What was created as a novelty item last year has now been added to a popular New York restaurant menu permanently. The 'Serendipity Foot Long Haute Dog' -- gussied up with the food equivalent of diamonds and pearls -- was admitted into the Guinness World Records last year for being the most expensive hot dog in the world, at £45 (US$69).
Months after its creation,
Serendipity 3, the city's first coffee house boutique and a favorite tourist destination in Manhattan, has now put the luxurious 'haute' dog on their menu for the deep-pocketed, hot dog aficionado.
The foot-long hot dog (30 cm) is made from pure beef, grilled in white truffle oil, sandwiched in a pretzel bun imported from Germany, and toasted with white truffle butter.
In lieu of ketchup, mustard and relish, the hot dog is topped with medallions of duck foie gras with black truffles and served with condiments of black truffle Dijon mustard, caramelized Vidalia onions and heirloom tomato ketchup.
"The hot dog is a little bit of Americana, but the 'haute dog' is total glamour," said Serendipity 3 owner Stephen Bruce.
It's not the first time the coffee shop has created a record-breaking dish. They also hold the title for the World's Most Expensive Ice Cream Sundae and the World's Largest Hot Chocolate.
In 2007, Bruce partnered with luxury jeweler Euphoria to create the "Frrozen Haute Chocolate," a £15,500 (US$25,000) dessert made from a blend of 28 of the most expensive and exotic cocoas from around the world. The dessert was then infused with five grams (0.2 ounces) of edible 23-karat gold and served in a goblet also lined with edible gold. The base of the goblet was an 18-karat gold bracelet studded with one carat of white diamonds, and on the side was Knipschildt Chocolatier's La Madeline au Truffe, a truffle made from 70 percent Valrhona dark chocolate that carries a price tag of £150 (US$250) per truffle.
The gold serving spoon was set with white and chocolate-colored diamonds.
The restaurant also set a record in 2009 by creating a four gallon or 15 liter jug of hot chocolate. The record has since been broken by Nestlé in Mexico City.
Serendipity 3 is used to spotlights, as it's been frequented by celebrities like Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, former US president Bill Clinton and Sarah Palin.
It also figured prominently as a background setting for the romantic comedy Serendipity in 2001, with Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack.
Despite its popularity, the restaurant had been shut down by health inspectors in 2007 for a rodent and fly infestation.
Setting world records to attract customers and media attention is a popular tactic among restaurant owners. Earlier this month, the Buca di Beppo restaurant in Anaheim, California, set the world record for the largest bowl of spaghetti, after filling a swimming pool with 6,253 kg (13,786 lb) of pasta.
