10 Most Expensive Restaurant Zipcodes Slideshow

#10 Golden's Bridge, NY (10526)

The average household income in the residential zip code of Golden's Bridge is about $276,640. Essentials, like bagels, pizza, and ice cream exist — Portofino Pizzeria establishes its Italian credentials by offering tripe in tomato sauce as an appetizer — but there seem to be few sit-down options around. Good thing it's only a 25-minute drive to Pocantico Hills, and one of the 101 Best Restaurants in America. Chef Dan Barber's Blue Hill at Stone Barns dishes out delectable fresh-from-the-farm seasonal delights. Try the 12-course Farmer Feast for a cool $208.

#9 Pound Ridge, NY (10576)

Like Golden's Bridge, this sleepy neighbor to Chappaqua is fairly residential. The average household income is reported at $285,811, and it has been home to an array of the rich and famous like Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon (wonder who got the house after they split). The local institution, Di Nardo's is a quaint Italian restaurant that received a good write-up from The New York Times a few years ago, and has a good reputation, most notably for its homemade spaghetti.

#8 Kenilworth, IL (60043)

With the average household income reported at $296,947, Kenilworth has money galore, but almost no restaurants. Residents can travel a few miles to neighboring communities for sophisticated French-American fare at Restaurant Michael in Winnetka or casual French and Italian food at Convito Café and Market in Wilmette, among other places — but serious eaters trek 20 miles or so south to Chicago's  Lincoln Park neighborhood for expensive fare at time-tested institutions such Charlie Trotter's and Alinea, often touted as one of the finest restaurants in the U.S.

#7 Chappaqua, NY (10514)

Home to the Clintons and many other famous wealthy personages, Chappaqua has some of the best, celebrity-sprinkled fine dining outside of New York City. Prices would make a Manhattanite squirm on his plush banquette, but with the average household income in this zip code being $297,460, this shouldn't be a problem. Crabtree's Kittle House, helmed by Per Se alum Bradford McDonald, has garnered plenty of accolades over the years, one recently from Food & Wine, which named it one of the top five wine pairing destinations in the country.

#6 Gladwyne, PA (19035)

Gladwyne, northeast of Philadelphia, is like a village out of a storybook — a very rich village. According to HouseHunt, the average household income is $298,025. The Old Guard House Inn provides the low-ceilings and dark walls of a colonial interior paired with stellar German-influenced fare. This is as fancy as meat and potatoes get.

#5 Portola Valley, CA (94028)

 

Nestled in the redwoods, Portola Valley has some of the most expensive homes in the United States, and an average household icome of $303,431.Though most residents venture to neaerby Palo Alto for dining, the rustic elegance of the Parkside Grill, described by the San Mateo County Times as "a place where the owner probably knows you by name," is a reason to visit this community.

 

#4 Short Hills, New Jersey (07078)

A moneyed enclave (average household income, $310,875) just outside of Manhattan, Short Hills is perhaps best known for its upper crust mall. The fine dining scene however (the "classics" include Benihana, Panera, Legal Sea Foods, and Taco Bell), somewhat pales in comparison to that in other Jersey suburbs like West and South Orange and Madison. Terrace at the Hilton, somehow both swank and tacky, does an acclaimed brunch, and draws the kinds of Jersey money you'd see on TV.

#3 Auburn, Ala. (36849)

A leafy, idyllic college town, Auburn has attracted lauded artists, Nobel laureates, and hefty bank accounts safekeeping the denizens' $329,387 average household income. Dining options mostly cater to the student set, with an abundance of pizza parlors, cafés, delis, and barbecue joints, though local diners do enjoy the farm-to-table Americana at the Amsterdam Café, the gastropub fare and craft brews at Zazu, and the Italian specialties at Ariccia (on a corner of the Auburn University campus). An hour's drive north, Birmingham offers alternatives with top-dollar, top-notch restaurants such as Highlands Bar & Grill (Frank Stitt's New Southern classic) and Veranda on Highland, where you can find grilled quail, softshell crawfish, pork porterhouse, filet mignon, and the like.

#2 Atherton, Calif. (94027)

This San Francisco suburb may boast an average income of $341,129, but the fine dining options in Atherton are few and far between (Bonsai Japanese Cuisine, anyone?). Athertonians instead enjoy the many options in neighboring Menlo Park and Palo Alto — or head down to "the city," San Francisco, to plunk down their fortunes on San Francisco's Nob Hill, a neighborhood packed with plenty of great food (Swan Oyster Depot) and fine dining (Fleur de Lys).

#1 Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (92067)

Referred to as "The Ranch," Rancho Santa Fe, a San Diego suburb, is the wealthiest zip code in the U.S. with an average income of $411,595. It has a restaurant reputation to match, with places like French-Californian Mille Fleurs pricing entrées up to $52.