THE BAD DEAL

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. 

1. Masa & Bar Masa
2. Per Se
3. The French Laundry
4. The Fat Duck (click on “menu” and Flash icon pops up)
5. Jean Georges
6. Del Posto
7. Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester
8. Pierre Gagnaire
9. Le Cirque
10. The Brooklyn Star (I like this place)
11. STK (whatever) 

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Sirio Maccioni’s Le Cirque is a lovely restaurant, and I happen to work in the same building where the famed dining institution is located. So I’m sorry that Gilt City is offering a relatively BAD DEAL: $99 for a chef’s tasting, plus a copy of Maccioni’s autobiography. Two guests will save $72 before tax & tip, not a terrible deal, if you’re okay with locking yourself into the tasting menu and putting a down payment of $198. Problem is, Savored is running a better deal (30% off) that can save you $71-$242, with fewer restrictions and a $10 booking fee. Warning: lots of data after the jump. Break out your No.2 pencils if you wanna keep up. 

Here is the Gilt City RISK vs REWARD data: 

• RISK: $99-$198
• TRADEOFF: You’re forced into the tasting menu. If you bring two more friends they pay full prices b/c there’s a limit of two vouchers per table. There’s no discount on wine pairings. If you don’t use voucher by September 23^rd you could be SOL. You could have saved more with Savored. And you’ll walk home with a book you don’t want. 
• REWARD: Save $36 for one, $72 for two.

Here is the Savored RISK vs REWARD data: 

• RISK: $10 booking fee. 
• TRADEOFF: You won’t dine at 8pm, but generally speaking, you can dine at the prime time hours of 7pm or 9pm. There are generally no menu restrictions. 
• REWARD: Full 30% discount. So on the chef’s tasting, you can save $61-$212 depending on wine pairings and size of party. The more you order, the more you save. 

So BAD DEAL for Gilt City, because of the higher risk involved, DECENT DEAL for Savored, because of the lower risk and higher potential savings. In fact, here’s some more math to prove it. Remember, you can only use two vouchers per table with Gilt City. Here’s the comparison: 

Tasting menu for two:

• Gilt: $198
• Savored: $199

Tasting menu for four:

• Gilt: $468
• Savored: $388

Tasting menu for two with wine pairings:

• Gilt: $346
• Savored: $304

Tasting menu for four with wine pairings:

• Gilt: $766
• Savored: $598

Finally: As much as The Bad Deal likes Savored, having to go through this math makes dining out INFINITELY more confusing, which is a BAD value for the consumer. Related: The Bad Deal’s math values the Le Cirque book at $0. I’m sure it’s a fine read, but who buys books at restaurants? 

Sirio Maccioni’s Le Cirque, a restaurant so famous they made an HBO documentary about it, recently increased the price of its tasting menu to $135, a modest $10 hike. The shorter set menu rose to $95, a modest $3 hike. I’ll call this one a BUY because hey, no one knows how much longer this fine, storied place is going to be around. After all, Le Cirque is offering 30% off every bill if the booking is made through Savored, an OpenTable.com-style site that sells discounted reservations for $10 bucks, so on that note, we’ll also call it a GOOD DEAL. Some observations: 

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