Where's the Beef?
In the never-ending attempt to find what is too expensive for even New Yorkers to shell out for, the Old Homestead Steakhouse recently debuted a $41 hamburger made from Kobe beef. The news from the front is that we haven't found that price level yet. Having read about the burger extraordinaire this morning, I had to tell my friend, who is a hamburger aficionado. Much to my lack of surprise, he wanted to run right out and have one. So we ventured over to the Old Homestead for lunch. While we were there, at least 3 other people ordered the Kobe burger, out of a crowd of roughly 10 other people, so I imagine this burger will fare well.
The burger was definitely tasty. The meat was tender and moist. It tasted more like a finely ground steak than the typical burger. The homemade ketchup was quite nice. The horseradish sauce, not so much. I didn't try the mustard, as I only like mustard on pastrami. However, the burger was not worth $41. I wouldn't order it again at that price. It was worth it the one time, to have the experience. But we were definitely paying for the experience. Wollensky's Grill has way better burgers at the more ordinary New York nice restaurant price of $15. (Shut up, I know that's expensive too.)
Comments
I'm speechless. My Midewestern sensibilities are reeling over the idea of a $41 burger. Hell, I'm dumbfounded by $15, even if you did tell us to "shut up"
Posted by: Dietz | January 11, 2003 08:13 PM
I want to know what else comes with this burger. I'm assuming your beverage is not included.
I'll stick with my #1 Deal at Burger King (Whopper, no pickles, fries, and a Coke. Nothing supersized.)
Posted by: Tricia | January 11, 2003 09:00 PM
Nothing else is included. Nada. Zilch. Everything's priced separately.
Remember the post about the $95 lunch? This one was more. Just figure out what two burgers would cost, then add the salad and drinks. That's how you get there -- without wine, tips or taxes.
Oh NYC, how I love and miss you. This fixed income retirement thing sucks.
Posted by: Mom | January 11, 2003 09:13 PM
My Mom got it basically right (having heard the entire story of the $41 burger lunch). It did come with garlic shoestring fries and three homemade sauces to choose from. It was topped with exotic mushrooms (which I didn't eat, only liking portobello mushrooms) and micro-greens (a fancy word for baby lettuce, meaning we paid another $5 for the fanciness of the word). Drinks and salad were separate. The bill came to $103.81 plus tip. Fortunately I didn't pay for it.
Posted by: Lesley | January 11, 2003 09:54 PM
you know, i drink beer and get massages every day. what would i cost if you chopped me up and fed me to highly paid executives?
probably worth more as hamburger than as a teacher, I think. how's that for price level! badaaaooo!
Posted by: d fresh | January 11, 2003 10:50 PM
Well, d, you know, if you provide us information as to your height, weight and how many more years you expect to work, we could probably do that calculation. Once we figure out the number of 20 oz. burgers you can make from one cow vis a vis its average height and weight, we could correlate that to the number we could make from you and do the math. Then we could compare that to the average salary of a teacher in your area multiplied by the number of years left in your career discounted back to today (factoring in salary increases, of course).
Yes, I know I'm a finance geek.
Posted by: Lesley | January 12, 2003 09:23 AM
whoaaa. really? Let's do that! How much would it cost to make an appointment for this? Hahahah.
Posted by: d fresh | January 12, 2003 12:55 PM
Hell yeah. Just send me an e-mail with the particulars, and I can whip that puppy up in a few days, assuming I can get the info on how many ounces of kobe beef you can get from the average cow. No charge. Consider it in the furtherance of my finance geekdom.
Posted by: Lesley | January 12, 2003 07:31 PM
You paid $41 for a hamburger? I'd pay that for a steak, but not a burger. But then, I'm one of those people that thinks a steak is great, but the second you grind it up for meatloaf or hamburger it's become an alien being.
(I know, I know, you didn't pay. But the line sounded so good.)
My friend's husband's parents retired to Arkansas, and they think paying more than five bucks for dinner is a ripoff. I'm afraid to even wonder what they eat in Arkansas that only costs five bucks for dinner.
Posted by: Meryl Yourish | January 14, 2003 03:05 PM
Now there's a $50 hamburger. It's made with foie gras. I heard about it on a WCBS AM news report last week. I didn't catch the name of the restaurant. But maybe you can do a little research and try the burger out.
Posted by: Jon | January 19, 2003 12:04 PM
Hmm, I read an article which had priced out the foie gras burger at a mere $29. A restaurant critic had been busy eating burgers at NYC restaurants for two weeks straight, and had mentioned that particular one. Apparently it is filled with truffles and foie gras, which isn't really a hamburger anymore.
Posted by: Lesley | January 20, 2003 10:06 AM
Well it had to happen. Now they're having a price war based on whose price is highest.
Oh the snob appeal. Oh the status. Oh the publicity.
I'm a sucker for all that stuff, and anyway I love foie gras (goose liver pate) and truffles.
But it is a goose liver burger. Does your friend go for those too?
Posted by: Mom | January 21, 2003 11:48 AM
41 bucks? Whoa. Maybe I'm too used to being poor, but 41 bucks is roughly my food budget for the week.
That must be some swanky chunk of cow. As for the person who wrote about paying 41 bucks for a steak... I'd rather do my own.
I wonder if they have gift certificates?
Posted by: Nerkles | May 23, 2003 12:11 PM