Question of the Day - 11 February 2006

Yup, it’s true.

It was toward the end of last year that MBay’s Fleur de Lys restaurant introduced its signature FleurBurger 5000. The foie gras-and-black truffle-topped Kobe burger is served on a brioche truffle bun, garnished with Chef Hubert Keller's special sauce consisting of, that’s right, more truffles. The burger itself sells for $75, but if you go for the FleurBurger 5000 option—to date, just one patron has—your meal will be paired with a bottle of Chateau Petrus 1990, which retails for $5,000. So, if you’re coming from the "glass-half-full" school of thought, you could look at this as a great "free burger" deal! The wine is served in Ichendorf Brunello stemware, exclusively imported from Italy, which, after the meal, is shipped directly to your home—at no additional charge.

In terms of big prices for "simple" foods, the favorite example we found was actually not in Las Vegas—at least not yet—but it is served at a casino restaurant, namely the dessert-only Brûlée at the Quarter in the Tropicana, Atlantic City, and we just couldn’t resist. The dish in question is a humble chocolate brownie, except this particular brownie has a $1,000 price tag. How can a chocolate brownie possibly cost $1,000, you may ask? We did, too. The answer is that this one comes topped with edible gold and a beverage pairing of 1996 Quinta da Naval Nacional Vintage Porto, served in a crystal atomizer, which you get to keep (we were too shy to inquire whether you’re meant to decant the port into a glass or spray it into your mouth.)

Meanwhile, back to Las Vegas and as requested, here are a few of the other decadent options on offer around town:

• Bellagio’s Picasso gourmet room ranked as the eighth-most-expensive restaurant in the U.S. in Forbes magazine’s 2005 survey. While the four-course prix-fixe menu comes in at a relatively modest $90, the wine list is the real killer. For example, there’s a 1945 Chateau Mouton Rothschild for $16,888; a 1947 Cheval Blanc, $15,610; and at $13,500, their 1961 Chateau Petrus Classic starts to make Fleur de Lys look like a real bargain.
• While it's dwarfed by the FleurBurger, Paris's Burger Brasserie serves a "777 Burger" which, at $777, is made with Maine lobster and Kobe beef, topped with caramelized onions, brie cheese, crispy prosciutto, and 100-year aged balsamic vinegar. It's served with a bottle of Rose Dom Perignon.
• And then you have Mandalay Bay’s Aureole wine tower, with its "wine-angel" stewardesses, who could fetch you a bottle of 106-year-old 1900 Chateau Petrus. They have two, retailing for $44,000 a piece. So far there have been no takers, but they regularly sell wines in the $11,000-$22,000 range, while the Hardy Perfection Cognac, in its Lalique crystal bottle, is also popular, at $350 a shot.
• That's not even close to being the most expensive shot in town, however, a title enjoyed by the Chivas Regal 50-Year Salute available exclusively at Bellagio's Prime steakhouse. This is one of only 255 bottles produced from Elizabeth II's coronation cask and released to celebrate her 50th Jubilee in 2003. Most bottles went to the Royal Family and other British high-society families; this is believed to be the only bottle in the U.S. and a single shot will set you back $1,050.
• If cocktails are your thing, you could check out the $69 "Ultimate Margarita" at N9NE (Palms), which consists of Herradura Seleccion Suprema, which, at $250-$300 a bottle, is acknowledged to be the world's finest tequila (made from seven-year-old blue agave and matured for three years in oak casks), plus 150th-anniversary-edition Grand Marnier and Mezcal Del Maguey ($75 a bottle). Or try one of the $2,000 martinis at the Hard Rock's Body English nightclub. "The Aristocrat" combines a shot of Remy Martin Louis XIII, the world's finest cognac, plus the ubiquitous Grand Marnier 150th Anniversary, topped off with Dom Perignon. It's served with a take-home, custom-made Body English diamond and ruby-encrusted white gold swizzle stick, presented by a group of sparkler-wielding cocktail servers. The most expensive cocktail we found, however, is—by a whisker—the "High Limit Kir Royale" served at MGM Grand's Teatro Euro Bar. Consisting of Louis Roederer "Cristal" Rose Champagne, 140-year-old Hardy Perfection Cognac, limited-edition Grand Marnier Cent Cinquantenaire, and fresh raspberries, this $2,200 libation is only available at The Teatro Euro Bar. After your cocktail is made, the unused portion of the bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal is served to you -- we should think so, too!

Thanks to reader Seymour Fuchs for the following contribution: "Regarding expensive foods/wine & spirits, Wynn's main bar has one bottle of 1946 Macallan scotch on the shelf. It's $650 a shot (a bottle costs $5,000, if you can get it). The bartender told me they've gone through one complete bottle and 1/3 of the replacement."