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The most expensive meal we’ve ever had December 22, 2013

Well, it  was more than seven years ago on a Thursday evening in Paris.

I’ve heard of Alain Ducasse and wanted to eat at his restaurant for a while. I made a reservation for two at his Paris flagship restaurant called Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee when we were in Paris for a vacation. That week-long vacation in France also took us to Bordeaux and Nice. It was our first trip to Europe and we chose to stay in France the entire time. We had a great time there even though it was very expensive with hotels, TGV, afternoon tea, road side coffee and pastries not mention all the wonderful meals.

Well, we didn’t have cellphone back then and we didn’t take any pictures either. The restaurant gave us something to take away with: a box of home-made butter cookies and a copy of our menu.

Our bill, main menu and dessert menu

It took us about two and half hours to finish the meal. During the entire time when we were at the restaurant, there was always someone a few steps away from our table. We didn’t have to ask for anything because our wait staff already anticipated our needs and did it before we even noticed. Yet, we didn’t feel any intrusiveness at any time because they were all very polite, professional and personal. It wasn’t rushed at all. Time between dishes was never more than a minute or two. The only trouble I had was that we didn’t know any French but our wait staff took the pain to explain each dish in English to us as well, not that we could comprehend or remember what he said.

We ordered a bottle of wine, a ’98 Pouilly-Fuissé at the suggestion of the wine master. I told him how much I wanted to spend and what kind of food we wanted to order. He suggested this wine and we took it gladly. It cost us 120 euro.

There were six parties in the dining room and everyone was well dressed for the occasion. I believed we were all tourists because no sane local French would spend this kind of money and eat here on a Thursday evening.

The official exchange rate was $1.28 US for ever Euro. We were paying for $1.35 or even $1.40 at the airport and on the streets of Paris.

We were also charged a T.V.A. of 19.6% which came to 103.41 euro. We gave a tip of about 22%.

The meal and the tax was 631 euro. After 140 euro tips, the total charge on my credit card was 771 euro. At 1.35 exchange rate, we paid $1,040.

For images of the restaurant and some dishes served there, check the link below:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Alain+Ducasse+au+Plaza+Athenee&newwindow=1&safe=off&rlz=1C1SKPI_enUS394&espv=210&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=J622UsWsCYmL2AWIg4HoBA&ved=0CEsQsAQ&biw=1345&bih=947&dpr=0.9

Will we do it again? Yes, at other restaurants of the same quality. We we insane back then? No doubt about it.

Why did we do it? For the experience.

Was it worth it? Yes. Some people like to travel. Some people like to eat. Some people like to shop at antique stores. Some like to spend their money on furniture. We like to travel, eat and the memory.

I always say to myself that we don’t eat like this every day. After a big meal like this one, we’ll go back to cooking at home with plain old rice, sliced, diced or shredded chicken with vegetables and some green leaf vegetables for a week or two. Then we will be good to go for another meal outside. Not as fancy and not as expensive like the meal we had at Alain Ducasse of course.

Would you like to try it sometime? The restaurant is still open for business.