Any Top Chef fans out there? An amazing way to experience fancy cuisine, innovative techniques, and VIP treatment is to find affordable tasting menus at high-end restaurants. Drinks dramatically raise the cost of a meal, but you can often score free wine if you're celebrating a birthday or graduation.

At Degustation in NYC, even college students can afford to splurge on a 10-course tasting menu. This hidden gem seats only 16, and the chefs prepare your food right in front of you. Emulsions and foams abounded!