Oooohhhhhhh you fuckers are gonna LOVE this one!!!!

Did a website for a friend of mine. Simple stuff (GoLive WYSIWYG, basically), but time consuming. She asked me if she can pay with dinner.

I said "Sure".

She asked "Where?"

I said, "Patina".

For those of you not familiar with Los Angeles, Patina is a nationally recognized Four Star French restaurant located right next to the new Disney Hall. It's regularly regarded as the best restaurant in Los Angeles. I've always wanted to go there, but hadn't.

You'll find out why in a moment.

She agreed (reluctantly). We chose tonight, between curtains at the Pavilion (The Disney Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion -- former home to the Oscars -- and the Ahmanson Theater are pretty much on the same block), so we could get the best table possible.

And, yes, I wore my $115 Marc Ekco shirt, damnit!

We got there early, and had a couple of cocktails while we waited. I had a Sidecar, she had a Whiskey Sour.

Whip out your calculators about "now".

Two drinks... $32, plus a $5 tip.

We made it to the table. Very nice decor. Wood everything with soft yellowish lighting. Meg offered us the menus, while the floor help kept the sourdough and butter coming at a reasonable rate. A bottle of VOSS sparkling water started things off.

Then the menu items.

I chose the Ocean Menu. Basically a five course offering of an appetizer, Lobster with Squid Ink Risotto, Seared Monkfish, Yellowtail topped with black truffles, and some sort of mango dessert that was very good. She got the Chef Menu, also a five course offering. Of course we tried each other's food.

We also ordered a wine sampler for each menu. Simply put, the chef chooses five wines which compliment each offering. Not bottles, mind you, but a new glass for each menu item. Each time the food or wine arrives, the waitress explains each one in extreme detail.

Dessert was little squares of chocolate and fruit confections. They serve it with very smooth coffee, which is needed since the dessert squares are really sweet.

The entire experience took about an hour andd a half (it's about the "experience" at places like this).

It's also about the Platinum.

Total cost of the meal, plus wine, not including tip, for two: $317

Tip was at 20%, sorta. We rounded it off to $50.

Valet parking was $8, plus a $2 tip.

Total cost of dinner for two at a top L.A. spot: $414.

And we didn't even order the most expensive menu item.



Best thing... I didn't pay a damn dime! And to think I was going to charge her $250 for the site. Glad I ripped up THAT invoice.

$65 would have been a standard tip cheap asses.

I usually tip 20%, but I think she doubled the tax, so you're right.

Hey, it was her fucking $$$$, on her card.

what a waste of money

Basically a five course offering of an appetizer, Lobster with Squid Ink Risotto, Seared Monkfish, Yellowtail topped with black truffles, and some sort of mango dessert that was very good.


"I'll have the roast duck with the mango salsa."
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/GlennDanzig/geico.gif


"I don't have much of an appetite, thank you."
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/GlennDanzig/geico-cavemen.jpg

what a waste of money

Sure it's a waste of money.

The tip alone will buy your ass 15 value meals at McDonald's.

Enjoy your $1.00 double cheeseburger... and make sure not to drip any of that special sauce on your $30 Akademiks Tee shirt... made in Taiwan for a buck fifty.

How about a link to the website - I want to see how much it is "worth". If you were going to do it for $250, then you basically ripped off a friend - I mean sure you're dinner bill was less than $250, but she probably wouldn't have ate there otherwise. How much would the work you did cost if she would have gone to a storefront operation?? I believe the understood "friend discount" between professionals is 20%. If it falls in that range, then you actually treated her to dinner and a kickass resturant, which is cool.

I take all of this back is she has the money to spend.

Sounds like a good dinner and not really expensive if it is something you wanted to do for awhile and never have before. I mean people are paying $4,000+ for scalped Superbowl tickets, others pay $500 to skydive.

what a waste of money

Sure it's a waste of money.

The tip alone will buy your ass 15 value meals at McDonald's.

Enjoy your $1.00 double cheeseburger... and make sure not to drip any of that special sauce on your $30 Akademiks Tee shirt... made in Taiwan for a buck fifty.

Yeah, because that makes you seem cool.

It was more like an online portfolio -- she's a costume designer.

Really basic stuff. But I'd rather not post the url here. Not sure about some of the posters here at WTF. They might take a look at her pic on the bio page and start e-stalking her [smilie=anxious.gif].

Believe me, if the site was e-commerce, or her lone source of information to the world, $250 would be the deal of the century. Instead, it's more of a "here's my agent, here's my resume, and there's my site for reference" kind of thing.

