Michael Stadtländer daily devises a ten-course dinner, using mostly organic ingredients sourced from the farm and from neighbours.
Apparently dinner costs CAN $250 per person. Here’s a rambling review from a diner, and some photos from the farm.
As regular readers know, I don’t care about food. I’m an anhedonic anti-gourmand. I’m an eternal disappointment to cook for or dine with. I inevitably answer “fine” or “good” to questions about the food, and I don’t drink, so I find discussions of the wine a bit tedious.
In fact, I often have difficulty understanding other people’s (namely, every female in my family) great affection and passion for food. I think it’s like trying to explain baseball to someone who has never watched a game–they usually can’t even grasp the model. To answer the question I asked in this post’s title, for the gourmand, I imagine that no amount is too much to pay for the right dinner.
August 19th, 2004 at 11:04 am
Geez, and I got annoyed when Milestones raised its prices. ;-)
August 19th, 2004 at 11:16 am
I had a friend spend over $700.00 (US) in Hawaii for a dinner on his honeymoon. I’m pretty sure that anything over $40.00/plate should probably come with some sort of entertainment to boot. At (roughly) $193.00 US, I’d expect some *amazing* entertainment. $700.00 seems more like a bachelor party dinner than the honeymoon. I’m not a drinker myself, so my money goes entirely into food - which I actually enjoy thoroughly.
August 19th, 2004 at 11:17 am
Oh! And all simple liquid drinks (e.g. soft drinks, juice, tea, coffee, etc.) should cost $.79.
August 19th, 2004 at 1:13 pm
See, I’m like you. I like decent food, but I don’t really care that much. If it was possible, I’d only eat a couple of times a week.
August 19th, 2004 at 3:28 pm
that’s a lot of seafood for Gord and I. Miles might have a babysitter after all ;)
August 19th, 2004 at 6:04 pm
Hey DB - how come you don’t drink? Allergies? Beliefs? None of my effen business?
Anyway, I’m curious.
Cheers.
August 19th, 2004 at 6:35 pm
Just give me Swiss Chalet any day and I’m happy.
August 20th, 2004 at 10:56 am
Jeff: I never really developed a taste for it. There’s a little more information (with photos) here: http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archives/000860.html.
August 20th, 2004 at 1:14 pm
Holy petunias… And I thought our dinner spending was out of control! My boyfriend and I are on a flavoured-soy-beverage-and-sushi diet for the month to combat these urges to spend way too much on dinner.
If you’re not into it, at that price you’d better just duck out!