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It would have to be good balsamic vinegar, parm, and proscuitto. The real Italian stuff, not domestic (not that there's not a lot to be said for the domestics). All of them simple things that time made spectacular. The time spent perfecting the techniques to make them; the time spent aging them; the time spent enjoying them. Maybe that's what makes these little indulgences so special--it's the time for which we find ourselves longing.

Uh, I just spent nearly $20 on a whole chicken at Gelson's to roast Thomas Keller-style. It is organic and free-range, but I am still not sure it justifies the cost.

I hate that there are no butcher shops nearby. I just moved to LA and this is one of the biggest things I miss about the Bay Area - I could just walk to Lunardi's and go to the butcher counter and nothing was shrink-wrapped.

Well, I can't say I've ever spent $160 a pound for ham, but I usually have a big bottle of high-quality balsamic in my pantry. I've spent well over $30 a pound for awesome, ultra fresh fish, and close to $30/# for prime dry-aged beef. There's always real saffron in my spice drawer. Good imported prosciutto and pancetta can be incredibly expensive, too. Oh. And top-quality caviar. So, so expensive... but oh... SO good...

But, the biggest splurge I can think of was the time we dropped more than $1,000 on dinner for two at Alain Ducasse in Paris. We've spent many a small fortune on haute cuisine, and never thought twice about it. But this experience stands out, because we drank only one (relatively) inexpensive bottle of wine, and found the food utterly unremarkable, if not downright blah. And the service was very disappointing -- probably the worst we got anywhere in that wonderful city.

I bought a bottle of 50 year old balsamico as a gift. (Happy to say I frequently partake in a drizzle so it wasn't a completely unselfish gesture...LOL.)

I've paid $$$$ for T-Giving turkey at Fresh Market v. supermarket.

We got Truffle Salt at D&DL in NY last year.

Next big splurge might be this ham hawked by David Rosengarten. The link will only net you reviews and an order form - nowhere on this page do they show the ham. I found out about it from someone who ordered one for Christmas Dinner - she nicknamed it "Hamzilla." $150 for a ham? She said it was worth every single penny - and the subsequent "leftover" dishes were sublime. If anyone has experience with this ham, please give a shout!

by weight: saffron

I'm a recently married recent college grad and going into grad school soon, so keep in mind that my splurges may not be splurges to some, but ..

- an organic, free-range turkey for Thanksgiving (d'artagnan)
- a great bottle of olive oil (I think it was $30?)
- a bottle of Canadian Ice Wine for $80

@ Srhcb - How the heck could I forget saffron!

@Chisai - Try it on a slice of buffalo mozzie or fresh cow's milk mozzie. You'll love it.

@ Lorelei - ITA. The truffle salt was amazingly addictive. If you liked that - try this. You can taste it when it's halfway to your mouth. (Try it - you'll know immediately what I mean.)

I can identify with so many of your comments, guys. When we lived in OH, we did not have one single butcher shop that knew what they were doing. We called every one in town and they didn't know what hangar steaks were and you couldn't get foie gras to save your life. We were able to get Copper River Salmon and I know it had been frozen, but still spectacular in comparison to the average.

@chiff - I think I know what you are describing in re: to the nose of the salish. We just went to an Italian olive oil tasting last evening and learned so darned much . I would love to experience a lot more tastings just to learn about the process of sensory evaluations. Anyway... we have really been into salts lately. We have a new herb&spice shop in town and have picked up Murray River pink, Black smoked sea salt and some Chardonnay Oak smoked fleur de sel and none of them have disappointed. Thanks a boatload for the site info! Needless to say, we also came away from the evening with an expensive bottle of olive oil and a pricey jar of honey.

BTW, has anyone out there tried honey and olive oil to dip your bread in? All I can say is wow...

@lorelei76 - You use truffle salt on Mac's fries? I respect you so much! You truly know how to take the ordinary to the freakin extraordinary!

@toasty - I just did the Keller poulet roti on Sunday! I purchased a $13 - 4# organic free ranger @ Whole Foods and followed Thomas's directions exactly. I must say, it was close to perfection. Don't forego the slather of butter and fresh thyme at the end. It really adds something special. Also, I did not brine mine, but intend to next time.

Hey LoCo! I knew you knew the good stuff! Sorry you had a so-so experience at Alain Ducasse. We have spent that much at Charlie Trotter's and Per Se and thank God they were almost worth it. Plus, we had wine pairings with every course that knocked our socks off. If I went all the way to Paris, I think my expectations would be a tad higher. Have you been to The French Laundry?

@LoCo - You are livin' the life little one! Paris is one place I would love to experience before I kick it. Adore all things French.

We did dine at Daniel in Vegas and it was splendid. So was Aureole. So if Paris and NYC (please correct me if I'm wrong) are two of your favorite food cities, what is the third? My son lives in NYC and it is positively maddening that there are too many fabulous places to dine and never enough time or tummy room. Gotham Grill was outstanding, as was Red Cat, Veritas and Bouley. What a toddling town... NY - NY!!!!

It's making me misty to think about it - I haven't traveled in a while. Hubby does for business often, but since he just changed jobs last year, and we moved and bought a new home, we are still in the recovery stage. I just started a new position this week as well, so it looks like we will be "experiencing" our own little piece of the world until we are back where we want to be. Needless to say, French Laundry is not in our immediate future. I certainly hope you will keep sharing your big time dining with me whenever. Until our dinner, I can live vicariously through your mouth!

The Japanese market near us in the last few years or so has jumped on the organic and free range train.

While just about everything in that market is top quality and wickedly expensive, I recently found that they carried Berkshire pork, thinly sliced for shabu shabu.

It was very very expensive compared to everything else in the meat case and you didn't get a whole lot of it, but my was it tasty. It needed nothing but a brief dunk in boiling broth.

I've also been known to splurge on a single fish about as long as your palm when the market has seasonal specials. I absolutely cannot resist when they get screamingly fresh sweetfish (ayu) in during a month or two in summer.

Also picked up a few mangosteens that cropped up in Chinatown lately.
They were much smaller than their Asian counterparts, and rock hard and ridonk expensive. At least they weren't sour!

white truffle oil

in college EXTRA EXTRA LARGE SHRIMP and fresh flown in crab from Maryland

THANK GOD I have found friends in salt land! My last count(again, not including the must have kosher salt) in my pantry is 11. I get most of mine at TJ MAXX, believe it or not!From truffle salt, to fleur de sal, to morrocan
specialty salts, their prices are 1/4 of most web sites.