Latest news with #DomPerignon
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Would you pay $600 for a lobster roll? This Iowa State Fair dish has gold, caviar, and Champagne
One of the most expensive dishes at the Iowa State Fair in 2024 brought a two-foot lobster roll to JR's SouthPork Ranch. The standalone restaurant on Rock Island Avenue knows how to bring the fun, gussied up in a chandelier overhead, pigs wearing cowboy hats and rhinestones, pink florals, and meals from breakfast through late nights of music on a stage that attracts in the crowds. That Connecticut-style lobster roll came in at $100, with fresh lobster dunked in clarified butter, served on a brioche roll. JR's SouthPork Ranch also offered shorter versions of the lobster roll at $31 for a 6-inch and $58 for a footlong. And they're back in 2025. If Brooks Reynolds, one of the owners of JR's SouthPork Ranch, has his say in the outrageous dishes coming to the fair, he would add his newest rendition of the High Roller lobster roll to that list. JR's SouthPork Ranch is once again pushing culinary boundaries at the 2025 Iowa State Fair with what may be the most extravagant fair food ever. This dish starts with a brioche roll painted in gold combined with duck fat before it's toasted on the griddle. A quarter pound of fresh Maine lobster fills the bun, that's then dressed in crème fraiche, and topped with Hackleback caviar, a sprig of dill, and flakes of gold. The price? $100. But wait, there's more extravagance waiting. Double that lobster roll and add a bottle of Dom Perignon for $600. Culinary director Heith Sheeley and executive chef Sarah Strong-Tuttle hope to surpass last year's sales of $225,000 in lobster rolls alone. Strong-Tuttle estimated they sold 300 of the two-foot versions in 2024, and it's returning this year. Last year, JR's went through 3,600 pounds of lobster tails and knuckles at the fair. After some flack on social media about the cost last year, the restaurant noted that most of the time, a big two-foot lobster roll is ordered for catering. If the Iowa State Fair vendor does not have a dish listed and approved by the fair, they cannot sell it. So the two-foot version is on the menu if people want to get it and split it. What's the history of JR's SouthPork Ranch? Co-owner Brooks Reynolds along with Carey and Corey Hansen of Greek House Chefs, who handle catering for sororities and fraternities nationwide and also happen to own Hansen's Manhattan Deli on Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines, won the contract for the former Diamond Jack's in 2020. After an extensive renovation that included a new kitchen, the outpost opened in 2021. They decorated it to the rafters with a wink and a nod to 'Dallas,' the long-running television drama featuring an oil tycoon family with J.R. Ewing at the helm. At SouthPork, the J and R stand for Jody and Rennie, Reynolds' parents. Reynolds also has the Blue Ribbon Bacon Fest that celebrates all things pork as well. At SouthPork, a pun on the setting for 'Dallas' — Southfork Ranch, diners can find everything from bloody Marys and monkey bread in the morning to bacon mac and cheese with pickles and sidewinder fries for lunch and dinner. What's new at JR's SouthPork Ranch for 2025 Chicken Pickle Ranch Rocket on a Stick, $9: This dish was one of the top 11 items that competed in the Best New Fair Foods contest. This pickle-forward skewer stacks thick-cut sweet, dill, and garlic pickle slices chicken marinated in pickle brine and grilled chicken, all drizzled in a zesty ranch butter glaze. It gets a second coat of ranch butter glaze as it's served. More: These top three dishes compete for Best New Food at the 2025 Iowa State Fair Chicken waffle breakfast sandwich, $11: Before the Fairgrounds open at 8 a.m., JR's is making breakfast starting at 7 a.m. This year brings a Southern favorite to the menu with a chicken and waffle breakfast sandwich, with a twist. Last year, JR's introduced a pimento cheese spread, and that spread returns on the sandwich. For those who love maple syrup, that comes on the side. Lobster biscuits and gravy, $12: The breakfast favorite comes to the JR's menu with a lobster twist. 'This one I think I'm really excited about, because a lot of people want to get in on the whole lobster frenzy at the fair, but they don't exactly feel like dishing out the money for one of our lobster rolls. This is a way for them to still enjoy some fresh Maine lobster,' Strong-Tuttle said. The gravy has hints of garlic and lemon, with an ounce of lobster on top. 'We make sure to add an extra ounce of chunks of pieces of the knuckle and claw lobster to make sure you get that full, lobster experience, not just the flavor of it, but the visual of that as well,' she said. AE Party Dip Balls, $10: JR's introduced this dish in 2024, and it's making a comeback this year. This partnership with the local dairy vendor brings the nostalgic favorite, AE Party Dip, together with hash browns and potato chips for a walkable dish. You can order additional party dip on the side for $1. See the entire menu at Where to find JR's SouthPork Ranch Location: Rock Island Avenue, Des Moines Contact: Sign up for our dining newsletter, Table Talk DSM, which comes out on Wednesday mornings with all the latest news on restaurants and bars in the metro. You can sign up for free at If you see a new restaurant opening or a beloved place closing, send me some details at sstapleton@ Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@ This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: This $600 lobster roll at the Iowa State Fair comes with gold Solve the daily Crossword
Wall Street Journal
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
Tequila, Drugs and Torture: The Spending Binge of Two Crypto Bros That Ended Behind Bars
A private jet lifted off on a night in February, ferrying a media heir, fashion models and a mix of thrill-hungry luminaries from Palm Beach, Fla., to a novel redneck retreat in Smithland, Ky., population 237. For the guests, Smithland sat in the middle of nowhere, at a bend of the Ohio River, in a county where most liquor sales are banned. That wasn't a problem. The plane was stocked with Dom Pérignon Champagne. One of the hosts, William Duplessie, doled out caviar en route.
