The $100 Grilled Cheese Sandwich

[Cali_Democrat]

Meet the "zillion dollar grilled cheese" available only this month at Deca Restaurant and Bar at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in downtown Chicago. Its price tag? $100.

The sandwich features thin slices of black Iberico ham sourced from acorn-fed free-range pigs living primary in southern Spain, Ellis Family Farms heirloom tomatoes, 100-year-old aged balsamic vinaigrette and Oregon Perigord white truffle aioli, according to a press release. Even the bread -- artisan country sourdough cooked in Laudemio Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi extra virgin olive oil -- is fancier than most.

And the kicker, of course, is the cheese: 40-year aged Wisconsin cheddar infused with 24k gold flakes. Yes, 24k gold flakes.

Finally, this grilled cheese is topped with Hudson Valley foie gras and a sunny-side-up duck egg, plus lobster macaroni and cheese on the side. Because of course.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/10/gold-plated-grilled-cheese_n_5125856.html

[NightWatcher]

1. Kraft singles on white bread $.25. Where's my change?

I'll even make it on my fancy panini.

Suck it Ritz-Carlton

[pokerfan]

34. Cheez Whiz and Wonder Bread

It's not complicated.

[NightWatcher]

50. Whiz ain't cheese (or cheez)

Had it on a cheesesteak and that shit was revolting.

[pokerfan]

73. which is why it's spelled cheez

[Sheldon Cooper]

2. Idiotic.

And pretentious. Are you sure this isn't from the Onion?

[oneofthe99]

3. pigs from Spain !!

It should sell for $200

[riqster]

80. Well, crap, I thought you said...

Pigs in SPAAAAAACE....

http://m.

&feature=kp

[yeoman6987]

4. Looks good

But I would hardly call that a grilled cheese. I would not pay for that unless it was a one-time deal as part of a special occasion.

[NYC_SKP]

5. Gold has no flavor, none. This should be called a stupid burger. nt.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

37. "Gold has no flavor, none."

I think the word you're looking for is "tasteless."

[DrDan]

6. so how do the gold flakes improve the taste

I wonder if one can order a "grilled cheese hold the flakes" and pay somewhat less . . . . say $77-$78 or so

might be tempted . . . if some decent fries were thrown in

[Thor_MN]

17. They don't. but for people with that kind of money,

they love to be literally shitting gold.

[Liberal_in_LA]

25. lol. good point

[PoliticAverse]

7. How much without the gold flakes?... n/t

[Gore1FL]

47. I suspect it's insignificant compared to the overall cost, but it allows for ramped-up pricing. n/t

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

8. For those with more dollars than sense.

[jamzrockz]

21. lol

same thing I say when I see ppl buying things from airport restaurants. I sooner die than buy food from either place

[Texasgal]

9. My first time visiting San Francisco

which was just a few years ago.. I paid 30 dollars for a grilled dungenes crab sammy which came with truffle oil fries!! I sat there and contemplated it but decided that i would never do that again in my life! I went for it and it was the best thing I think I have ever eaten!

I'll never forget it!

[Maraya1969]

15. Was it the fries or the crab sandwich that your remember most? Because I had cheese with truffles

it and it was magnificent. Since then I have been looking for truffles but I don't go to many fancy restaurants and I don't live in a large city.

[Texasgal]

16. You know.. I think it was both.

The fries were magnificent, but the crab sammy was grilled on sourdough with some smoked cheese and the crab and it was soooo good!. One glass of pinot and I was in HEAVEN.

I would almost do it again if I could! LOL!

[genwah]

26. You can buy truffles and truffle products online. IIRC there's a place called Earthly Delights (?)

that sold Oregon state truffles.

[MineralMan]

69. Truffles. My wife bought me a couple of small black truffles

once for a birthday present. I thought and thought about what to do with them. I didn't want them buried in other flavors, because I had actually never tasted them. I kept thinking.

Finally, after a couple of weeks, I shaved one of the truffles into micro-thin slices. I scrambled some eggs in butter, seasoning them with just salt and pepper, and added the truffles shortly before serving them.

It was a perfect way to try them.

The second truffle ended up as part of a compound butter, which accompanied baked potatoes I served to a couple who were close friends. Also a good choice.

