Parsons The New School for Design – $57,910

Parsons The New School for Design is a private art and design college based in New York. William Merritt Chase, the impressionist painter, established the school in 1896, which is why it was initially called as Chase School. It also went by the names of New York School of Art, New York School of Fine and Applied Art and Parsons School of Design. It became part of the New School for Social Research in 1970. It is one of the most prestigious art and design universities in the world.

Johns Hopkins University – $57,820

 

Johns Hopkins University is a private, non-profit, research university in Baltimore. It was established in 1876, three years after the death of the noted entrepreneur Johns Hopkins, who left $7 million for the creation of the school. The school is known for its natural science department. It has also been rated as the top spending school in the fields of science, medical research, and engineering development for 31 straight years.

University of Chicago – $57,711

 

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago in Illinois. The American Baptist Education Society established the school in 1890, four years after the closure of another school with the same name because of financial difficulties. Armed with a donation from John Rockefeller and land from Marshall Field, the school welcomed its first class in 1892. Its Physics Department was responsible for the first man-made, self-sustaining nuclear reaction in the world. It also hosts the largest university press in the country. It has produced 87 Nobel awardees, including eight that are still in its faculty.

Mattake or Matsutake Mushrooms – $1,000

 

The mattake, or matsutake, mushroom is the most expensive mushroom in the world today. This is a highly coveted mycorrhizal mushroom that can be found in Asia, North America and Europe, particularly in Japan, China, Korea, the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden. The most popular is the one associated with the Japanese Red Pine. It is usually hidden under fallen leaves on the forest floor. While simple to harvest, it is extremely hard to find. The annual harvest in Japan is less than a thousand tons only.

Westin Hotel Bagel – $1,000

 

It may just be a bagel, not that different from what you usually have for your breakfast. Then again, this creation of Frank Tujague, the Executive Chef of Westlin Hotel in New York, includes a small amount of white truffle cream cheese and goji berry-infused Riesling jelly that has golden leaves. The price buster is the truffle, as this Italian fungus is one of the most expensive food items in the world.

Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata – $1,000

 

Omelettes are so easy to cook. All you need are some eggs, along with any other food that you wish to use as an ingredient. In Le Parker Meridien Hotel in New York however, the restaurant called Norma’s took a giant leap forward by adding lobster claws and 10 ounces of Sevruga caviar into six eggs. The result is the thousand dollar omelette, or as the restaurant has advertised it, the zillion dollar lobster frittata. A scaled-down version features only 10 percent of the caviar. As only an ounce is included, the restaurant only sells it for $100. The full version of the frittata has been sold only about 12 times, while the smaller version is ordered around 50 times a year.

Wagyu beef is a sought-after item because of its high percentage of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Its genetic predisposition also allows it to have an acceptable ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fats. The best of the lot is the one from Kobe, raised in the prefecture of Hyogo in Japan. The cows raised here are fed with beer and are massaged regularly to ensure tenderness. A full Wagyu ribeye in Craftsteak in New York was once served for $2,800. The restaurant is now closed, however, and replaced with Colicchio & Sons.