"really adult, bro!"

[makstache]

So my brother turned 30 last week and to celebrate he wanted to do something "really adult." So he had dinner with his partner at a fancified 2 Michelin star restaurant in San Francisco where he lives. 22 courses with the wine pairings. Total cost $1800 for two. He still is paying off student loans. Yikes!

At least my mother talked him out of his original plan, a trip to Hawaii.

[gimp]

Honestly, my planned (hypothetical, but priced out) trip to hawaii is significantly cheaper than $1800. I'm thinking of going there for a week - flight, rental car, food - around $900.

I would love to try michelin star restaurant food, but I would not $900 love to try it.

[sheepstache]

Ugh, I love the conflation of "adult" with "expensive."  I get this with young colleagues who start making money and are convinced they need to buy non--used furniture "like an adult."

[Cole]

One my school aquaintences said "I adulted so hard" right after he took out a massive car loan on a brand new car. He isn't even done with school.

[Goldielocks]

So my brother turned 30 last week and to celebrate he wanted to do something "really adult." So he had dinner with his partner at a fancified 2 Michelin star restaurant in San Francisco where he lives. 22 courses with the wine pairings. Total cost $1800 for two. He still is paying off student loans. Yikes!

At least my mother talked him out of his original plan, a trip to Hawaii.

LOL   

"Really Adult " = paying off student loan....   Cleaning up after vomiting kid.... repairing the fence when you want to be out biking...

[Capsu78]

Not a meal in the world worth $1800...

[RFAAOATB]

Not a meal in the world worth $1800...

It is if someone pays for it.

Of course a fancy couples meal for me might be $200.  I imagine if my income and net worth were 10-100 times what it is now I could imagine splurging on that level of luxury.

I'm considering upgrading my next big vacation plane tickets to first class, which would be about $2400 before I start figuring out mileage.  That's gonna be one of "my really adult, bro" moves.  Last time I flew cross country I got so annoyed at the layover I wanted to upgrade to first class for the last segment.

[Spiffsome]

22 courses plus wine? How does one person eat that much?

[Goldielocks]

22 courses plus wine whine? How does one person eat that much?

I couldn't resist, given the other thread that is active today...!   :-)

[Pooperman]

I've been to a restaurant like this before. Don't know if it was rated, but it was like $600 Canadian , which at the time was about $350 U.S. It was good (deserts were amazing), but sitting there 3+ hours? Not gonna happen again.

Oh yeah, it was only 8 courses, not 22.

[soupcxan]

A trip to Hawaii for $1,800 is easily worth it.

A single dinner...not so much.

[Mr Money Mutton Chops]

This is probably why he's still paying off those loans.

[dragoncar]

Not a meal in the world worth $1800...

It is if someone else pays for it.

FTFY.  This kind of stuff is the bread and butter of a client expense account.

[ash7962]

22 courses plus wine? How does one person eat that much?

There are restaurants like this in Chicago.  If there's 22 courses each course will be 1-2 bites of food.  I've only been to one similar restaurant, and I went because a friend of a friend had pre bought season tickets for the year and they were looking for someone to fill the last spot for one of the meals.  The one I went to had something like 10-12 courses and I was totally stuffed around 7 or 8.  It was good food but I barely remember the meal now and I don't think its really worth it to go back (imo).

[Rollin]

A trip to Hawaii for $1,800 is easily worth it.

A single dinner...not so much.

If he spent $1,800 on a dinner do you think he'd be capable of going to Hawaii on $1,800?  Let's do the math on that one - I'm curious what others think he'd spend.  I'd say $8,000-$10,000 - I mean one meal a day at a nice restaurant would be close to $1,000 for a week!

[PencilThinStash]

As a card carrying member of PETA (People Eat Tasty Animals), I don't even want to calculate how many delicious veal dinners I could cook for $1800...

Hell, raise my grocery budget by $20/week, and I'd eat like a king every meal for 6 months with that money

[FatCat]

Was that one of those places where the meals last for 8 hours? I don't see how it would be enjoyable to have tiny amounts of food spread out for hours while sitting at the same restaurant.

If I were intent upon spending that much on fancy feast, I would prefer to take the same amount of money and just go someplace nice every other week for the year.

