While I would not spend that much on a cut of beef to prepare for myself resturants do purchase things from Costco.

Depending on the cost per pound for some foods such as the chocolate and cheese that you mentioned some of the specialty things that are purchased in small amounts could cost a hundred or so dollars if they were priced per pound and not individual pieces.

I've seen that at Costco and we saw a lot of it at upscale Thai grocery stores in Bangkok. It's so marbled and the meat so soft that it is said to literally melt in one's mouth. Personally, I don't think I'd care for it all that much. The marbling grosses me out and I don't particularly care for super soft meat. I like my food to have a bit of texture; not tough, but enough substance that I know it's there. It's a mouth feel thing.

I didn't realize Costco offered such high end!

I would not spend that much for food of any kind. I did find some persimmons on Amazon and have bought two boxes so far. 6 pounds for $38. I thought it was kind of expensive but am thinking of buying another box because they are so good and it's hard to find good fruit here.

Oooops, forgot to answer the question.

No, I would not pay that much for beef; I don't believe there is any beef out there that is worth that much. If I had millions of dollars, I might feel differently, but as it is, I'd rather spend my money on other things. We have been known to pay $60 - $80 for a couple of pounds of Alaskan King Crab though. Love that stuff! I am also willing to pay market price for fresh, wild scallops.

That's for just a roast? Not a side of beef? NO, I would not spend that much. I know that 'wagyu' beef is highly prized, but there are limits.

I did just pay over $80 for 2 lbs of frozen lobster knuckles and claws for my lobster stew for Sunday night (used to hold it Christmas Eve but we moved everything back a day so my son from CT could come out and join us before he gets his children Christmas afternoon. No regrets - it makes a fabulous lobster stew and it's one time a year.

I also buy expensive champagne not not astronomical - Veuve Cliquot. Again, once a year.

For a wide range of reasons, I would far prefer beef locally raised and on pasture. It's what I buy, and while it's expensive it's not as ridiculous as wagyu.

For Christmas special foods, I buy various fine cheeses and nitrate/nitrite free sausages. With really good bread/crackers and good condiments, I'm set.

Splurging for us is $15 a lb for tenderloin steaks at Sam's Club. I cannot imagine beef tasting any better than that! I suppose if I was rich and gave no thought to money then I would just buy it...nah, I probably would not! HAHA!

That's an expensive protein. You can eat cheap beef to get heart disease, why go the expensive option?

Yes Wagyu beef is known for it's expensive cost and tenderness. Kobe steak is also the same, it's Wagyu beef.

Even if I won the lottery, I'd never buy anything that expensive to cook myself. I can overcook an expensive steak/roast as easily as a cheap one.

Not sure if it's gourmet, but once a year or so, we get together with friends for roll-our-own sushi night. I buy super-premium ultra-frozen sushi grade tuna and salmon from Whole Foods. It's about $25/lb, but we don't need much, and not getting sick is worth it.

That's the extent of my splurge.

i have spent $40 a pound for fresh shrimp. But beef, never! i also buy the best (Danish) butter and vanilla extract at nearly $20 a bottle when I'm baking cookies.

Yikes! Are you kidding? With my luck the oven would go awry and I'd burn the whole thing to a crisp! The more expensive the food, the more likely I am to screw it up!

That meat is way out of my budget. Makes me glad that I am a vegetarian.

I've NEVER seen beef with that high of a price tag. Just WOW! And...isn't Costco supposed to be a bargain hunters dream store?! I'd like to eat more veggies and fish. Go more natural, low cal, less grain/bread......as a goal. Spending more money has never been a goal of mine. lol

Evidently, P. T. Barnum was right.

I paid $1100 for a grown Hereford cow and her calf last summer. I am going to name the steer calf Kobe Wagyu and sell it for $100 a pound! lol

Having seen a tied stuffed crown of lamb last year labeled at $35 a pound people do splurge at this time of the year. I just looked and could only find two roasts for $1,279.99 one was 11 pounds the other was 12. Considering a steakhouse menu that I saw in the Chicago area a number of years ago had a much smaller than a pound steak for over $100 this is not that over the top. I will not be buying any because I am too cheap.

FYI Wagyu is a type of cattle and not a method of fattening for market. You can by an 12 pound American Wagyu ribeye for $424.99.

I did once spring for dried mushrooms that were $65/lb, but then again, dried mushrooms are *very* light so what I needed didn't weigh a whole lot...fortunately we had so much rain this year, I was able to harvest them wild so this year, they'll be free!

Looking at that photo, it occurs to me that that's some very expensive fat right there.

That picture kind of turned my stomach. I would never pay that price. For our Christmas dinner I paid $62 for a ribeye roast and $67 for a Honey Baked ham. And I had to think twice about that.

We don't really like fatty beef. Just bought a beef bottom roast at Safeway for $2.49 lb. to marinate for sauerbraten, our Christmas dinner. The only expensive food we buy is crab and lobster.

Assuming the price per pound is around $100-125, that is actually a pretty good deal on Waygu. The issue with buying an entire ribeye roast of Wagyu is that you would have to have an entire army of people to eat it if you planned to cook it all at once, because it is incredibly fatty and rich. I love steak and have no problem polishing off a 16 oz ribeye from a regular cow, but Wagyu is not meant to be consumed in that large a portion. I'm not sure I'd want to cut it into smaller portions and freeze, either, since I wouldn't want to run the risk of freezer-burning such expensive meat. Still, under the right circumstances, I would consider it!

