<p>My wife’s initial is also S. Her label is SWRPABWHYGOT = S Would Really Prefer A Beer, What Have You Got On Tap?</p>
<p>My wife and I were just texting about this, true story. She’s on a business trip right now and high-end champagne is flowing. She won’t touch it, but discreetly asked for a beer. Free or not, she prefers beer. </p>
<p>IxnayBob, I really don’t know our friends thoughts so everything is speculation. </p>
<p>They do some good things for others. </p>
<p>We could have checked the prices in advance.
We did not do that.</p>
<p>Now… We do. :)</p>
<p>Edit… I do like the way you handle this issue.</p>
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<p>Absolutely. I’ll admit that we are rich by anyone’s standards. We started with nothing. Well, not exactly nothing but we had $100 in the bank when we got married, moved to a new city and had no jobs lined up for the summer before starting grad and law school. We’ve been incredibly fortunate and we share much of what we have with our kids, extended family members, and the charitable organizations that we support. I’ve never felt that it has made us a target, unless by target you’re thinking of being asked to donate to various charities! :)</p>
<p>I don’t doubt the $900 dinner for four. Nice restaurants typically have a range of wine prices up into the several hundreds of dollars. On a special anniversary, we ate out at our favorite restaurant in town and my husband who always chooses the wine, chose a nice one that I didn’t know until later cost just over $500! I asked if he was crazy and he asked if I enjoyed it. I said yes, it was delicious and he said happy anniversary, we can afford it. I’ve never told anyone that story, it’s embarrassing even though, yes, we can afford it. He would never have done that if we’d been out with others, though, regardless of what their financial status was.</p>
<p>When I am going out with others and unsure of their budget, I send them a yelp link or two that includes info about the menu (or two menus at two different places) before I make reservations, just so no one is upset or surprised. It has worked well for me and reduced misunderstandings. It works well for us and lets folks have an idea of the options. The folks we dine with really appreciate having some idea of what to expect.</p>
<p>Alwaysamom, after reading your post and your $500 meal, I am not going to buy one of those homes for sale on your street. I need to live in a cheaper zip code area. :)</p>
<p>“My wife’s initial is also S. Her label is SWRPABWHYGOT = S Would Really Prefer A Beer, What Have You Got On Tap?”</p>
<p>IxnayBob, lol!</p>
<p>My wife might prefer beer too. We have a lot of beer in that fridge and I don’t drink any beer. :)</p>
<p>I do like to try out nice restaurants once in a while. Since I don’t drink and my H is a beer guy, our bills are usually manageable. We go to NYC several times a year, we make it a point to go to one well-known restaurant each time. Our biggest bills are from the two restaurants on the same floor at the Time Warner Center around $800 for two people.</p>
<p>And no, we don’t take our kids with us. My S has eaten in almost all the expensive restaurants but not on his dime.</p>
<p>$450 is looking more and more reasonable. :)</p>
<p>I don’t know if I told this story but we are talking about rich people. </p>
<p>I worked on the trading floor with a guy, very successful, who branched off into other areas, and who had a house in Pacific Heights. Nicest house I have ever been…One of the nicest homes in SF.</p>
<p>The house was 3 floors.
I walked on the first floor of his house, and I am not an expert, but it was amazing. </p>
<p>The guy said, I furnish this floor with top of the line items. Nobody ever goes to the other floors. Those floors are furnished from Breuners".</p>
<p>“There are not many $300 a plate restaurants, but there are a few. It’s odd that you didn’t have some idea beforehand, @dstark, because in most large cities these restaurants are usually well known.”</p>
<p>Exactly. Everyone knows what the “big name” restaurants are in their area. It’s not as though you show up at the French Laundry thinking that it’s like the Cheesecake Factory. A restaurant of that stature, you don’t just get in that moment. The better restaurants here are booked up for months in advance. </p>
<p>Anyone who spends that kind of money on wine without checking with the people whom they are going to split the bill is a supreme jerk, IMO. </p>
<p>I don’t like blowing money on things that won’t last. I am very finicky and don’t like foods that are odd to me, I can’t imagine paying that much for a meal because I can get delicious ones for a decent price. And $200 for a bottle of wine? Ha! I can get my current favorite (Apothic Dark) for $8.99, and I’m finicky about wine. It is probably better than the $200 bottle. I could get 22 bottles of good wine for that price. I don’t mind paying good money for things that last (kid’s education, unique experiences, housing), but food the just disappears a couple of minutes later? Nothing is that good.</p>
<p>I completely agree. That’s a classic fritter-money-away type of thing, unless you REALLY get $500 worth of enjoyment from it, which I personally doubt. It’s not an investment. </p>
<p>Yes, I remember Breuner’s. It is out of business, only online now.</p>
<p>" Our biggest bills are from the two restaurants on the same floor at the Time Warner Center around $800 for two people."</p>
<p>Per Se?</p>
<p>And Masa.</p>
<p>This story makes the $900 dinner bill seem reasonable:</p>
<p><a href=“Wine Drinker Suffers $3,750 Sticker Shock at Bobby Flay Steak - Eater”>Wine Drinker Suffers $3,750 Sticker Shock at Bobby Flay Steak - Eater;
<p>Wow, that guy got scammed. Thirty-seven, fifty, means $37.50, not $3,750. Apparently this was not an extremely expensive restaurant, and most wines were under $100. Why the waitress would recommend a wine that cost that much, and then not make it clear how expensive it was, is worth getting fired for (if that is true). Unless you are dead certain that the person knows what they are ordering, when it is something of this magnitude, you’d better make it clear. And why recommend it? I think they lost a lot more than this in bad publicity.</p>
<p>Westcoastmomof2, wow!</p>
<p>I could have gotten screwed. I usually tell my friends to choose the wine because I know very little about wines. </p>
<p>$3750 for my friend is nothing. (My wife said he isn’t careless with money which is true).</p>
<p>I am not going to tell my friends to just choose anymore. :)</p>
<p>"“There are not many $300 a plate restaurants, but there are a few. It’s odd that you didn’t have some idea beforehand, @dstark, because in most large cities these restaurants are usually well known.”</p>
<p>Exactly. Everyone knows what the “big name” restaurants are in their area. It’s not as though you show up at the French Laundry thinking that it’s like the Cheesecake Factory. A restaurant of that stature, you don’t just get in that moment. The better restaurants here are booked up for months in advance"</p>
<p>I don’t know where $300 a plate comes from. I don’t know the big name restaurants because I don’t go to them. I am not interested in them. </p>
<p>I guess I am not part of everybody. ;)</p>
<p>I would have not tipped in that instance, I suspect the server knew that he didn’t plan on ordering wine that was as much as grocery bills for many months.</p>
<p>Seattle restaurants that are pricey seem to be so because they serve chunks of protein that belonged to an animal that was raised by hand. ( like in Portlandia- but if you wanted to buy the same kind of beef served at the Metropolitian Grill, you could order a qtr or a half, for your own freezer, for only $3.70 lb.)
I don’t go out to eat things I could make at home so haven’t been to the priciest restaurants. Just going to my favorites that are moderately priced ( entrees $25 at most), keeps me happy.</p>
<p>The only $300 a plate restaurant I’ve heard of in Seattle is called the Herb Farm, and it’s famous around here. I’d heard you had to wait over a year for a reservation. It’s a four hour meal, with several exceptional courses, including wine. It’s a pretty big production. I wouldn’t mind going sometime for a very special celebration, but I’m afraid I’d offend the chef when I wouldn’t eat something that seems disgusting to me. Not at any price.</p>
<p>How does one bottle of wine serve ten people? It doesn’t make sense.</p>