Masa, one of America’s most expensive restaurants, closed in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. But as Eater reports, the expensive sushi restaurant has begun selling $800 takeout meals.
Every Friday, the New York restaurant run by Chef Masa Takayama will sell 20 boxes of sushi or sashimi. Each box feeds up to four people and requires diners to assemble the meals themselves. According to the publication, “For the first offering, Masa will deliver a make-your-own temaki box, which includes pre-sliced raw fish, vegetables, ginger, wasabi, soy sauce, nori, and rice. That settles out to be about $200 per person for the dinner.” Delivery is free in Manhattan and costs $20 in the outer boroughs.
That’s technically a bargain when you compare it to Masa’s normal omakase, which runs for $595 a person. But as Eater points out, the luxury sushi restaurant recently furloughed its staff, which raises some questions about who’s suffering while rich people throw down $800 for fancy sushi takeout.
“There’s a lot of unpack here about the nature of wealth, conspicuous consumption, billionaire philanthropy, and the dark side of exclusivity,” the site’s post reads. “One at least wonders whether a restaurateur who apparently has pockets deep enough to drop millions on real estate could put some extra people to work by selling more than 20 sushi boxes per week, maybe at just a few dollars less.”
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