Bobby Flay Steak Wine Pricing Controversy

Swanky menus featuring absent or obfuscated prices are not infrequent players in rumors and urban legends, and a claim made by Joe Lentini after he and a group dined

at Bobby Flay Steak in Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City echoed an oldie-but-goodie. Interestingly, both parties involved in the situation at the Bobby Flay restaurant appear to agree on the basic facts of the story.

According to Lentini and his fellow diners, a group of about 10 people visited the restaurant in late October 2014. Lacking his glasses, Lentini had difficulty reading the venue's wine list. When he asked a waitress for a recommendation and the wine's corroborating price, Lentini maintained, her answer was somewhat misleading:

Lentini explained the wine was neither exceptional nor unpalatable, and the party thought little of it ... until the bill arrived:

The wine, in fact, was priced at $3,750 — not $37.50. If the tale sounds familiar, that's because it very closely resembles the "Neiman Marcus Cookie" urban legend which has been circulating for more than 70 years:

Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement from Neiman-Marcus and it was $285.00. I looked again and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe - $250.00." Boy, was I upset!! I called Neiman's Accounting Dept. and told them the waitress said it was "two fifty," and I did not realize she meant $250.00 for a cookie recipe.