No, I would not buy that roast. If I had that kind of food budget, I still don't think my conscience would permit it (thinking how far that $1000 could be put to use at a food bank).

I have bought Canadian kobe beef on sale a few times at Top Foods. It's only a bit of a splurge (we don't eat large portions of beef at a meal any more), and - it's delicious.

aok, I buy sushi grade flash frozen at sea tuna loin for $8/pound, directly from the boat. It's stand on the dock with my cooler while the owner goes below deck into his $$$ scandanavian freezing system for individual wrapped loins. This particular fisherman sells primarily to restaurants, but has a faithful following where he offers it about three days a season to home canners. I pressure can it, makes lovely salads and sandwiches. We don't eat sushi, not ever ;0)

ETA: Oh my. I just edited my first sentence, I'd left out the NOT, making it appear I would buy that roast. No, I wouldn't buy that roast. I need to not type so quickly too.

That picture looks gross. There's nothing appetizing about all that white fat, much less pay a premium.

I've had Wagyu beef at a Japanese izakaya style restaurant here, but I don't remember how much it cost. I would never buy it in a store, especially at that price, and I do not cook beef at home, since DB will not eat it, although I do order it in restaurants from time to time.

My extravagance is for good seafood, and fortunately, that is easy to find here.

Would never pay that for a roast!!

I like a little marbling,but nothing like the picture. Even if I could afford it, I wouldn't pay that much for a roast, or a whole side of beef for that matter. That is crazy, in my opinion.

OH gross, that looks nasty! And I love beef and am not afraid of a little fat. But that just does not look appetizing at all!

Wouldn't bother me to buy it, but DH doesn't like visible fat on any of his meats. Also, we prefer rare/medium-rare on our beef and you can't do that with Wagyu. Beef fat requires a higher temperature to melt; medium is the lowest you should go with Wagyu.

We're fine with Black Angus or the Angus/Kobe hybrid beef for a special occasion. Cheaper beef gets marinated for a couple of days to improve taste and texture.

Not a fan of grass-fed beef unless it's grain finished, preferably with a high-count barley mix. DH can't tell the difference but I can. Growing up in Chicago in the days when cattle were still brought by rail to the Stockyards, beef was pretty much a 5x/week dinner.

Chickens, lamb, pork, and fish were more expensive back in those days! So funny how things change......

I'll splurge, but mostly on seafood. Last year for my 70th birthday party, I cooked for 35 people and bought some winter run, fresh wild King salmon from Alaska (quite hard to come by and was totally amazing) and I think the large filet cost $225. It was a big splurge, but probably the best salmon any of us had ever eaten.

I wouldn't spend that on beef because, like AnnieD, the pressure of not ruining it would be too much for me. I am fearless about cooking seafood/fish, but don't cook beef enough anymore to feel 100% confident. I bought a small boneless prime rib from Tj's for Christmas. Seems to me that's probably just an expensive rib roast, but we'll see. I feel like if it's not great, I'll take what's left back and get my money (or some of it) back. They're good about that.

I would love to try Waygu sometime, but just a little piece. Maybe a 2 ounce steak.

My issue with foods which are that expensive is, Will I enjoy a $1,000 roast 28 times more than a $35 roast from my excellent butcher? While I enjoy good food I’m not sure I would enjoy the Wagyu roast exponentially more. Perhaps one day I’ll try a steak, but not for that kind of money.

I would love to find a roast for $35 that is actually a roast even at my supermarket. I remember chuck roasts from my childhood that were at least three inches thick and probably 5 or more pounds as they would cover the 9 inch skillet used for browning. Now what is offered is only about 1 1/2 inches thick which for me that is merely a thick steak. Last one of those I looked at was $38 prepackaged.

Twenty years ago, it was my daughter's last night in NYC before moving back to KY. Her DH had already left with his car full of things he didn't trust the movers with or they would not take. He had to stop in PA to pick up some business papers. I had come down from ME to be there when the packers came as my daughter was working. We were then driving together to KY.

So, that last night, DD took me to one of the restaurants owned by her boss. It was a lovely place - three star rating in the NYTimes for many years, now sadly closed. Of course, she knew all the management team there (and of course, they "comped" the meal for us). As we were just starting our entree, the sommalier came over to our table with a bottle of red wine. He told us that a couple had come in, ordered a $1000 bottle of wine (this was 20 years ago!), had a partial glass poured for each of them, drank that glass and then got up, paid and left. They left behind all that glorious wine!

So he poured us each a LARGE glass of this wine and he and the rest of the managers shared the remains. Now, I'm no wine expert - I know a few good wines and always serve them. But boy, I could taste the difference in this wine! It was like nothing I'd ever had before (or probably ever will again!).

Yes, it was worth the price...but not for me to buy it. I can't afford such a fleeting luxury, but if I had the money, I would be sorely tempted. And I am serving Veuve Cliquot Brut tomorrow night with the lobster stew. Trust me - it tastes NOTHING like that awful cheap champagne served at most weddings!!!