And in the light of the information marketplace, it ought to be called idiocy.
Its creators admit it is the ultimate in decadence: a $175 hamburger.The Wall Street Burger Shoppe just raised its price from $150 to assure its designation as the costliest burger in the city as determined by Pocket Change, an online newsletter about the most expensive things in New York.
"Wall Street has good days and bad days. We wanted to have the everyday burger (for $4) ... and then something special if you really have a good day on Wall Street," said co-owner Heather Tierney.
Hey, you want to know what I want? A federal 50% sales tax on any restaurant item that costs over $150. If these people are stupid enough to waste their money like this, at least somebody ought to benefit besides a marketplace that promotes such excess.
You want a real rush, consider the fad for flavored foams, and read the recent New Yorker piece on the chef recovering from tongue cancer. He specializes in courses consisting of, oh, a single berry flavored with something else and flash-frozen on the bottom only, or half a strip of bacon with a shred of apple wound around it, all hanging from a teeny steel rack.
I like food, and I like thrills, but sometimes I think: Bring on the barbarians!