Ballpark Estimate: $95 to $1.6 million
Are you willing to put your money where your mouth is? If so, you might want to find out more about some of the most extravagant – and delicious – foods you can buy today. From decadent sandwiches to pricey sushi to an opulent ice cream sundae, there is something for almost anyone’s taste. And even the most common fast food can reach great heights if you can afford to splurge on the rarest and most unusual varieties.
Sampling of the Most Extravagant Foods Money Can Buy
It seems like even the most basic foods take on new life when they are combined with special extras, such as caviar and truffles (not necessarily together). Therefore, if you have the money and don’t mind having nothing to show for your investment, except perhaps the memory of a great meal and a little extra padding around your waistline, here is a sampling of some of the best and most expensive treats you can try.
10. Macaroni and Cheese With White Truffles (Mélisse)
Perhaps only in LA could you find the unlikely team of macaroni and cheese paired with white truffles to create the perfect gourmet meal. You can try this unusual taste at a trendy restaurant called Mélisse, where the chef pulls together a mix of parmesan cheese, brown butter truffle froth and white truffles with fresh tagliatelle. Such creativity comes at the cost of $95 a plate. But money and desire alone aren’t enough- you can only order this special item from October through December, when white truffles are in season.
9. Kobe Beef Cheesesteak (Barclay Prime)
If a Philly cheesesteak has long been one of your favorites, you might want to try the gourmet version of this old standby, which is available at the Barclay Primesteakhouse in Philadelphia. What takes this cheesesteak to new heights is Kobe beef with butter-poached lobster and melted Talegio cheese on a brioche bun. French black truffle shavings on top provide the finishing touch. The $100 price for this item includes a small bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne to wash down the tasty meal.
8. Von Essen Platinum Club Sandwich (Cliveden House)
If you want to try a different, and even more expensive, variation on a sandwich, next time you find yourself abroad consider stopping at the Cliveden House hotel in Taplow, Berkshire. There, you can order the von Essen Platinum Club Sandwich for the not-so-modest price of almost $200. For the money, you get a triple decker that is jam packed with gourmet chicken, ham, hard-boiled quails’ eggs. The whole thing is topped with white truffles.
7. The Burger (Burger King London, England)
You probably don’t think of fast food as expensive, but in fact, a special hamburger that recently hit the Burger King menu in West London, England, is changing things up a bit. The popular chain now offers (in this location exclusively) “The Burger,” which is a specialty item made of Wagyu beer and slices of Pata Negra ham. Other ingredients include Cristal onion straws, Modena balsamic vinegar, organic white wine and shallot infused mayonnaise in an Iranian saffron. The results are served on a white truffle dusted bun and priced at $200 a pop, making it one of the most expensive burgers for sale. While this sounds over-the-top, it’s all for a good cause. The proceeds are earmarked for a London charity called Help-A-Child.
6. Sushi (Sushi Masa)
If sushi is your thing, you must try New York City’s Sushi Masa. This Japanese restaurant specializes in the finest sushi that money can buy. All of the food is flown in directly from Japan and the chef adjusts the menu daily according to the best and freshest ingredients that are available. The price of$300 per person or more doesn’t seem to deter the restaurant’s loyal guests. There is such a steady stream of customers that to reserve a table, you often have to call three or more weeks in advance.
5. Lobster Omelet (Le Parker Meridien Restaurant)
Can you imagine ordering an omelet that costs $1,000? That’s what guests at theLe Parker Meridien Restaurant in New York City spend for the restaurant’s masterpiece. The ingredients include an entire lobster, coupled with sevruga caviar and of course, eggs. In fact, half a dozen of them are used in this pricey breakfast treat.
4. Grand Opulence Sundae (Serendipity 3)
The best meal isn’t complete without finishing it off with the Grand Opulence Sundae, which has made Serendipity 3on the Upper East Side in New York City a favorite ending spot for many of the rich and famous. This edible treat consists of five scoops of Tahitian vanilla bean ice accented with Madagascar vanilla cream and topped with Amedei Porceleana chocolate. The finishing touch on this masterpiece is a design of edible gold leaf pieces. The price for such extravagance is $1,000, causing this dessert to be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.
3. Lobster Pizza (Nino’s Bellissima Pizza)
Also coming in at the $1,000 mark is a small pizza available in New York’s Nino’s Bellissima Pizza. This upper east side establishment is home of the Mamma Mia, which is a 12-inch pizza pie topped with lobster tail, crème fraiche, chives and four types of caviar. While this sounds like a strange blend, patrons seem to flock to this colorful and tasty variation on an old favorite.
2. Almas Iranian Caviar (Caviar House & Prunier)
If you have a taste for fine caviar, how about trying the rarest and most expensive of this type, which is Almas Iranian Caviar. This is a kind of Beluga caviar that is sold by Caviar House & Prunier in London. It comes packaged in 24 karat gold tins and sells for close to $25,000 for a 32-ounce container, making it a very worthy contender for this list.
1. Diamond Fruitcake
If the thought of a fruitcake doesn’t excite you, you probably haven’t tried the one that holds the top spot on this list. The unusual creation, which was part of a Tokyo exhibit called, “Diamonds: Nature’s Miracle,” was designed by two Japanese chefs and features an exquisite floral design made with 223 small diamonds. One word of warning, though: be sure to remove the jewels before taking a bite! The price for this gem of a cake is a shocking $1.6 million.
An Extravagant Feast
If this sampling of most expensive foods still hasn’t satisfied your appetite, how about indulging in an extravagant dinner? For $25,000 a plate, plus airfare, guests from all over the world recently traveled to Bangkok, Thailand to enjoy a 10-course gourmet dinner at the Lebua Luxury Hotel that was made by the world’s very best chefs. The event was called “Epicurean Masters of the World.”