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Would You Pay $62,500 For A Dinner For Ten At Babbo?
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 14, 2011
Modified Mar 14, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 14, 2011
Modified Mar 14, 2011
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How much would you pay for a seven-course dinner for ten at Babbo that included a meet and greet with Mario Batali? What if we told you the money would be used to support a Brooklyn private school? We ask because just such an evening was put up for auction at Berkeley Carroll's Midnight Ball and the winning bid was for $62,500.
According to Berkeley Carrol's website the Midnight Ball normally earns the Brooklyn private school a cool $200,000, though the school would neither confirm or deny to us if they reached that number again this year. When we asked about it this is what we were told: "We're glad you heard about our auction—it was a really beautiful affair. The proceeds from the auction will benefit the school's academic programs, faculty development, financial aid, and extracurricular offerings—Berkeley Carroll is fortunate to have such a generous community who believe in and support the school's mission."
Generous indeed! In comparison the Upper West Side public school PS 166 recently put a dinner for six at the nearly-impossible-to-eat-in-ever restaurant Rao's up for auction online and the current bid is a mere $550 (the last time a spot at the restaurant was on eBay it went for $5,000).
And for what it is worth? When the school listed the dinner's value as "priceless" they weren't exactly lying. The dinner will be held in Babbo's "cantina" in its wine cellar, a private room not normally made available to the public (or at least that is what their website and hostess tell us).
Apparently the parents at Berkeley Carroll are more concerned with their stomachs then anything else though! According to our source some other "priceless" events up for auction included four tickets to the American Idol finale (winning bid? $4,200) and a trip for four to the set of iCarly ($1,300) and a Bob Dylan fan package including a signed harmonica ($3,000).
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Babbo
berkeley carroll
brooklyn
mario batali
private schools
rao's
Garth Johnston
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