But it is not Friday night. It is 3:30 Saturday afternoon.

Champagne corks are always popping somewhere, of course, and the high life never disappears entirely, especially in New York. But these days, a $750 magnum of Perrier-Jouët stands in striking contrast to the scene outside Bagatelle’s glass-paneled door, where the Dow has lost half its value since the fall of 2007, the recession has claimed a net total of 4.4 million jobs since it began, more than 850,000 families lost their homes to foreclosure last year, and the word “depression” is being heard in the land.

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For decades the New York brunch has been far more than just a meal. It is an institution, an event that can start in midmorning and continue until late afternoon, a ritual in which eggs Benedict are routinely washed down by a seemingly endless stream of mimosas and Bloody Marys.

And in recent months, two restaurants in the meatpacking district have begun taking Saturday brunch to a remarkable level of indulgence and expense, even by New York standards.

The latest incarnation of Saturday brunch began last April at Bagatelle, a French bistro with decorative moldings, crystal chandeliers and striking white décor; it seats 95 people. Six months later, the high-end brunch arrived at Merkato 55, a space on Gansevoort Street that can accommodate about 300 people and typically attracts a younger and slightly less affluent crowd, though the term affluent in this context may be relative.

Image At Bagatelle Champagne comes with sparklers. Credit... Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

The two scenes have recently garnered attention in the news media. Merkato 55 was voted “Best Bacchanal” by New York magazine this month. And the blog Guest of a Guest has weighed in on what the site describes as “the Battle of the Recession-Proof Brunches.”