Three Twins Ice Cream founder Neal Gottlieb is certain that his sundae is the most expensive in the world.
"We researched it extensively on the Internet," he said in a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.
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Gottlieb's San Francisco ice creamery is best known for its charitable causes, as well as its local organic ice cream in flavors like strawberry with balsamic vinegar, sea salt caramel and cardamom. But also on the menu are a few surprises, including two spendy sundaes.
The first: A banana split made with syrups from three rare dessert wines--a 1960s vintage port, a Chateau d'Yquem and a German Trockenbeerenauslese--that bump the price tag up to a stratospheric $3,333.33. The service includes cello accompaniment, and a third of the cost is donated to a local land trust.
The second: An all-expense paid trip to Mount Kilimanjaro for glacial ice that Gottlieb will hand churn on the premises. The package includes airfare, five-star accommodations, a guided climb, a tshirt, all the ice cream the customer can eat and a five-figure donation to an African environmental nonprofit. The price: $60,000 for one or $85,000 for two.
In the Chronicle article, Gottlieb claimed the "world's most expensive sundaes" were added to the menu board simply to give customers something to read. But the addition has caused quite the stir, especially since other sweethouses have chased the title.
The closest competitor? As far as we can tell, it's Serendipity 3's $25,000 Frrozen Haute Chocolate (that's two Rs in "frrozen"), which includes a blend of 28 cocoas, an infusion of edible 23-karat gold, whipped cream covered with more gold and a side of La Madeline au Truffle from Knipschildt Chocolatier, which goes for $2,600 per pound.
Gottlieb told the Chronicle that no one has purchased either of the sundaes, but someone did purchase the company's third obscure package: 100 pints of ice cream personally delivered by Gottlieb in a green tuxedo for $3,333.33.
So what other sweets are vying for the world's most expensive dessert title? Click through the slideshow below to find out, and add one in the comments section if we missed it:
