THE BAD DEAL

UrbanDaddy, the DirtyDaddy of deal sites, is charging $175 for a four-course meal of corn, clams, pork and chocolate at Mario Batali’s Eataly. They toss in four beers as well. It’s a one-night-only event that includes tax & tip. Sure, an Eataly chef teaches you how to make these dishes. BUT REALLY. We think you and your date can teach yourselves how to steam clams and toss salad for less than $350. It ain’t that hard.

Here are some BETTER BATALI deals: For $75 bucks, you can do the 7-course tasting at Esca, which serves some of Manhattan’s best seafood. Add on the formal wine pairing at you’re at $161 after tax & tip. Or you could do Babbo’s eight-course tasting for $75. Or you could order Del Posto’s five-courser for $115. None of those menus are one-night-only jobs where you lose your $$$ if you don’t show up. None of those menus mandate beverage pairings. And all of those menus have stood the test of time. So go get yourself a real Batali meal. And skip out on this DirtyDaddy offer. It’s a BAD DEAL.

# the bad deal

Here’s a photo collage of restaurants whose websites you can’t view on the iPhone or iPad, a follow up to our earlier post on menu transparency in the mobile world. We’re running with this visual element because chefs are visual people. They like to have infinite control over every aspect of every ingredient on every plate. Those chefs would likely be disappointed if they knew this is what diners saw when they logged onto their websites. The diners would likely be disappointed too. We think these chefs can do better with mobile. Editors note: in a few cases, we added a sad faces for dramatic effect. (Source: The Price Hike/The Bad Deal).

If 86-Year Old Paul Bocuse Has iPhone-Compatible Website, So Should Masa

The iPhone was born in 2007. Paul Bocuse was born in 1926. And because Bocuse is an adaptable guy, not to mention a reasonably famous chef with a global culinary competition named after him (The Bocuse D’Or), one can view the website for his three-Michelin starred Lyons restaurant on the iPhone or iPad without too much hassle. It’s all quite convenient.

Thomas Keller, the great American chef who literally wrote the go-to book on modern sous-vide techniques, and who’s the president of The Bocuse D’Or USA foundation (see above), does not have iPhone compatible websites at his two high-end restaurants, Per Se and The French Laundry, a five years after the debut of the iPhone. It’s all quite inconvenient.

Yes, yes, Chef Keller does have a pretty cool iPad wine app, which we’ll discuss in a little bit. And Keller, of course, isn’t alone in all this.

Here’s a list of some of the world’s great chefs and restaurants, some of the world’s most famous restaurants, one very good neighborhood restaurant, and STK, none of which appear to have iOS-friendly sites. Try out the links below on your iPhone or iPad and see what happens. It ain’t pretty.

Masa & Bar Masa
Per Se
The French Laundry
The Fat Duck (click on “menu” and Flash icon pops up)
Jean Georges
Del Posto
Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester
Pierre Gagnaire
Le Cirque
The Brooklyn Star (I like this place)
STK (whatever)

Contemplating Del Posto’s $35,000 Wedding

Gilt City is again offering a wedding deal at Mario Batali’s Del Posto. The $35,000 price is almost-all-inclusive: you get dancing, drinks, dinner, flowers, cake and a five-piece jazz ensemble. This is probably, sadly, definitely a decent enough DEAL for New York City.

Still, lets’ take a closer look: The Del Posto offer includes a standing wedding reception, a 4-course meal and a five-hour premium open bar, all for up to 120 people. That comes out to $292 per person, though Del Posto charges an extra $250 per person for up to 30 more guests, which can bring the cost to $42,500 for 150 people. That’s still well below the average Manhattan wedding cost of $66,000, if you believe the latest survey data from The Knot and The Wedding Channel.