Sushi paper, anyone?

From today's edition of Specialty Food News:

[Chicago chef Homaru] Cantu's sushi platter routinely has no rice or fish — but instead holds squares of tuna-and-rice flavored paper. The Caesar salad has no lettuce — only a single spoonful of romaine-flavored ice cream. The printed menu sometimes is edible and can be crumbled into a bowl of gazpacho — turning it into alphabet soup.

All this is included in one of the nation's most expensive tasting menus: With paired wine, the 20-course meal costs $240 per person.

That's not counting the tip.

At a time when competition for diners is fierce, a small but growing number of chefs are blazing a strange new trail: creating a dining experience that mixes haute cuisine with extreme science.

Read more here.

$240. For a meal of fish-flavored paper, shrimp-flavored spray, and romaine lettuce-flavored ice cream. A "meal" that can last up to six hours. And people fly into Chicago from all places, just to eat here. Some people just have way too much money to spend.

No thanks, I can't eat another bite.

I'm sorry, I'd rather go to French Laundry and eat some real food. If I'm going to pay that much money, please believe that I'm there to dine, not snack on a "concept." And there better be a foodgasm involved. I'm just saying.

Have a great weekend, everybody.