Most of us cop out and just order pizza, but the Obamas brought in the New Year with a half-million dollar meal.
While on their annual two-week holiday in Hawaii, the president and first lady ended a day of snorkeling in Hanauma Bay by visiting the upscale Vintage Cave restaurant, just off the beach in Honolulu.
The exclusive eatery features a prix fixe menu of a 13-15 course meal for $295. For two, the bill can easily climb to $1,000.
But that’s just the beginning. To really get the full Vintage Cave experience, a private “sense of place,” according to the website, one should become a member. While Special Member registration comes as low as $50,000, the full Charter membership can be yours for $500,000.
Charter membership incentives include:
— A private wine cellar.
— Eligibility for a 25% discount on all food and beverage.
— Eligibility to use the Cave for private functions.
— Discounts on Vintage Cave merchandise (t-shirts? “I Got Loaded at the Vintage Cave,” perhaps?)
— and an invitation to the Vintage Cave Investors Club, where, presumably, one has the privilege of dropping even more money.
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) January 2, 2015
While there is no indication that the Obamas purchased a membership, not doing so would seem like a missed opportunity.
“The ‘art of play’ began in the cave,” writes the restaurant’s founder, Takeshi Sekiguchi. “Our homo sapiens ancestors dwelled in the cave…The art of play began in such spaces precisely because people – at the most primal level – have a strong affinity for, and are naturally drawn towards, the cave.”
While private luxury is, understandably, an expensive commodity, $500,000 can also buy an awful lot of pizza.
