Need Help with fancy-schmancy dinner with Master Shake

My boyfriend and I would like to go out with his brother and his brother's girlfriend for a nice holiday dinner. His brother suggested Arun's - not because he's a foodie, but because he read in some book that it's one of the restaurants you should eat at before you 'die'...or something.

My boyfriend's brother, we'll call him "Master Shake" - is the kind of eater that goes for quantity before quality. However, he is willing to go with us for a "once-in-a-lifetime" dinner experience because this book has built Arun's up as something he MUST do.

I've been to Arun's a few times and I have to say that my experiences have all been very positive and the food has been wonderful. However it's been 2 years since I was there last, and even 2 years ago, the food - although really good and well executed - was not anything too special. Sadly, like many threads on this board have mentioned, Arun's has lost that 'specialness' that it had before. Why pay $85 for a really, really good beef curry and pad thai when you can pay a fraction of that cost for the same dish competently prepared elsewhere? (I don't recall the poster's name but he said something to the effect of: "If Arun's were 1/3 the price it would be the best Thai restaurant in Cleveland. " - and that about sums it up.)

Now - we could take Master Shake to dinner elsewhere for his "once-in-a-lifetime-dinner" - Alinea, Trotters, Moto, etc. However these bastions of culinary foofiness, although brilliant when I've been to each, would sadly be lost on the palate of Master Shake. This is the guy who asked for Subway gift certificates when we asked him what he'd like for Christmas...(really, he'd choose Old Country Buffet because he thinks it's a good deal - never mind the fact you could die there.)

So my question to you LTHer's is this: Should we risk disappointment and take Master Shake to Arun's? Or can you suggest somewhere else we can take him where the food is less-challenging than say, Alinea but just as good (let's just say Shake won't dig the "pear" and curry flavored ball that 'explodes' in your mouth as much as we did).

The real question is: why pay $85 for beef curry when you can have a dish that's ten times better for $10?

Sometimes people gotta learn things the hard way themselves, though.

mellonhead wrote:Why pay $85 for a really, really good beef curry and pad thai when you can pay a fraction of that cost for the same dish competently prepared elsewhere?

Exactly. Go to TAC to see a Thai chef at the top of his game for a fraction of the cost.

How about Everest for your dinner?

Best,
Michael

I would have to agree with everyone-there's no reason to go to Arun's. The thing that irked me the most about the place (besides the prices) was that after a couple first courses, everything else came out at once-family style-pushing your drinks to the edge of the table. At those prices this is totally unacceptable.
It may be hard for Master Shake to have a good time anywhere if he's so set on Arun's. Plus, when you factor in the spice level-it won't be easy to pick a fancy place-Everest is cool but not big on the capsicum. Maybe Topolobampo?

stewed coot wrote:Plus, when you factor in the spice level-it won't be easy to pick a fancy place-Everest is cool but not big on the capsicum. Maybe Topolobampo?

I don't think spice is the issue 'coot - he'll eat almost anything put in front of him (he's not picky).

I'm inclined to agree with Coot... though I haven't been to Topolo, my dinners at Frontera lend the impression that it might be the right blend of upscale/accessible for Master Shake... especially if he has any affinity for Mexican.

Put me down for another anti-Arun's vote. I, myself, went on the logic that it's something I should probably do at least once... and then later wished I hadn't bothered and gone somewhere else instead.

This upscale/accessible combination is a fun little conundrum that I don't remember being addressed here before (though I'm sure it probably has been). Where to take somebody to make them feel like they're really being stretched, without actually stretching them that far?

Sounds to me like one of Chicago's excellent steakhouses might be a better choice. David Burke's Primehouse would be my current pick. If massive quantities of food and something a little different are important criteria, a Brazillian steakhouse like Fogo De Chao (661 N Lasalle) might work out nicely.

Hmm-Custom House? Perhaps Blackbird-if you double-up the portion on his entree...
Just curious-why the name Master Shake?

stewed coot wrote:Just curious-why the name Master Shake?

I'm guessing he's a Aqua Teen Hunger Force fan.

Wow didn't have a clue about this-I feel so square, a cube even. Maybe I'll can somehow earn the nickname "Meatwad".

I would take him to Arun's.

I agree with ALL of the previous comments. I think Arun's is nothing special in any way other than their exorbitant prices, and that's not a good thing. It's not a place I would go back to. However, your brother has it in his head that he should go to Arun's. If you take him to anyplace OTHER THAN Arun's - Everest is a great example (a place I love) - he will not appreciate it and probably find something to complain endlessly about, so it's a "no win" proposition. If you take him to Arun's, you are accommodating his request, which means that no matter how the place turns out, good or bad, it's a "no lose" choice.

Maybe as part of the deal, tell him beforehand that next time you'll be choosing the place, to avoid a repetition of being forced into a place you'd rather not go.

stewed coot wrote:Just curious-why the name Master Shake?

Actually my boyfriend and I are big ATHF fans...We started calling him Master Shake a while ago as his personality is very simliar to the cup.

He's prone to flying off the handle at the smallest thing, as well as being utterly irrational. He also sounds a bit like Danya Snyder when he's freaking out. We think the name is a good fit.

mellonhead wrote:He's prone to flying off the handle at the smallest thing, as well as being utterly irrational.

All the more reason to go to the place that HE suggests. Unless you can figure out a way to get out of going at all...