If the sting of inflation has curbed your enthusiasm for fast food — prices for which have risen 7.2% over the past year — you’ll probably want to gloss over this post, though curiosity may bring you back.
One answer to the question posed in the headline is proposed by the “Sip” menu at Japanese cocktail bar Sip & Guzzle, on Cornelia Street in the West Village. There you will find a listing for a “Royale with Cheese,” a name that will immediately strike a chord with “Pulp Fiction” fans. The cost of dining on this Royale with Cheese, however, will result in sticker shock for most commoners. It is $150.
What accounts for the stratospheric price? For starters, the beef is A-5 Miyazaki wagyu tenderloin. The cheese is aged white cheddar, and in place of a bun, the burger is served on a slab of shokupan milk bread flown in fresh from the Ginza Nishikawa bakery in Los Angeles. If that doesn’t justify the lofty tariff, maybe knowing that the sandwich is set down before you in a golden bento-style box helps.
But if $150 strikes you as too much to spend on a burger ($200 if you upgrade to a Happy Meal!), you could always assemble the ingredients and make your own Royale with Cheese in your home kitchen. To help you along, a butcher shop specializing in A-5 wagyu beef just opened in Gramercy Park.
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