![]() This 20-course menu is so named as it ostensibly runs the entire gamut of the Michael Mina menu. Michael Mina's San Francisco flagship is also home to the restaurateur's priciest tasting menu, The Gamut. Michael Mina (San Francisco): $646 For Two But, as Bloomberg critic Ryan Sutton points out, whales can make things escalate quickly and dramatically by opting for the restaurant's various supplements. The most expensive options, the chef's menu and the vegetable tasting, go for $295, which has a built-in service charge. It's about as luxurious and generous as these things can be. Thomas Keller's three-star-Michelin restaurant in New York City's Time Warner Center is the place you go to get pampered and experience a marathon meal made up of decadent, expertly-prepared dishes that look like regular portions that haven't been adapted to a tasting menu. ![]() If you can get in, which is quite the feat, a meal for two will cost $585. The menu, which features Andrés' progressive cooking, heavy on R+D and whimsy, goes for $225. It's a 12-seat, multi-room restaurant designed by Spanish architect Juli Capella, meant to evoke a modern European residence - Andrés has said he wants to make guests at Minibar feel like they're having dinner in his home. The chef José Andrés recently unveiled the new location of his intimate tasting counter Minibar in DC's Penn Quarter. But just as is the case above Columbus Circle, supplements ranging from caviar to a dish of cavatelli with jamón Ibérico and black truffle can end up making the Laundry just as expensive. Because the tasting menu and local tax rate are both lower than at Per Se ($270 and 8%, respectively), a dinner for two ends up costing $583, less than at Keller's New York effort. The place continues to operate the highest possible level and influence the many cooks that pass through its kitchen. The iconic French Laundry in Yountville is where Thomas Keller made a name for himself in the 90s and trained a generation of young chefs, including Grant Achatz and Corey Lee, that have put American high cooking on the global map. The French Laundry (Yountville): $583 For Two ![]() That said, most agree that it's one of the greatest gastronomic experiences in the city. Despite the fact that it's in Brooklyn and doesn't have all the trappings of traditional fine dining, it can be a little daunting to eat there, since there's no music and Ramirez doesn't allow photography or note-taking. The Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare is the only three-star Michelin restaurant in Brooklyn, an 18-seat counter within a market where the Bouley-trained César Ramirez orchestrates $225 meals marked by their clean flavors and borderline insane precision. At 10 courses, the menu clocks in at $225 per person, or $576 for two people including tax and tip. The restaurant's website describes this menu as chef William Bradley's piece de résistance at the five-star, five-diamond resort restaurant. Though San Diego's Addison does offer a carte blanche menu for $165, whales will want to go for Le Menu Gourmand. Addison at the Grand Del Mar (San Diego): $576 For Two Before drinks, two people will rack up a $567 tab. ![]() Sit in the swanky dining room (recent redesign courtesy of the prolific Adam Tihany) and do as Charlie Sheen does. The most expensive option at Daniel Boulud's Upper East Side flagship is a $220 eight-course tasting. The calculations below include the Ryan Sutton-inspired " real cost" of dinner for two (which includes tax and a 20% tip, but not drinks). In the latter case, the price listed reflects the most extended and expensive option available. The selection that follows includes restaurants that only put out one menu ( Saison, Alinea, Masa, Urasawa, Brooklyn Fare), as well as businesses where diners can choose from various options ( The Restaurant at Meadowood, Guy Savoy, Daniel). Also, thanks to the size of the restaurants and the prices of their menus, they provide an alluring sense of exclusivity - no way they can be for everyone. Whether these degustation menus are indicative of the tyranny of the chef or not is still up for debate, but there's no doubt that whales and anyone willing to shell out hundreds and hundreds of dollars per person on a meal are keeping these places in businesses. Here are the fourteen most expensive tasting menus in the United States right now.
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