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New York's well-heeled have grown accustomed to paying prices for fine dining that would make diners in most other American cities turn pale. But Alain Ducasse at the Essex House has blown other check averages out of the water. In a city whose 20 most expensive restaurants charge about $70 on average for a meal, according to this year's Zagat Survey, Ducasse in its first week averaged $252.
The six-Michelin-star chef - three in Paris, three in Monaco - probably would shake his head in regret to see another article about his restaurant start by mentioning price. As far as he is concerned, fine dining is like fine art or high fashion. At the rarefied levels of the best of the best, quality simply takes precedence over price.
Besides, the new restaurant, which opened softly for business in mid-June, is no more expensive than Restaurant Alain Ducasse in Paris or Louis XV in Monaco, and he says his costs per meal at the three locations range within $25 of each other.The main difference is that most of the raw materials for his American restaurant, from Alaskan salmon to New York foie gras, are...