One Egg-spensive Omelet

It's not made of gold — just eggs, lobster, caviar and a few trimmings. But an omelet on the menu of a swank Manhattan hotel will set you back $1,000, plus tip.

"I couldn't believe it was the price when I first saw '1,000' on the menu. I thought it was the calorie count," Virginia Marnell, a customer at Norma's restaurant in Le Parker Meridien hotel on West 57th Street, told The Daily News for Monday editions.

The omelet, which debuted May 5 and is billed as the "Zillion Dollar Frittata," features six eggs, a lobster and — here's the kicker — 10 ounces of sevruga caviar. The restaurant pays $65 an ounce for the caviar, according to Norma's general manager, Steven Pipes.

"Since we knew it was going to be a very expensive dish, we decided to have some fun with it," Pipes told the News. "It's not just a gimmick, though. It tastes good."

Beside the omelet's entry in the menu is the following message: "Norma dares you to expense this."

A "budget" version of the omelet, containing only one ounce of caviar, sells for $100.

WCBS-AM's Paul Murnane reports so far, the restaurant hasn't sold either variety. Passers-by told him they'd rather get an Egg McMuffin and pocket the change.