Using data compiled by the Zagat survey, Forbes has produced two lists naming the year's most expensive restaurants. One list deals with only US restaurants, while the other compares the prices (in US dollars) of places all over the world. For the global list, the final cost was considered to be the price of one main course, one (alcoholic) beverage and tip, while the US list was not limited to a single main course and included options such as prix fixe tasting menus. Both only priced dinner for one person, but due to the difference in standards, there are many prix-fixe only restaurants that didn't make the global list but might be a good deal more expensive, but here are the top three from each list as they stand:

Global

• Aragawa (Tokyo): $368
• Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée (Paris): $231
• Gordon Ramsay (London): $183

US

• Masa (New York City): $446
• The French Laundry (Yountville, CA): $254
• Alinea (Chicago): $168

Thomas Keller, the chef and owner of the world-famous French Laundry in Yountville, California, has long wanted to add an inn near the restaurant. Keller has no intention of leaving the restaurant business, but instead wants to follow in the footsteps of many great French chefs who have also served as innkeepers at highly acclaimed restaurants. The 20-room Inn is not expected to begin construction until later this year, at the earliest, but Predock_Frane Architects has some digital renderings of what the Inn might look like online. It is described as having "20 idiosyncratic rooms - each with a mirror outdoor room, combine with dining/lounging spaces, spa, and gardens to create a continuous fabric of walls" and it "will maximize the potential for experiential courses beyond dining."

Eating at Thomas Keller's Yountville restaurant, The French Laundry, is one of the best dining experiences in the world, but is certainly not an everyday one. For the sake of your wallet and your waistline, your best bet is to save a trip out to Napa for special occasions and try to recreate the experience at home with Thomas Keller's line of dinnerware. You can cook up your own gourmet meals, perhaps with the help of the French Laundry Cookbook, or simply add a few presentation points to your favorite chicken and rice dish. The collection was designed by Keller with Bertrand Raynaud, the president of the Raynaud porcelain company, which produces the all-white table and dinnerware. It is named after Fernand Point, certainly one of the most famous and influential French restaurateurs/chefs of the past century. The whole collection, from classic plates to cups and saucers, is available at Gumps. Each piece is beautifully simple, suitable for both casual and formal occasions.