How much for this meal?

Continuing the "overpriced stuff" theme that I began in a previous post, how much would you be willing to pay for this meal?

What you get -- Dinner at Masa, a sushi restaurant in NY City. From Wikipedia:


There's no menu to order from. You get whatever you're served.

The cost: It's a fixed price of $400 per person, to which a 20% tip is automatically added. Then there's tax. So you're looking at a minimum of $513 per person. If you want anything to drink, be prepared to pay extra.

Via J-Walk, the receipt of a recent Masa diner, posted on Flickr. Seriously, if you're going to splurge by going there, why ruin the meal by getting a Diet Coke? Just ask for water.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 12, 2008 - Comments (18)
Category: Food, Restaurants

Follies of the Mad Men #43

This appears to be an ad for a brand of French chewing gum. I'm not sure if the notion of a pair of used panties from the Statue of Liberty is adequate enticement to chew the company's product.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 12, 2008 - Comments (10)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Food, Statues, Monuments and Memorials

Chocolates

A few unusual chocolates:

• Artist Cosimo Cavallaro sparked controversy with his anatomically correct Chocolate Jesus.

• More recently, a Swiss chocolatier has created a chocolate bar to commemmorate the 500th anniversary of Protestant reformer Jean Calvin: "The first layer is based on a classic smooth and runny praline mix. 'But we have 'reformed' it,' says the Vevey chocolatier, by using crunchy caramelised hazelnuts, and using salt from the Swiss Alps to make the praline slightly savoury. The second layer uses a 'chocolate Grand Cru from Bolivia', made from 68 percent cocoa paste, to represent Calvin's theology of the glory and perfection of God."

• In 2006 the chocolatier Martucci Angiano discovered that chocolate drippings in one of its vats looked kinda/sorta like the Virgin Mary.


• Chocolatier Fassbender & Rausch has a chocolate model of the Titanic displayed in the window of their Berlin store.



• And on the subject of things that are sinking, chocolatiers are doing their best to take advantage of the current financial crisis. Some of the crisis-themed chocolates include Credit Crunch chocolate and Financial Crunch.

Updates:

• Chocolate Ammo. "Real chocolate bullets in a real mini ammo can!"

• Lenny, the life-size Chocolate Moose. On display in Len Libby Candies, near Portland, Maine.

• A 1lb solid chocolate foot, available from Toe-Food Chocolates.


Thanks to Andy and Mark for their contributions to the list.

Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 08, 2008 - Comments (2)
Category: Food

Chewing Gum Sculptor

I recently met a woman who could tie a knot in the stem of a maraschino cherry with her tongue. I thought that was pretty impressive. But what this Romanian chewing gum sculptor can do is even more impressive.

Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 04, 2008 - Comments (4)
Category: Art, Performance Art, Food, Video

Cheerios and V-8

I love Cheerios, and can tolerate V-8. But there's no way I could imagine eating a spoonful of Cheerios and then swallowing a gulp of V-8 immediately after the sweet milky mouthful.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 30, 2008 - Comments (16)
Category: Business, Advertising, Food, Toys, Children, Space Travel, 1960s

Snail Caviar

De Jaeger is one of the few companies in the world that sell snail caviar. And the stuff ain't cheap. It goes for around $300 a jar. Some of the terms the company uses to describe the taste include:

undergrowth, angelica, horseradish, fresh dew, the sensation of a walk in the forest after the rain, mushrooms and oak leaves, the scent of humid moss peat, a journey through autumn aromas.

Sorry. Doesn't tempt me.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 12, 2008 - Comments (4)
Category: Food

Chow Mein Sandwiches

I was talking about food recently with a friend, and he mentioned enjoying Chow Mein Sandwiches while growing up in Fall River, Massachusetts. Chow Mein Sandwiches? I had never heard of such a thing.

Chow Mein Sandwiches are a Fall River specialty, and there's not many other places you can find them. Even in Fall River, they're becoming increasingly rare. According to Flavor & Fortune magazine, a Chow Mein Sandwich is:


The key is that the noodles have to be crunchy. In other words, you can't slop Chow Mein from your local Chinese restaurant on a bun and expect it to taste like a real Chow Mein Sandwich. If you want to try one, and you don't live in New England, your only option seems to be to mail-order the "Original Hoo Mee Chow Mein Mix" from the Oriental Chow Mein Company in Fall River, and prepare your own.

The thumbnail is from Wikipedia.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 12, 2008 - Comments (1)
Category: Food, Regionalism

Preparation of Foods

If our readers plan on cooking animal testicles, they'll need to know all about the history of food prep, including that new discovery--microwaves!

Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 02, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category: Food, Documentaries, 1960s, Yesterday’s Tomorrows

Follies of the Mad Men #32

[From Life magazine for April 23 1971.]

Okay, here's today's lesson, ad guys, and I'll only tell you once:

YOU NEVER COMPARE YOUR PRODUCT TO A PLAGUE OR STD, EVEN IN JEST!!!

Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 01, 2008 - Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Celebrities, Food, Sports, 1970s

Breakfast by Svankmajer

Thanks to High Weirdo Sandy Pearlman, we can all enjoy this little gem by filmmaker Jan Svankmajer.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 29, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Surrealism, Body Modifications, Food, Movies, Foreign Customs