[MgoSam]

I would be interested in going to a Michelin starred place, but not at a cost like that. Heck I'm not even going to a family reunion in Cancun this winter cause it will be like $2000 for the stay plus airfare and incidentals, that's way too much to spend to be stuck with family. I would be interested if it we were staying at a family member's house. I'd rather not spend that money and either invest it or pay down my mortgage.

[MandalayVA]

I would imagine that wine was most of the bill.  Mr. Mandalay and I went to the French Laundry about ten years ago--we lucked out because someone had cancelled their reservation (I didn't know people are asked to make reservations a year in advance).  We were good and budgeted and saved, because with wine the meal came to about $700 before a tip.  But everything was exquisite, including the service.  We were there for about three hours.  A once-in-a-lifetime thing, I refuse to regret it!  :D

[MgoSam]

I would imagine that wine was most of the bill.  Mr. Mandalay and I went to the French Laundry about ten years ago--we lucked out because someone had cancelled their reservation (I didn't know people are asked to make reservations a year in advance).  We were good and budgeted and saved, because with wine the meal came to about $700 before a tip.  But everything was exquisite, including the service.  We were there for about three hours.  A once-in-a-lifetime thing, I refuse to regret it!  :D

Yeah I agree, French Laundry would definitely be worthwhile. An important thing to consider about eating there and at some other beautiful places is that while the meal is steep, the place hasn't ever gotten a profit. It's run a fairly steep deficient due to the cost of the food and the chefs and everything.

[Guses]

If I were intent upon spending that much on fancy feast, I would prefer to take the same amount of money and just go someplace nice every other week for the year.

Haha! Spending that much on fancy feast would likely feed a fat cat for a looong looong time!

[Sibley]

I just had my 30th birthday last week, and my belated "party" is Saturday. I'm going to Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Admission is free. We'll end up buying lunch there. The whole point is that I haven't been to that zoo, I want to, and I want an excuse to wear my costume. So everyone has to wear a costume :)

[TheGrimSqueaker]

My first experience with spending like an adult was when I got my first property tax statement in the mail.

[EricL]

I love, love, love, eating at expensive, fancy pants restaurants - show me the cheese board and the fine win list, cigars, desert, aperitif, please.  But I've never eaten at one that charged $1800...  Where do you find such places and how do they support themselves without offering illegal items?  And how screwed up do you have to be to consider eating at such a place "adult"? 

[HairyUpperLip]

22 courses plus wine? How does one person eat that much?

There are restaurants like this in Chicago.  If there's 22 courses each course will be 1-2 bites of food.  I've only been to one similar restaurant, and I went because a friend of a friend had pre bought season tickets for the year and they were looking for someone to fill the last spot for one of the meals.  The one I went to had something like 10-12 courses and I was totally stuffed around 7 or 8.  It was good food but I barely remember the meal now and I don't think its really worth it to go back (imo).

I wanted to hit one of those modern technology food places in Chicago with the wife. I looked it up and it was like $500 or so per plate so we passed, but I'd still like to try it one day.

[ash7962]

22 courses plus wine? How does one person eat that much?

There are restaurants like this in Chicago.  If there's 22 courses each course will be 1-2 bites of food.  I've only been to one similar restaurant, and I went because a friend of a friend had pre bought season tickets for the year and they were looking for someone to fill the last spot for one of the meals.  The one I went to had something like 10-12 courses and I was totally stuffed around 7 or 8.  It was good food but I barely remember the meal now and I don't think its really worth it to go back (imo).

I wanted to hit one of those modern technology food places in Chicago with the wife. I looked it up and it was like $500 or so per plate so we passed, but I'd still like to try it one day.

Not sure which you were looking at, but in general I've heard that Next and Alinea are the places to go for fancy pants dinners here.  Next is the one I went to as a fill in which was pretty good.  I just looked and Alinea lists tickets for $210-$295 per person.  I didn't pay for Next and I believe its not as straight forward to buy tickets for it so I don't know what the price is.  I feel like the price was about the same though.

[Dollar Slice]

I love, love, love, eating at expensive, fancy pants restaurants - show me the cheese board and the fine win list, cigars, desert, aperitif, please.  But I've never eaten at one that charged $1800...  Where do you find such places and how do they support themselves without offering illegal items?