Simplicity.

[B2G]

78. Best burger in San Fran at Bix

Black Truffle Cheese Burger served open face on Rye with Truffle Fries. $28 and worth every penny.

And their Lobster Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes, Jalapeños and Basil.

OMG. Flying back there on Monday...must go

[pinboy3niner]

10. Hold the gold flakes. I'm AUllergic. nt

[NYC_SKP]

54. Waa waa waa!

[Flying Squirrel]

61. DUzy ;)

But I just put 'em up so ya missed out on this one!

[riqster]

79. Periodically, I ask people to table these element jokes.

That pun was Auful!

[3catwoman3]

82. So bad they were good...

...on both your parts!

[riqster]

83. Pinboy's was as good as gold!

[MrScorpio]

11. American wealth inequality, everybody… It's pretty obscene.

So, when the fuck are we going to whip out the guillotines?

[Auggie]

14. No more obscene than a $1400 bottle of wine

Here you go:

[Warpy]

23. I keep wishing angry wood workers

would post scale models on the roads to the private jetports used by the obscenely rich.

[Walk away]

12. It actually sounds delicious!....

And I kind of like the thought of the porkers vacationing in Andalucia and dining on acorns.

That hundred dollars get's split up between the chef, the dish washer, the Ellis Family farm, the owner of the truffle pig and his cousin the ham, the cheese maker, the bread maker, the oil maker and the owner of the restaurant.

Sprinkle in a little gold leaf, which is pretty cheap but flashy and I don't see what is so wrong about this. I might buy the ingredients for the same amount of $$$ and make a fabulous lunch for four. Sue me!

[pangaia]

27. It does look delicious...

I don't have the money to do much I would like to do but...
really exquisite cuisine is, for me, one of life's great pleasures... be it superb bar-b-q or something like this 'sandwich.' (for both which I must go off my 80% vegan diet.)

[Walk away]

31. I live very close to some fantastic Italian neighborhoods.

I can get a loaf of incredible, crusty semolina bread in Hoboken for $4, award winning fresh mozzarella cheese still warm from Giovanni's in Secaucus for $10 a lb, my cousin Guido's homegrown Jersey tomatoes and my own fresh basil and make a sandwich that would make you cry with happiness.

It's not vegan but the oinkers get to live out their natural lives eating acorns and doing Flamenco!

[pangaia]

35. Oh stop it, stop it !!!!

It's nearly bed time.


Actually our local Wegman's grocery carries Iberico.
Not that I can afford it,

But I used to be able to afford a '61 or '66 Chateau Lafite.
No more.

I grew up in Teaneck. But we didn't have home grown tomatoes. I did play jazz gigs at Stevens Tech, though.

Then there is my post way down about eating at Sukiyabashi Jiro, the one owned by Jiro Ono's son.

(Talk about disjointed rambling)

[Walk away]

41. Hey! I grew up in Teaneck too!

My Mom was Director of Student Activities at FDU so we lived up the block from the college.

Also, I am way impressed that you dined at Sukiyabashi Jiro. Like you, there was a time when I could afford it but that's way out of my budget now.

If you are interested in really fine food that is organic and raised, grown and made by a fellow Teneckian who's butter came in 1st in the NYTimes "Best Butter in America" contest and who has made cheese for the White House, check out this link to Jonathan Whites website.
He and his wife saved a landmark farm in NJ and raise organic meat and make incredible cheeses. Their breads are wonderful too. They are really nice people as well.

http://www.cowsoutside.com/

[Crunchy Frog]

48. Pigs that are living more luxuriously than most of us.

And probably slaughtered more humanely as well.

[Flying Squirrel]

62. The pigs, maybe.. but what about the ducks?

Foie gras was just banned in CA, and Hudson Valley has been outed as being inhumane in their force feeding of ducks as well. Very few people feed the ducks naturally.

[Walk away]

67. That's why I only eat duck that have been hunted.

And that means once or twice a year.

[CatWoman]

13. that egg makes me want to barf

I can't stand runny and/or soft eggs

[emsimon33]

20. That was my reaction the minute I saw the sandwich!!!!!

Great minds...????

[CatWoman]

28. ...

