But then I found myself in the kitchen of Fleur, Chef Hubert Keller’s restaurant at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. I watched Keller quickly sear a patty of Wagyu beef ($100 a pound) and douse it over and over again with rich butter, sealing in the flavor and the juice.

Then I watched him slice and sear a few slabs of prime foie gras ($45 a pound), and combine the duck fat with more butter to sautee a mound of sliced black truffles ($1,500 a pound). After that, Keller carefully layered the three ingredients onto a freshly baked brioche bun.

The top ingredient (and the main reason for its price) was poured rather than cooked: A bottle of 1995 Petrus. The bottle, which can often sell for more than $5,000 in restaurants, comes with the burger as the perfect pairing.