by Andrew Chalk
Quarter Acre restaurant in Dallas is holding a series of guest-chef meals. On Friday November the 8th the guest is Aaron Bludorn of Bludorn in Houston. He is an awarded chef who worked at Daniel Boulud's Café Boulud in New York City where he was Executive Chef. His incipient "TV" career began with a place in Netflix's recent Final Table.
Based on this history you might be about to rush and buy a ticket. But hold on one cotton-pickin' minute. The tickets for the dinner at Quarter Acre are $495 for the eight course set menu with pairings, inclusive of tax and gratuity.
Suppose, instead, you flew roundtrip from Dallas Love Field to Houston Hobby, caught an Uber/Lyft to and from the restaurant, and bought an à la carte dinner. Not eight courses, but with more choice, and added quality wines.
On August 18th the roundtrip air fare is $118.
I went to Bludorn's in December 2023 and March 2024. My total bill was $218 on the first visit and $200 on the second. Assume the meal is $218.
Add $50 for roundtrip Uber/Lyft fares.
That makes a trip cost of $386, leaving change of $109 from the Dallas guest ticket price of $495. Of course you could add a stop at one of Houston's excellent museums with a personal guide if you wanted to use that.
And the personal touch at the Dallas meal will likely be closer than at Bludorn's in Houston. My first visit impressed me, but there was a sense of a lack of direction on the second. Bludorn was not in the house on a Saturday night and the staff told me that he was busy opening another restaurant. MAybe that is why I don't plan to do the meal in either city.
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