It's mostly alcohol when you're getting to really stratospheric restaurant prices. There are plenty of high-end restaurants with $1000+ bottles of wine on the menu.

I would be sitting there mentally calculating how much each mouthful of wine was costing me and getting really depressed about it...

[HairyUpperLip]

22 courses plus wine? How does one person eat that much?

There are restaurants like this in Chicago.  If there's 22 courses each course will be 1-2 bites of food.  I've only been to one similar restaurant, and I went because a friend of a friend had pre bought season tickets for the year and they were looking for someone to fill the last spot for one of the meals.  The one I went to had something like 10-12 courses and I was totally stuffed around 7 or 8.  It was good food but I barely remember the meal now and I don't think its really worth it to go back (imo).

I wanted to hit one of those modern technology food places in Chicago with the wife. I looked it up and it was like $500 or so per plate so we passed, but I'd still like to try it one day.

Not sure which you were looking at, but in general I've heard that Next and Alinea are the places to go for fancy pants dinners here.  Next is the one I went to as a fill in which was pretty good.  I just looked and Alinea lists tickets for $210-$295 per person.  I didn't pay for Next and I believe its not as straight forward to buy tickets for it so I don't know what the price is.  I feel like the price was about the same though.

I honestly can't recall the name and the price I said may be wrong, either way it was too expensive for me.

I still ate at some decent spots in Chicago, but nothing on a fine dining level.

I will say this, I hate hot dogs and even I think the Portillo Chicago style hot dog is delicious! :)

[AZDude]

Once spent $180 on a meal for my then gf and myself. She was horrified that I spent that much money on a single dinner, and even more horrified by the fact that she chose the restaurant not realizing how much it would cost. I cannot even imagine spending $1800 for one meal... yikes...

[Rosy]

Most we ever spent was $200 - paid for by the boss:) Maybe it will be a deterrent for him in the future - to re-consider what truly counts as adult expenses.
I'd rather spend that $1800 on a trip to Hawaii any day:)

[steveo]

My FIL is loaded but extremely frugal. My wife got him to take ourselves, our kids and our parents to a fancy restaurant. I don't know how many stars it had but at one point it was in the top restaurants in the world.

He doesn't drink and my parents ordered alcohol at over $50 a bottle. We had our own room. The food was sensational. It was like a 12 course degustation menu. There was butter on the side but it was truffle butter. Each person cost about $300 to eat and it is known as being cheap for a restaurant of that quality. The bill must have been like $2000. My FIL saw the bill and I thought he was going to have a heart attack.

The funny thing is that we went back there but it didn't have the same effect. The first time was amazing. The second time we had adapted to it.

I've been to heaps of quality restaurants but I can't see myself ever paying for it.

My wife and myself had our anniversary date recently. We went and bought burritos and sat on the water with some beers. The beers at the restaurant were $7 each. We bought our own for about $7 for 6.

[YoungInvestor]

Most I ever spent was 230$ or so for 2.

Great night, it was worth it, but I remember a slight pinch to the heart when I saw the check.

I'd do it again if I had a special occasion coming up.

[_Nico_]

Holy Eighteen Benjamins Batman!!!!

I think the most I've ever spent on a dinner was in the $140 range for myself, as a date night maybe $200. One time was accidentally sitting down in Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant in Napa, CA without realizing it and ordering the omakase. In my book, entirely worth the $108, but I only do that very rarely (once, twice a year? and only for special occasions).

Other times it's always been this amazing sushi bar in SoCal I only go to with a friend when I'm in town. Again, omakase, $120 a person or so in the end. (Some of you may be seeing a pattern here)

I'm fairly new to mustaching, my mustachismo is not as strong as many of yours, but I try to avoid eating out as much as possible for someone who works in downtown San Francisco and has 5 delicious food trucks across the street every day...lol

My "really adult, bro" moments were:
1) Financing a brand new SUV at the age of 22 (face punches). Granted, it did double as a tent on camping / rock climbing trips, and took me to many places off the beaten path that would've been difficult otherwise...paid that sucker off in full last year, sold it a few weeks ago, and the 20k is now sitting in my Vanguard account doing something useful.
2) Financing a house at the age of 24. I was semi-mustachian and made sure to have roommates as regularly as I could, but in the end I would've been better off renting than taking my parents' heavy handed advice to "invest in a home". Luckily, I was able to sell the house without paying any closing costs (new job's relocation package was killer) early this year at the same price I bought it for. Live some, lose some, learn some I guess lol

[gimp]

Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant in Napa, CA

I was pretty disappointed when I went there. Anyone else?

