Wow.  This is a pretty cool opportunity for those who jump on it.  It’s not cheap, price the price is reasonable I think for what you’re likely to get.  Capital One is offering a Summer Dining Series with the Michelin Guide at Michelin-starred restaurants in San Francisco, Brooklyn, and Northern Virginia.

Tickets are $500 per person and include a tasting menu with beverage pairing, meet and greet with the chef, and a “special gift.”  This isn’t an easily replicable opportunity, hence the lofty price tag being very much in line I think.  Tickets are available here.

•  Quince at the Farm in Bolinas, California (near San Francisco) — Saturday, August 21 at 1:30 p.m.

  • 3 Michelin Star restaurant with its own exclusive farm relationship will offer a cocktail & Champagne welcome, tour of the farm hosted by the farmer and Chef Michael Tusk, followed by a meal in dining tents made with ingredients from the farm.

• The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia (a little over an hour from DC) — Tuesday, August 24 at 6:00 p.m.

  • 3 Michelin Star restaurant with its own farmers, gardeners and beekeeper. The evening includes a tour of the farm by chef-owner Patrick O’Connell, including champagne toast, followed by meal and wine pairings.

• Aska in Brooklyn, New York — Friday, August 27 & Saturday, August 28 at 6:00 p.m.

  • 2 Michelin Star  restaurant with herbs from its upstate garden and its own composting facility (this does not, in my view, make the food taste better but maybe you feel better about the waste).  A cocktail hour and toast from Chef Fredrik Berselius is followed by a meal made of seasonal Scandinavian dishes.

The price includes service and tax, which makes it go down a little easier.  The right readers will see this as an opportunity worthy of a special trip.

I’ve been to the Inn at Little Washington several times, although not recently. My last meal there was shortly after the chef split with his long-time partner who ran front of the house and service had definitely fallen a couple of notches from its lofty heights.

I remember on my first visit there not having to identify ourselves by name when entering, and being presented with my menu (each guest’s menu had their name on it) as we left the restaurant. The menus were given to us by a person we hadn’t met earlier in the evening, and wondering how they knew it was us to give us the right menus?

There are certainly meals I’d fly for, and indeed I’ve done so, whether it’s El Bulli when that restaurant was still open or Tokyo for sushi. I believe doing so is an underrated experience.