Some of us can only dream about dining at a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Most of the time a dining experience at one of those restaurants comes with a hefty price tag and that’s if you manage to get a reservation.
Foodie Eric Finkelstein, however, didn’t just score himself a reservation at one Michelin-starred restaurant, he managed to score 18!
And what’s even more impressive is that he managed to do so all on the same day and in fact set a new Guinness World Record for doing so.
Finkelstein told Guinness he started thinking about the record after joining a food-related group on the Discord social platform.
“I loved the idea,” he said. “It combined my loves of eating interesting food, working towards a checklist, and working toward something silly.”
As one can imagine, it wasn’t easy for him to simply get a reservation at 18 restaurants in one day.
Finkelstein spent several months reaching out to over 80 New York Michelin-starred restaurants in order to stack as many reservations as possible in a single day.
He only heard back from 10 of them, and by the time he made reservations, four of them were no longer eligible after losing their Michelin stars.
However, he did manage to finally secure 18 restaurant reservations and broke the world record on October 26, 2022. Guinness has only recently certified his achievement as an official World Record.
According to the New York Post, Finkelstein’s Michelin-star marathon started at Le Pavillon, where he ate a grilled avocado salad with einkorn berries, charred kale and yoghurt green goddess dressing, and it ended with a caviar-dressed chawanmushi at Noda. In a little over 11 hours, Finkelstein ate at 18 restaurants, including four two-star spots (Aquavit, Jungsik, Momofuku Ko and The Modern) and 14 one-star locations.
Eric enjoyed salads, steak tartare and caviar on his 18 restaurant journey! 😋https://t.co/zuw6EsbkhR
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) January 3, 2023
The full list of restaurants and the items that Finkelstein hurriedly enjoyed are:
Aquavit: Four-ounce bowl of lingonberries ($15, about R252).
Bâtard: Beef tartare and garlic toast ($28).
Casa Mono: Fluke crudo with spicy cucumbers and calamansi ($21).
Caviar Russe: One teaspoon of Pacific sturgeon caviar with creme fraiche and blini ($25).
Cote: Four-ounce filet mignon with scallion and carrot side slaw ($34).
Francie: Duck mortadella atop brioche with pistachio mustard ($15).
Gramercy Tavern: Duck liver mousse with pickled vegetables and plum accompaniment ($21).
Jungsik: Octopus with gochujang aioli ($30).
Le Coucou: Yellowfin tuna a la Portuguese ($26).
Le Pavillon: Grilled avocado salad with einkorn berries, charred kale and yogurt green goddess dressing ($36).
Momofuku Ko: One cold fried chicken drumstick ($7).
The Modern: Prince Edward Island oysters with kumquat mignonette and charred lime ($26).
The Musket Room: Kristal caviar service with creme fraiche, egg confit, and milk bread ($10).
Noda: Chawanmushi with uni and caviar ($30).
Oiji Mi: Beef tartare on toasted brioche with pickle and Kaluga caviar ($24).
Red Paper Clip: Everything brioche topped with cured trout, salmon caviar, and miso yolk ($18).
Tuome: Grilled scallops with grapefruit, calamansi, and chrysanthemum ($26).
Vestry: Smoked trout with butternut squash and maple ($14).