[dionysus]

36. oh come on! that's what you dip your toast in!

[CatWoman]

38. stop it dammit

my stomach is rumbling now.

You want me to put the cats to shame with a good old fashioned barf off?

[dionysus]

45. my kitteh beats me in both the barf-off and the run up the stairs-off

so no, I won't stop time to make toast and eggs!

[VanillaRhapsody]

18. ^^^^ is what is EMBLEMATIC of what is wrong in this country. That there are some people

in this country that would actually buy that damn thing.......THAT is how decadent the wealthy have become and a sandwich like that is meant nothing more than to flaunt it in the face of the poor....People are fighting for a raise in the middle wage because making middle wage makes them eligible for food assistance.....yet there are so many Daddy and Mommy Got Rocks in this country that would buy that to simply flaunt how much money they really have.....and that is the only reason to eat that monstrosity...

It's long since time to "spread some of the wealth" around one way or another. Any of the Kochs, Waltons Murdoch's or Adelson himself don't like it....they can pack their shit and hit the bricks....

And the real problem is....that they feel comfortable about that sandwich to flaunt in front of us.....Our problem is we do not make them fear us....We should have them followed and filmed everywhere they go....as much as "freedom" allows....surveillance of them. Documenting their lifestyles....usually freaky deaky lives....They should NOT feel so comfortable about flaunting their wealth around when so many are NOT doing so well....when so many who actually DO physical work are not paid a living wage and are eligible for govt assistance. Yet these rich assholes whining that we are big meanies for publicizing how much govt assistance THEY benefit from. We are being mean to them by saying that they are TOO rich...poor poor them!

You see throughout history.....when the rich get so wealthy and they become comfortable openly displaying their wealth.....when the public finally realizes HOW much wealth they have and that a large portion of their wealth comes directly from OUR tax dollars....things don't go so well for them. The BEST outcome for them at that point is for us to raise their taxes....you see that is the most humane thing to do....before the other alternative befalls them!

Which is why....making them feel uneasy and uncomfortable enough to understand THAT is their best bet....We should be within the law....harrassing the shit out of them....Freedom of speech and all that rot doncha know!

[pangaia]

24. Sushi..

I can not afford to eat as much sushi as I would prefer.
But when I travel in the US and Canada, and of course Japan, I seek out the best sushi bars I can find.

Several months ago, while on tour in Japan and Taiwan, I had the good fortune to be able to reserve, through our management in Tokyo, 2 seats at Sukiyabashi Jiro. I could not turn down this unique opportunity. This, in case you are not familiar with the world's great sushi bars, is one of the best, perhaps second only to that owned by Jiro Ono, who is the father of Jiro Takeshi, owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro.
The meal cost about $345 USD, as I remember. It was the most stunning, wonderful meal I have had in my life and the experience was worth every penny.

[Trillo]

19. Some people have too much money.

Gold flakes?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurothioglucose

[Warpy]

22. I suppose you're expected to eat it with knife and fork

which kind of defeats the purpose of a sandwich. Maybe you can flip the eggy/foie gras side over.

The older I get, the simpler my food gets. I'll pass, thanks, I prefer my own cooking.

[CatWoman]

39. i find the lobster mac and cheese intriguing

[eShirl]

29. what, no spam?

[BainsBane]

43. That's the Hawaiian version.

[littlewolf]

30. the egg would make me barf. however when I was in Spain

I would get Jamón Serrano alot it was sooooo good.
now Jamon Iberico: wiki.
Jamón Ibérico – This ham is made only from the Iberian pig. The breeding of the Iberian pig is restricted to an area in Southwestern Spain and Southeastern Portugal. Although fed some cereals, these pigs also roam countryside and feed on acorns. The curing process lasts from 14 to 36 months.

I never had of this, Serrano was so available and so good.

[Jgarrick]

32. I'll be eating a couple of $150 dinners when I go to NYC in a couple of weeks.

They'll be fine dining experiences that last 2 to 3 hours...not a sandwich (however fancy) that's devoured in 10 minutes!

[dionysus]

33. pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?

[name not needed]

40. It's a gimmick. The entire point of this dish is free publicity.

But feel free to go on about how rich people need to die and then wonder why nobody takes you seriously.