It's funny how many creative types in Hollywood DON'T have their own site.

And "yes", she has the $$$.

It is a waste of money unless you have money to waste. If I could afford it, I suppose I would go to a fancy dinner like that once and a while. I can't, so I don't.

I'd rather have one kick ass expensive dinner than ten chain resturant ones. When I was backpacking around Europe I'd always starve for a week(saving up my food budget) and then go to a higher end resturant. Wasn't the healthiest thing I could do as I came home weighing 132lbs, but I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

Denny, you're going to have to show me how to use GoLive (please?). I have it, but I dont understand it.


And you made me hungry.

what a waste of money

Sure it's a waste of money.

The tip alone will buy your ass 15 value meals at McDonald's.

Enjoy your $1.00 double cheeseburger... and make sure not to drip any of that special sauce on your $30 Akademiks Tee shirt... made in Taiwan for a buck fifty.

Damn, did it get hot in here? lol

i mean its cool if u wanna do it...


but at the end of the day....its a waste of money



wow food.

Food is one of lifes pleasures, however many people have issues with it and the love/hate relationship makes people guilty to really enjoy it. Most North American cuisine substitutes quantity for quality. Also most North Americans don't even really stop to taste their food, as they are too busy or distracted by television(maybe it's because most foods are so bland so they can be mass marketed) and shovel it in an mass quantities.

wow, a basketball game(with emphasis on the "game").

See you can do that with anything.

i dont pay 350 dollars to play basketball

or watch basketball

You've never been to a Piston or Laker/Clipper/GoldenState/Sacto game?

Wow, brand name clothes. Wow a nice car. Wow, jewellry for the missus. Wow, a nice house.

I would rather take the $250 instead of eating overpaid food. That gourmet shit doesn't impress me. Take me to a steakhouse.

OK. Let me clarify things.

First, I've known Jennifer for 11 years. She a very close friend of mine, so the $250 was more token than anything else. The cost of the site would have been close to $1000 at a standard rate (and that's still really cheap for a full basic website...sites can cost as much as $25,000 with full e-commerce capabilities).

Second, going to a restaurant with the panache of Patina works two-fold. First, you get to experience four-star dining and live large, if but for a day. But the most important thing about it is YOU WERE THERE, and you can discuss it intelligently during business conversations with potential clients.

Anybody on this site who owns, runs, or does business regularly with moneypeople (even if you just know them from your morning coffee hang-out) understands how valuable it is to connect with these people on a level outside of business. Sure, the joint is expensive, but if you happen upon a potential client and you discuss your dinner at Patina, and it happens to be a favorite spot of his (hers), that conversation could lead to better conversations, and eventually an "in" with their business dealings, which could land you $$$$.

Still, it's an experience worth having. Like Kilo said, like skydiving or sitting in the bleachers at Wrigley, if you've always wanted to do it, it's well worth the money.

Basically a five course offering of an appetizer, Lobster with Squid Ink Risotto, Seared Monkfish, Yellowtail topped with black truffles, and some sort of mango dessert that was very good.


"I'll have the roast duck with the mango salsa."
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/GlennDanzig/geico.gif


"I don't have much of an appetite, thank you."
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/GlennDanzig/geico-cavemen.jpg

LOL

Weird, images didn't come up....

Denny, I applaud you here

I am some what of a foodie, and I would have no problem with what you did. Living in Chicago, I am pretty familiar with 4 and 5 star restaurants. Now, I dont go out all the time but once every few months some friends and I like to get together and go out.

Fuck McDonalds, the Olive Garden, Red Lobster, TGIFRidays, Applebees, all that shit.

Its like art. Some people appreciate it, some people dont.

Denny, I applaud you here

I am some what of a foodie, and I would have no problem with what you did. Living in Chicago, I am pretty familiar with 4 and 5 star restaurants. Now, I dont go out all the time but once every few months some friends and I like to get together and go out.

Fuck McDonalds, the Olive Garden, Red Lobster, TGIFRidays, Applebees, all that shit.

Its like art. Some people appreciate it, some people dont.

D's, I can't remember where you live, but you should check out a place called Bella Note sometime. It's at Grand and Noble. Not tooexpensive, and solid, homemade italian food.

What are some of your other favorite spots?

Fuck, do I have all day to list them?

Gejas which is a nice place to take a date, as long as they are into fondue.

Japonais= the shit.

I love the Capital Grille. Its a very underrated steak house.

Italian?? Um, i gotta go wtih my neighborhood and say Piazza Bella.

Blackbird is phenomanal and I am going to go to Tru in April, which Im budgeting for now :)