Could I Get Some Food With That?

One of our all-time favorite dining stories was our experience at the very dramatic, very beautiful Megu in Manhattan.

About 5 years ago, I had an opportunity to live in Manhattan for the summer. I was there on a work assignment and my living arrangements were paid for by my employer. It was a pretty sweet deal.

Because I was in New York, and feeling pretty flush, I made it my mission to dine at all the best restaurants in the city.

A new Japanese restaurant had opened in lower Manhattan shortly before my arrival. I heard it was something like a 10 million dollar build out and it was stupendous. When L. came to visit, I made reservations and we headed over to the gorgeous Megu.

It did not disappoint. Oh my god! We, experienced diners from the South, were like innocent lambs in New York. All wide-eyed and innocent. And Megu, oh Megu..she was like some gorgeous prostitute. We had never seen the likes of her before, but we knew not what we were getting ourselves into. She crushed us.

We arrived at the restaurant. The beautiful Japanese hostess escorted us down the stairs, into the dramatic dining area, with ice Buddha acting as the centerpiece. We sat, ordered drinks and we began delving into the menu. Sushi looked good. $20 for a roll seemed maybe a bit high but not too unreasonable. We continued to peruse the menu. The entrees...hmmm..oh look, kobe steak, that sounds good. How much? $240. Gulp. Let's stick to sushi.

The waiter returned and L. began to order a couple of very expensive appetizers and some sushi. To start with, we thought. After ordering about five rolls (so about $100 worth of sushi), he casually asked "how many pieces of sushi to a roll." The waiter responds "just one piece." In that moment, I watched the blood drain from L's face. He quickly stopped ordering food. L looked at me and said (and I know it killed him to say this) "I can't afford this place."

The waiter returned with our sushi. And then the most amazing thing happened. Someone came to our table with a giant branch. He grated the branch and it turned into wasabi! Who knew that wasabi was made from a tree?? It was so cool. And also the best wasabi I've ever had. The sushi was spectacular. It had been flown in from Tokyo the preceding day. I think after that, we ordered maybe one other item. Everything we had was fantastic. We just couldn't afford to order very much. And the bill was well over $300.

Meanwhile, at the table next to us sat 2 girls, who could not have more than 21 (and I only assume they were that old because they produced IDs and were drinking alcohol), who ordered everything they possibly could off the menu. Oysters, sushi, bottles of wine. Without a care in the world. We watched them longingly. If only we had their parents' credit card, too.

We left the restaurant and went to my favorite french bistro down the street (Les Halles) where L got a burger and fries.

We laugh about this experience to this day. Secretly, we both want to go back. At least, we'll be prepared for the sticker shock. We were not prepared for it last time. I really, really want someone to grate wasabi from a giant branch at my table one more time.