[CatWoman]

44. where the hell did that come from

[nomorenomore08]

59. It's about obscene wealth disparities - a record number of billionaires while ~20%

of American families are on food stamps. You'd have to be blind not to think that things are a bit out of whack.

[BainsBane]

42. The white truffle is what does it

That is more expensive than the gold flakes.

[Dirty Socialist]

46. If It Has Ham, It's Not Grilled Cheese

Duh!

[Nye Bevan]

49. Gold flakes? Cybermen need to stay away from this place.

OK pretty obscure I know.

[Vashta Nerada]

57. Not really obscure.

[Godhumor]

51. If I were in Chicago this month, I would try it

To be honest, it looks and sounds delicious, and the price is not insanely out of this world.

[Art_from_Ark]

60. Five dollars is about my limit for a sandwich,

although I did buy a foot-long Subway sandwich for about $7 once.

[jmowreader]

52. Sounds like a zillion-dollar Montecristo to me

[Scootaloo]

53. All of these things have the same crap

Truffles, foie gras, and gold foil.

Time after time after time again.

I'm just gonna invent a truffle-and-foi-gras spread in a gold foil pouch. Stread it on whatever the fuck you like, charge $400 a meal

[3catwoman3]

55. If I am going to pay for gold...

...I would rather wear it than have it pass thru my gut.

[Art_from_Ark]

63. With the kind of gold we're talking about here,

you probably wouldn't even have enough to plate a wedding ring.

I've got a small vial full of that stuff-- it barely registers on my jeweler's scale.

[Vashta Nerada]

56. Looks like a heart attack waiting to happen.

No thanks.

[NaturalHigh]

58. Sounds hideous, actually.

Would I get a discount for telling them to leave off the tomatoes?

[Art_from_Ark]

64. Probably not

But maybe it would be enough to get them to sing a rousing rendition of "Hold the foie gras, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us..."

[NaturalHigh]

68. That would be an expensive song.

[hfojvt]

65. WTF? Sam I am

a grilled cheese is not supposed to contain gold eggs and ham.

[regnaD kciN]

66. With those ingredients, you really can't say you aren't getting your money's worth...

...but, since I don't like fried eggs or tomatoes, I'd pass. Besides, I don't consider it a "Grilled Cheese" -- more like an artisan sandwich with ham and cheese and some rather-deluxe side orders.

I'll say, though, that, if I were going to have a grilled cheese (which I generally don't, nowadays, for dietary reasons), I'd settle for slices of sharp Tillamook on some quality artisan bread (maybe a rosemary-potato variety) grilled in real butter. The essence of the sandwich carried out with high-quality ingredients for, maybe, a few bucks.

[n2doc]

70. Can't compare to the cost

of a MRE in Iraq or Afghanistan.

[Poll_Blind]

71. Food items like this, especially with superflous additions such as gold, etc. are just pub. stunts.

They generate outrage from those who're angered by the conspicuous consumption and delight by those who crave status.

Aside from the gold, I was thinking it would be a pretty good sandwich with those ingredients but after thinking about it a while, especially using cheese that old, it's probably going to be as salty as fuck.

PB

[srican69]

72. $100 .. that is so cheap .. here is a $1000 sundae

http://boingboing.net/2006/02/14/worlds-most-expensiv.html

Made with "5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf, the sundae is drizzled with the world's most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana, and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela's coast. The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan Cherries. It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color. It's sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac. The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon to partake in the indulgence served with a petite mother of pearl spoon and topped with a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel."

[melm00se]

74. Does this:

40-year aged Wisconsin cheddar infused with 24k gold flakes. Yes, 24k gold flakes.

that some chucklehead 40 years ago decided to mix gold flakes into cheese for just this sort of situation?

[jmondine]

75. I don't get the pride the wealthy derive from saying, "I'm so rich, I can afford to be ripped off"!

[catbyte]

76. Aside from the heinous overindulgence, I am allergic to gold, so sadly I couldn't eat it.

[arcane1]

77. When you resort to eating gold, you have too much money and nothing to spend it on.

Reminds me of that CEO who went water-skiing with a nude model clinging to his back.

[JustAnotherGen]

81. No tomato soup on the side?

What a rip!