Pricey New York restaurants: How the mighty are falling

When I was studying French history, I basically remembered the last three French kings by keeping in mind their greatest catchphrases. Louis XIV, for example, was famous for stating "L'etat, c'est moi," or "I am the state," a perspective that he bore out by more or less treating the French treasury as his own personal piggy bank. His son, Louis XV, was author of the famous quote "Apres moi, le deluge," or "After me, the flood," a startlingly accurate assessment of the political situation in his time. Finally, Louis XVI, France's final king, was notable for saying "Damn, that thing sure looks sharp; I hope I don't lose my head!" History records, of course, that that is exactly what happened.

These steps have been beautifully borne out in New York's culinary scene over the course of the past year. In April, for example, restaurants were basically dueling over their ability to craft obscenely expensive dishes using huge amounts of truffles and other pricey ingredient. The Waverly Inn's famous truffle macaroni and cheese, Totally Baked's $55 truffle potato, and Frank Tujague's $1000 truffle and gold leaf bagel duked it out to see who could waste the most Tuscan fungus. Meanwhile, Nino's $1000 luxury pizza and Norma's $1000 Zillion dollar Frittata did more or less the same thing with caviar. Amazingly, the trend to waste high-end delicacies on low-end comfort food didn't stop at pizzas, potatoes, and cheesy mac; Daniel Boloud's DB Burger and Royale Burger ranged between $32 and $150. Their competition, the Wall Street Burger Shoppe's Richard Nouveau ran $175 and featured gold leaf.

Unfortunately, with the recent economic downturn, the market for insanely wasteful, ridiculously extravagant cuisine seems to be evaporating. Over the past few days, many Manhattan eateries have begun dropping their prices. Some, like Sheridan Square, are simply offering incentives, such as $50 coupons for dinner checks over $100. Others, like Ruby Foo's , Strip House, Icon, and LeCirque all started putting out lower-priced dishes.

Jack Bistro, a French-American restaurant in Greenwich Village, has developed the most interesting recession price cutter: the restaurant's "Dow Depression Special." Basically, for every point that the Dow Jones Industrial Average drops, the restaurant takes a penny off the cost of its entrees. Thus, if the Dow drops 500 points in a day, the steaks that evening will be $5 off.

On the other end of the spectrum, Gray's Papaya continues to offer its unbeatable "Recession Special." For a mere $3.50, cash-strapped gourmands can get two perfectly grilled hot dogs with sauerkraut and sweet onions, as well as a nice big cup of one of the restaurant's famous tropical beverages. It may not offer a truffle burger or a gold-covered bagel, but Gray's definitely knows how to help its customers through an economic downturn!