[_Nico_]

Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant in Napa, CA

I was pretty disappointed when I went there. Anyone else?

What did you get? I went with the omakase, ended up being 9 courses I believe. Overall it was a very good sampling of all the types of dishes. If I went with an appetizer and a main, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much because each dish alone wasn't amazing in it's own right. I will say it was a good experience, but I'm not planning on going again haha

[Reddleman]

Not in the OP's case, but splurge can be worth it.

My best one was when I went to a wonderful restaurant in the embassy district in Paris- Spent $350 with tip (over 10 years ago) for the two of us, and could have spent much more.   It seemed excessive, but. . . .

It was the last night of our honeymoon.
Spent ~$2500 for the other three weeks of travel, including a 2 week cycling vacation through the Loire Valley.

Best part was how nieve I was.  We walked to the restaurant from the metro.  I walked to the door and the look of shock on the concierge's face was priceless.  Not to mention the fact that I had to borrow a jacket to meet the dress code.  A wonderful Navy blue with gold buttons.  Turns out they have an attendant trained and ready to assist because apparently I'm not the only one who comes unprepared.  She even could tell my exact jacket size at a glance. 

Food was wonderful.  And the restaurant was on the top floor, so in the middle of the meal the ceiling opened to reveal the evening sky and stars.  I'll remember it for the rest of my life. 

[gimp]

What did you get? I went with the omakase, ended up being 9 courses I believe. Overall it was a very good sampling of all the types of dishes. If I went with an appetizer and a main, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much because each dish alone wasn't amazing in it's own right. I will say it was a good experience, but I'm not planning on going again haha

Tuna. It's my usual go-to to judge a fish place, you know?

[boarder42]

Hawaii can be done free if you're not doing it that way you're doing it wrong.

[zephyr911]

Hawaii can be done free if you're not doing it that way you're doing it wrong.

My ohana all moved away... are you saying I can crash with you next time I come back?

[MgoSam]

What did you get? I went with the omakase, ended up being 9 courses I believe. Overall it was a very good sampling of all the types of dishes. If I went with an appetizer and a main, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much because each dish alone wasn't amazing in it's own right. I will say it was a good experience, but I'm not planning on going again haha

Tuna. It's my usual go-to to judge a fish place, you know?

I've always wanted to order omakase. When you order it, do you just have to hope that the bill won't bankrupt you or does the server ask you if you have a dollar limit?

I went to a sushi and latin american fusion restaurant in Vegas with a big party and the waitress asked if we wanted to order individually or they could make a menu based on how much we wanted to spend, and I thought this worked out better as we got a good variety of delicious food.

[Kaspian]

Glad I've always felt out of place in fancy restaurants!  It always looks to me like everyone's dressing up like phony used car salesmen and talking about their golf scores.  I get the serious creeps in those types of places and feel much more at home having local pub fare. ...Which could be why I'm still single.  :/

[MgoSam]

I get the serious creeps in those types of places and feel much more at home having local pub fare. ...Which could be why I'm still single.  :/

You say that like it's a bad thing!

[Shor]

$1800 in a night?
Only place I tried to have 18-22 courses was at Souplantation...
Perhaps if I left and re-entered the place 180 times...
I think the registerer would get bored of seeing me so many times in a single day...
Also my credit card company would probably freeze transactions beyond 3....

Alternatively, I could just feed myself extravagantly for an entire year... O.O

[gimp]

Hawaii can be done free if you're not doing it that way you're doing it wrong.

My cost estimates are: flights + car rental + a little bit of food. Which of those do I get for free? I would love it if you paid for my flight and lent me your car.

[tallen]

Hawaii can be done free if you're not doing it that way you're doing it wrong.

