I hate to admit it, but I’m the queen of justifying expensive purchases. I actually have it down to a formula, which I think of as cost per day: I divide the price by the amount of times I’ll use it, and the answer, I like to tell myself, is the real price. Jeans for $200? Not so bad if I’ll be wearing them a few times a week. But a pricey bottle of wine or steak, on the other hand? Even I have a hard time telling myself those are okay. So I was intrigued to learn that there’s been a trend toward pricing food at ridiculously expensive prices. That’s right, while the rest of us are struggling to hold down our jobs and pay off our loans, people are creating and consuming thousand-dollar desserts. Looking for a distracting mirage in my financial desert, I decided to window shop for some of the world’s most expensive foods.
1. Cheese Sandwich: Around $175
Even one of our favorite comfort foods has found itself a high-end counterpart. This gourmet sammy, concocted by celebrity chef Martin Blunos, boasts a custom-made, white-truffle blend of cheddar—which alone costs around $145. In addition to being infused with the rare truffle, the cheddar is coated with one-hundred-year-old balsamic and with sourdough bread that’s—wait for it—sprinkled with powdered gold. (Yes, apparently gold dust is edible). Between those slices of bread are also extra-virgin olive oil, quail egg, black heirloom tomatoes, apples, and fresh figs. Gotta admit, this one does sound divine.
2. Hot Chocolate: $25,000
Many of us view a creamy cup of cocoa as an indulgence, but this baffling beverage costs the same as nearly two of my cars (and my car’s not bad). Serendipity 3’s Frrrozen Haute Chocolate quite literally packs the price into a little cup, with 24-carat, edible, gold-leaf lining. Besides the precious metal, it comes in a crystal goblet with a bracelet made of 18-carat gold and diamonds attached to the neck. The drink itself is made from fourteen rare cocoas from South America and Africa, along with milk, whipped cream, and shavings from the world’s most expensive truffle (more on that later). Am I the only one that finds the idea of eating gold a bit disconcerting? I guess that’s just my inner peasant talking.
3. Hot Dog: $69
This world record holder is hardly eat-and-run street-food fare. Another Serendipity creation, this dog blows overpriced ballpark franks out of their stadiums. How does one manage to tack on an additional sixty bucks to an already overpriced snack? The Foot-Long Haute Dog is grilled beef, dressed in white truffle oil, duck foie gras, Dijon mustard, Vidalia onions, and ketchup, atop a salted pretzel bun doused again with some truffle oil. Guess double the truffle means double the … fun?