Irish Independent
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Lucinda O'Sullivan's restaurant review: Take out the wallet for beef with all the trimmings at this king ‘bullsh**ter's' buzzy restaurant
There's an art to being a bullsh**ter, writes our critic. Often it's a fine line between obnoxious and charming, but in this restaurant it is definitely the latter For good and for bad, there have always been bullsh**ters around the hospitality scene. I'm talking about the kinds of hosts, chefs and guests that waffle about the night they quaffed a 1957 Chateau d'Yquem with Charlie Haughey, while discussing affairs of State and his penchant for Charvet shirts, or sipped Dom Perignon with Prince Albert at the Monte Carlo Rally. Then there's the inevitable smartass that 'told' Gordon Ramsay or Marco Pierre White how to properly cook a sausage. All of this, you can take with a grain of salt. They know everyone, even the ones that they don't! Some diners, however, just revel in being acknowledged and very often 'wanna go where everybody knows their name' – which is why the bullsh**ters often thrive. Back in the day, people flocked to Sean Kinsella's legendary Mirabeau in Dun Laoghaire. Kinsella was a good chef but an arch-bullsh**ter who set the bar high by having his Rolls-Royce parked outside the front door, presented menus with no prices to the ladies, and fawned obsequiously over celebrities, politicians and businessmen, who'd arrive with their latest squeeze. However, if anyone queried anything, he tore up the bill and threw you out with the dishwater.
Iraqi News
25-07-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
First half net profit plunges 22% at French luxury group LVMH
Paris – French luxury group LVMH saw net profit plummet 22 percent in the first half of 2025, the company announced Thursday, blaming the plunge on an 'unsettled economic and geopolitical' backdrop. Though sales fell four percent to just under 40 billion euros (47 billion dollars), chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault insisted that LVMH 'is demonstrating its resilience in the current context'. The producer of Louis Vuitton bags and Dom Perignon champagne has been hit especially hard by US President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs, as it generates a quarter of its revenue in the United States. In the wake of the US president's April 2 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements, Arnault, Europe's richest man, saw Hermes overtake LVMH as the world's most valuable luxury company. Trump imposed a 10-percent tariff on imports from around the world that month, but he delayed higher duties on dozens of other countries, with an August 1 deadline to strike trade deals or face tougher levies looming. 'We are approaching the second half of the year with great vigilance, and I am confident in LVMH's formidable long-term potential,' Arnault, who was present at Trump's second inauguration in January, said in Thursday's press release. Though LVMH has likewise been hit by a trade dispute over European brandy exports to China, a key market for its Hennessy cognac, Chief Financial Officer Cecile Cabanis said the group had seen 'improved demand from the Chinese in China'. But 'currency exchange effects have led to an extremely sharp drop in demand' from Chinese tourists visiting Japan, she told the press. Both the wine and spirits and fashion departments posted eight-percent drops in revenue, to 2.6 and 19 billion euros respectively. The former was weighed down by 'the impact on customers of trade tensions weighing on the key US and Chinese markets', the results announcement added.
Business Times
24-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
First half net profit plunges 22% at French luxury group LVMH
[PARIS] French luxury group LVMH saw net profit plummet 22 per cent in the first half of 2025, the company announced on Thursday, blaming the plunge on an 'unsettled economic and geopolitical' backdrop. Though sales fell four per cent to just under 40 billion euros (S$60 billion), chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault insisted that LVMH 'is demonstrating its resilience in the current context'. The producer of Louis Vuitton bags and Dom Perignon champagne has been hit especially hard by US President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs, as it generates a quarter of its revenue in the United States. In the wake of the US president's April 2 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements, Arnault, Europe's richest man, saw Hermes overtake LVMH as the world's most valuable luxury company. Trump imposed a 10-per cent tariff on imports from around the world that month, but he delayed higher duties on dozens of other countries, with an Aug 1 deadline to strike trade deals or face tougher levies looming. 'We are approaching the second half of the year with great vigilance, and I am confident in LVMH's formidable long-term potential,' Arnault, who was present at Trump's second inauguration in January, said in Thursday's press release. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Though LVMH has likewise been hit by a trade dispute over European brandy exports to China, a key market for its Hennessy cognac, chief financial officer Cecile Cabanis said the group had seen 'improved demand from the Chinese in China'. But 'currency exchange effects have led to an extremely sharp drop in demand' from Chinese tourists visiting Japan, she told the press. Both the wine and spirits and fashion departments posted eight-per cent drops in revenue, to 2.6 and 19 billion euros respectively. The former was weighed down by 'the impact on customers of trade tensions weighing on the key US and Chinese markets', the results announcement added. AFP
