A Frugal Multi-millionaire's Guide to New York's Most Expensive Restaurants
You're young, affluent and have the world by the tail. You've bought when everybody's sold, sold when everybody's bought, and now you want to treat yourself to a day off in the Big Apple. The only problem is that due to certain tax regulations, the blasted SEC, and you're ex-wife's bulldog attorney that would make Michael Vick proud, you've only got a paltry $6,000 in your pocket to enjoy the culinary delights of New York City. How do you pull it all together?
Be calm, my friend, The Culinary Muser is here to show you that, yes, even for $6,000 you can sample some of New York's best dining experiences and still walk away looking like a big tipper.
Breakfast
As you know, your coffers are extremely limited, so we're going to have to develop a strategy if you want to end the day with a hot meal. My first suggestion is to start the day with a good, hearty breakfast. That way, you'll have a meal that sticks with you and won't thin out your money clip by snacking through the afternoon.
What's the breakfast place that will give you all that, you ask incredulously? Norma's in the Le Parker Meridien Hotel on W. 57th Street. Call ahead for a table and be sure to mention my name when you do. Once seated, the meal you're going to order is the Zillion Dollar Lobster Fritata.
That's right, lobster frittata. This beauty of an omelet consists of six eggs, an entire lobster, and 10 oz of Sevruga caviar all over a bed of roasted potatoes. Like everything at Norma's, the presentation is as exquisite as the taste.
Best thing about Norma's… you can get breakfast until 3:00 in the afternoon. So if you wiled the previous night away throwing back cold ones with your fellow corporate raiders while reciting your favorite Gordon Gecko quotes and speculating on junk stocks in the Asian market, you can stroll in long after the opening bell has rung and still order breakfast.
(By the way… those weren't Sam Adams Utopias or Tutenkhamen Ales, you were drinking last night, were they? If so, and if they came out of today's budget, I can't be responsible when you can't order a flaming table-side dessert after dinner tonight.)
What's that?
No, it's not really a zillion dollars for the omelet. You can pick the whole thing up for a measly $1,000. Had you going for a second, didn't I?
Enjoy your meal, and I'll be back a little later with my lunch recommendation.
The Culinary Muser
