Caviar Again?

Status Symbol Dining Hits a Dead End

Lately I’ve been playing a little game, when I see a menu for a new restaurant online I read until I see caviar listed then I close it immediately. Sometimes I don’t make it past the first line, sometimes it’s deep in the menu, but rarely do I make it to the end (I do the same with tiktok recipes and honey). The rise of caviar has been gradual over the past decade but it’s at a fever pitch, a culinary flattening among Gen Z that will be looked back upon with the same embarrassment with which we view the bacon era of the Millennials.

A5 wagyu-and-uni nigiri with caviar, truffle wasabi, and gold leaf at Kyojin | photo by Alexa Burch

It’s not just caviar defining the current wave of conspicuous luxury consumption. Wagyu (always A5) and truffles are everywhere, foie gras seemed on the verge of disappearance but has returned with a vengeance, and uni’s fallen in with a bad crowd. Any pretense that these ingredients are the result of a careful decision to make a dish better disappears when they’re piled together, gilding (sometimes literally) the lily with a luxe on luxe clash of flavors and textures.

From a restaurant’s perspective, I understand why these ingredients show up so frequently - it’s “an easy way to tack on an extra $60, $80, or even $100 to the final bill”, a real temptation at a time when food and beverage economics have never looked so bleak. But now that a handful of ingredients signal luxury to much of the dining public, places serving high-end tasting menus feel an obligation to include those ingredients to justify their prices whether or not it makes sense with the cuisine. This leads to a flattening across restaurants - DC Michelin two-star Jont lists caviar, wagyu, uni, truffles, and foie gras on their sample menu, while down the street non-starred clubstaurant Shoto features all the same (with truffles on seven different menu items). Nobu has uni and Bourbon Steak has foie, but they both serve wagyu, truffles, and, of course, caviar. Imperfecto’s tasting menu skips the truffles (there’s a separate truffle menu) but has caviar in the first three courses. Never to be outdone, The Inn at Little Washington has a nine course caviar-themed tasting menu ($2500).

when even the Old Ebbitt menu leads with caviar…

It’s not just the most expensive class of restaurants that’s fallen victim. Old Ebbitt has caviar (and a misguided tinned fish menu). Lidl sells it. ‘Fun’ bars are putting caviar on Doritos.

the hellish depths of caviartok

Of course the internet’s to blame. Caviar on pizza, on ice cream, on chicken nuggets. At that point it’s not doing the product any favors, it’s just a status symbol. But where’s the status when Costco is sampling it?

In a microscopic act of privileged protest, I’ve decided to boycott those key status symbol ingredients this year (caviar, wagyu, uni, truffles, foie). Cost isn’t the only form of luxury, time and creativity are harder to come by.

gold-dusted molded butter service

I’m aiming for a year of more rarified luxuries. I’ve been reworking my butter service at dinner parties, frozen in silicone molds and dusted with gold powder. I’ve been collecting vintage plateware for service, and I’ve been ordering my ever larger beeswax candles from religious supply outfitters.

look at this salt from the Crystalverse

But it’s time to get stranger. Large format cultivated salt crystals with perfect geometry. Scent pairings (Vespertine has already been down this path). Ceremonial desserts. Things that take patience, moments that can’t be replicated. Not slow food but not far off. Just bring something unexpected to the table.

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Caviar Used to Be Special. Now It’s Just Another Upsell. (Grub Street)

This NYC eatery is charging $150 for a steak sandwich – plus a white truffle milkshake for $50 (The Independent)

Near, Far, Caviar (Eater)

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• Listening: “We All Feel Better in the Dark”, Pet Shop Boys, 1990, a melancholic ode to the power of the dancefloor with a rare Chris Lowe vocal lead

• Smelling: Graphite by Mad et Len, 2010, a classroom with a chemistry bench. Slightly acrid smoke, wood shavings, some incense, all in a beautifully clean profile.

• Watching: White Lotus Season 3, of course. Parker Posey’s North Carolina accent is a JOY.

• Eating: Don Bocarte anchovies, the best tinned anchovies I’ve ever had (aside from one unobtainable brand I sampled outside Granada that haunts my dreams)