The high cost of loving

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Feb 8, 2005 by BILL REED THE GAZETTE

When it comes to Valentine's Day, indulgence is the name of the game. Whether it's a dozen roses, a box of chocolates or a romantic dinner, indulging your sweetheart is the goal (or, for most men, at least the prelude to the goal).

A recent restaurant review in The New York Times detailed the indulgences at a Manhattan restaurant, where dinner typically will set a couple back $1,000.

But this is not New York. This is Colorado Springs, singled out in Eric Schlosser's book "Fast Food Nation" as the country's symbolic epicenter of cheap, fast food. Which got us wondering: Can you even spend $1,000 on dinner here?

"Easily," says Allison Scott, spokeswoman for The Broadmoor resort. "We have a $5,000 bottle of wine."

Two of the Springs' most luxurious -- and expensive -- restaurants are on the grounds of The Broadmoor: the Penrose Room and Charles Court.

For those seeking to truly impress their sweetheart, Penrose Room maitre d' Duane Thompson put together the "Money Is No Object" menu, with the most extravagant appetizers, entrees, desserts and accompanying wines that a couple could possibly order. The price tag for dinner: $8,600.

Thompson hastens to add that a couple could also enjoy a fine meal at the Penrose Room -- with a nice bottle of wine -- for $300, a relative bargain, and more typical for Colorado Springs. After all, the Mona Lisa in Manitou Springs, a Valentine's Day hot spot, serves a four-course fondue dinner for two for about $100. And romantic mountain getaway Black Bear Restaurant has an aphrodisiac- laden, six-course "Foods of Love" feast for $195 per couple.

But if that special someone equates love with a cash outlay, you might want to ratchet up the level of extravagance with the Valentine's Day "Love-tini."

At $15,000, the Love-tini might be the world's most expensive cocktail. The Cliff House at Pikes Peak and Luisa Graff Diamonds & Jewelers teamed up to create this ultimate Valentine's indulgence.

The alcohol itself is nice -- Ultimat vodka, Godiva chocolate liqueur and a quarter-ounce dash of Hennessy Richard, which sells for $180 per ounce. And the glass is nice, too -- a crystal Riedel Sommelier martini glass garnished with two handmade truffles.

But the real draw is the cocktail pick that pierces the truffles: a 14-karat white gold pick with a 1 1/2-carat loose heart-shaped diamond. Thrown in with the cocktail is dinner for two at the Cliff House and a night's stay in the Clark Gable Suite.

That, my friends, is indulgence.

Fantasy 'Money Is No Object' menu

As dreamed up by Penrose Room Chef Paul Anders, sommelier Tim Baldwin and maitre d' Duane Thompson: For $8,600 at The Broadmoor's Penrose Room, you could get...

AMUSE BOUCHE:

c Sauted Abalone with White Alba Truffle c Meyer Lemon Froth Served with: Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc 2001

COLD APPETIZER COURSE:

Caspian Sea Beluga Caviar "000" c Yukon Gold Potato Blini

Grey Goose Vodka Crme Frache, Traditional Garni Served with: Krug, Brut Blanc deBlanc Champagne Clos du Mesnil 1979

WARM APPETIZER COURSE:

Tasting of Hudson Valley Foie Gras seared with 100-year-old Balsamic Vinegar

Torchon, with Cognac Raisin Compote

Mousse, with Truffle Lemon Crme Served with: Chateau D'Yquem 1967

INTERMEZZO:

Dragon Fruit Granit

Buddha's Hand Gele and Gold Raspberries

FISH COURSE:

Filet of Channel Dover Sole

Artichoke Gratin, Saffron-Poached Laratte Potatoes Served with: Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 1995

ENTREE:

Roasted Rack of Colorado Lamb

Coriander Mint Crust, Vintage Port Glaze

Cranberry Beans with Pancetta and Fresh Matsutake Mushrooms

Pommery Mustard Lamb Jus Served with: Chateau Latour 1945

SALAD:

Penrose Room Salad of Petite Greens Amaranth, Mizuna and Red Orach

Blue D' Auvergne Buttermilk Dressing

Shaved Red Torpedo Onions and Winter Black Truffle Served with: Marcel Deiss Alsace Grand Cru Schoenbourg 1994

DESSERT:

Gianduja Chocolate Pot de Crme

24-carat Gold and Tahitian Vanilla Daquoise Served with: Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Caramel; Fonseca, Vintage Port 1927

MIGNARDISES

After-dinner chocolates with French press coffee

Love by

the numbers

What $15,000 buys you, no matter what your taste in indulgences.

1

"Love-tini" bejeweled cocktail ($15,000), pictured at right

1.74

"Money Is No Object" meals at the Penrose Room at The Broadmoor ($8,600, menu below)

4

Heart-shaped ruby and pav-set split-shank diamond rings at Zerbe Jewelers ($3,650)

79

8-pound chocolate hearts at Michelle ($190)

167

Dinners for two at Mona Lisa Gourmet Caf & Fondue ($90)

250

Whole lobster platters at Red Lobster Restaurants ($59.99)

300

Dozen roses at Platte Floral ($50)

601

"Sealed With a Kiss," heartshaped ice-cream cakes at Maggie Moo's ($24.95)

1,667

Stoli Doli martinis at Sonterra Southwestern Grill ($9)

3,448

20-ounce mugs of double mocha at Pikes Perk ($4.35)

14,851

Bean burritos at Taco Bell ($1.01)