My cost estimates are: flights + car rental + a little bit of food. Which of those do I get for free? I would love it if you paid for my flight and lent me your car.

The flights and car rental are the ones you get free, just got to do a few credit card bonus offers and your golden ;)

[dragoncar]

Hawaii can be done free if you're not doing it that way you're doing it wrong.

My cost estimates are: flights + car rental + a little bit of food. Which of those do I get for free? I would love it if you paid for my flight and lent me your car.

swim, walk, forage

the Mustachian version of Eat Pray Love

[MishMash]

We did the Penrose Room in the Broadmoor twice, once was paid for as an employee of the month thing for my company.  Hands DOWN the best meal I have ever had in my life, the second time we totally ponied up the 400 bucks for the meal.  I have always wanted to try the French Laundry, maybe next year when we visit DH's grandfather for his 95th bday in San Francisco. 

We don't eat out often, I love to cook (the husband has said it's my version of art) so if and when we do, we go to a place where I know I either can't make the food (secret recipes) or that it takes FOREVER to make that meal at home.  We have a "if wifey can cook it at home in under 2 hours" it doesn't get ordered usually.  We also grow hunt/harvest/forage a good chunk of our food so our food bills are pretty low, that's our splurge.

[MgoSam]

We did the Penrose Room in the Broadmoor twice, once was paid for as an employee of the month thing for my company.  Hands DOWN the best meal I have ever had in my life, the second time we totally ponied up the 400 bucks for the meal.  I have always wanted to try the French Laundry, maybe next year when we visit DH's grandfather for his 95th bday in San Francisco. 

Yeah, I can't imagine ever spending that much money on a meal, but I would hope that if I did, I would have the experience you had. I've heard amazing things about French Laundry, and believe that I would be willing to pay for a dinner there someday. I am starting to enjoy cooking and creating delicious things, I've been channeling this by cooking with friends, we try to do a different country's cuisine every month.

[MishMash]

We did the Penrose Room in the Broadmoor twice, once was paid for as an employee of the month thing for my company.  Hands DOWN the best meal I have ever had in my life, the second time we totally ponied up the 400 bucks for the meal.  I have always wanted to try the French Laundry, maybe next year when we visit DH's grandfather for his 95th bday in San Francisco. 

Yeah, I can't imagine ever spending that much money on a meal, but I would hope that if I did, I would have the experience you had. I've heard amazing things about French Laundry, and believe that I would be willing to pay for a dinner there someday. I am starting to enjoy cooking and creating delicious things, I've been channeling this by cooking with friends, we try to do a different country's cuisine every month.

It's a lot of fun getting into it with friends.  We just had a sausage making party this weekend.  It's hunting season, and I own all the equipment (yard sale finds, great 10 bucks spent) so once everyone got a deer they brought the bags over and I make them sausage, they split the cost of the pork and the casings among them and my "fee" is that I'm not paying for pork or casings. 

Processors around here charge between 4-6 a lb for sausage and most don't make it themselves, they ship it to a central processor in PA so you never know if what you are getting back is "your" deer or not (by comparison ours was .75c a lb said and done and I used fancy pants pork belly for part of the grind).  And depending on how well that animal was taken care of after it was shot has a HUGE impact on flavor.  Process it immediately without cutting through the bones and trimming the bulk of the fat off and you practically eliminate the "game" flavor most people (including me) don't like.  Take it to a processor and have it sit there for a week or more before it's cut down and you get back some gamey meat.

We do things like this seasonally, sausage, jelly, tomato sauce, hot sauce, apple day, dehydrate day etc.  I've picked up most of the equipment on the cheap, and I'm apparently the only one in our "group" that actually has any interest in learning these skills so I show them and do it and they pay for any extra ingredients that I may not have or will be required.  Saves them money and makes it pretty much free (minus license fee) for me.

You've been warned, it's an addiction, I am currently scoping for a free/cheap college fridge to start making my own salami, pastrami etc.

[Bearded Man]

A fancy meal out for us is about $27 with tip. We don't drink alcohol out. By the way, the $27 with tip actually provides two meals for both of us. Being high income doesn't mean spend every dime you make. I live roughly the same as I used to, other than the fact that I live in a house.