You finally score that hard to get dinner reservation, and sit down in a lavish restaurant soaking up the ambiance.  Now the difficult choice is deciding what to order from the numerous mouth watering menu choices.  Why hassle?  Let the head chef decide for you.

This is a growing trend in top restaurants.  Tasting menus which typically come with set prices, are becoming more common at America’s top restaurants. Many have even done away with a la carte ordering all together.

If you want to know the highest price restaurant.  Manhattan’s Masa is tops with a $400 per person set menu – plus an automatic 20 percent gratuity.  Cha-ching!  Full article

Ever got sticker shock looking at an upscale restaurant’s menu? How about shelling out $150 just for a last-minute cancellation of a dinner reservation?  You will at “Masa”, the sushi temple in Manhatten – New York.

Although eating out in New York is expensive, it palls compared to other cities around the world.  London tops the list with an averga edinner check of $79, according to the 2008 Zagat survey.  Paris is second at $74 and Tokyo third at $70. New York patrons only average $39.  Full article

For restaurant guests who can afford them, tasting menus offer a chance to experience the range of a chef’s repertoire and kitchen skills–both creative and technical–without having to think too hard.

While some of the world’s most lavish tasting menus are spontaneous affairs not listed on the regular menu, most are well-conceived displays of the restaurant’s signature dishes. Full article