"Possibly no other place on this list is more suited to suppressing conversation than Sushi W on the Upper West Side. For $63 (including tip), you'll get 17 courses of high-quality nigiri and handrolls—but you have to get in and out within an hour. Every time your companion starts to talk about what they've been watching on the History Channel, the chef will interrupt with an explanation of the next course. Before you know it, your meal will be over, and you'll be disingenuously saying something like "I wish we could have had more time to catch up." - kenny yang