An Exercise in LEYE Economics...

So I was fortunate enough to recently come into a $500 Lettuce Entertain You gift card for the holidays. I've been to a number of LEYE establishments, but certainly not all, and I find that given the range of offerings I have plenty of options for making use of this fundage. So I pose this question to The Forum: If you had $500 to spend at LEYE, and wanted to get the best bang for your buck, where would you go? I'm pretty much thinking a dinner with the elder Brother Sung (he with the larger appetite), the girlfriend (someplace more romantic) or a party of four with some friends. Ideally I'm trying to think of the best way to finance three such meals using just the card.

Any thoughts?

SungBros wrote:Any thoughts?

Read the $100 debate.

Best,
Michael

I just blew $500 in gift cards at Tru. Of course, that only covered dinner for 2, but it was a very very good dinner. You might be able to get it to work at Tru for the 4 of you if you each did a 3 course (which I think is priced at $95) instead of one of the collections (around $100-$150, except for the white truffle menu which is $25). It still probably wouldn't cover the whole dinner, but it would cover a nice chunk of it.

Going to the expensive joints like Tru or Everest certainly won't achieve your goal of 3 separate events. I would hit Shaw's Blue Crab Room for one event-good oysters, soups, salads, creamed spinach, clams, crabby stuff, etc. Mon Ami Gabi can be quite good also. Osteria via Stato may be another pick, although I haven't been since it opened.

Could you do something like a lunch at Mon Ami Gabi and then do the dinners elsewhere? I love a fancy lunch out in the middle of an otherwise boring day - you get that nice glow of having eaten well, and generally it costs less leaving more for dinners.

if you scrounge, you might be able to pull off 3 meals for 3-4 @ Brasserie Jo. it'd be close. beyond Tru/Everest, this is the only LEYE restaurant i'd blow money on (my own or a gift card). mmm... 3 servings of escargot.

I think the real question is what you are looking for - whether it's a high-end splurge special-occasion type place, or very good food. You can spend $100-200 per person at Everest, Ambria, or Tru and you will get a wonderful, memorable meal. For half as much money, you can get an excellent dinner - seafood at Shaw's or Joe's, Italian at Maggiano's (not part of the LEYE chain, but they honor, and sell, the LEYE gift cards), tapas at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba, steaks at Wildfire, Chinese at Ben Pao's, etc. Which is the "best bang for the buck"? That depends on whether you're looking for a splurge kind of dinner, and are willing to pay the higher price it costs.

I've been to all the places I mention in the previous paragraph, and all are worth going to. The places I didn't mention are either lower-end places (not necessarily less "bang for the buck" but I wouldn't compare lighter fare with real dinners) or else they are places I haven't been to. Please forgive the omissions.

If I had to stretch a $500 gift card into three dinners for eight people, that would pretty much rule out all the splurge places. You might or might not be able to squeeze in eight dinners for $500 at places like Wildfire or Shaw's, depending on what you and your companions order (particularly in terms of alcoholic beverages). Will you be able to include the $125 in somewhat-restricted bonus certificates (that you will receive if you buy the $500 gift cards this month) in your calculations, so it would be $625 instead of $500?

Romance: Dinner at Tru with the little lady
Fun Party: Apps and LOTS of mojitos for a few friends at Nacional 27.

See...i prefer LEYE places for lunches. A nice splurgey Friday lunch with a coworker or two -- and I can play big shot and treat because of a big LEYE card.

I think that's the route I'd go. Love Shaw's. Love Brasserie Jo. Like Wildfire a lot.

either that or I'd do the big splurge at Tru just because I'd never spend the money to go to Tru.

Shannon

Thanks for all the req's! I'm sorta leaning towards a nice romantic dinner at Tru with the girlfriend and then a group dinner at either Nacional, Shaw's, or maybe Osteria. We could probably keep the Tru bill under $300 mark, as we'll probably be light on the wine (my lady doesn't drink and I'm not much of an oenephile), and the remaining $200 would put a good enough dent in the other bill we could have a pretty good time on the cheap.

Although...

I'm giving some serious thought to the white truffle collection at Tru, it looks like the ultimate splurge. A cursory search of The Forum didn't pull up anything on this, has anyone taken the plunge?