Five of the ten most expensive restaurants in the country are in Chicago, according to a survey conducted by Bundle.com, an online aggregator of spending data who looked at Citi credit card transactions, government and other data to arrive at their figures. Alinea, which ranked #4 at $736 for an average check, was the most expensive restaurant in the city, though still $200 behind the champ, French Laundry in Napa Valley. (Thomas Keller actually has the top two, since Per Se in New York is next.) Charlie Trotter’s ranked #5 at an ominous $666, while Tru, Les Nomades and Everest follow at #7, #8 and #10. On the top 25, Moto pops up at #15 with a bargain-priced $494. One thing you glean from looking at the whole list is that dining at this level is really just a phenomenon of a few cities; only four states place on the list at all, New York, Illinois, California and Virginia/DC area. (That’s right— no Houston, no Atlanta, no Miami or Boca.) And only California has any geographical range outside a single major metropolitan area, with high-high end restaurants in Los Angeles (only one, Melisse), San Francisco, Palo Alto and scattered around wine country— plus one, California taxpayers will be pleased to know, in Sacramento. [Chicago Business]
