There is a term that was used extensively by food critics in the past that is not as frequently used but still is appropriate: "bread & circus." The bread, of course, refers to the food and the circus deals with the ambiance, service and overall comfort for the diners.
I mentioned in the previous post about going to dinner for a friend's birthday last night. I am not going to mention the name of the restaurant because I am not a restaurant critic. Suffice it to say that it is one of the 4 star restaurants in Chicago and has been written up and on national television.
I should also mention that I previously worked at one of the top restuarants in Chicago, Jimmy's Place, that is no longer open. I was bartender, wine steward, wait person, assistant manager & did some of the bookkeeping. So, I do have a knowledge of fine dining and the nuances of food - especially service because I worked the front of the house not in the kitchen.
The experience we had last night was not to be believed in terms of quantity. It was a 9-course dinner of the chef's choice with a cheese cart and candy cart at the end. As with any dinner of this proportion, there were hits and there were misses.
The hits were definitely in the seafood category, from the caviar to the crab to the hamachi. All were exquisite with slight variations of traditional serving. The biggest miss for me was the foie gras. I am a foie gras nut. Each person at the table was served the foie gras in a different preparation. They all were great combinations. They all had one problem - they were undercooked. Yes, foie gras is best served undercooked, medium rare, but these were almost raw. I have had raw foie gras on salads and as garnish and it worked extremely well. When you are preparing it with heat, it does need to be cooked so that it can be cut and not mushed. It also was not cleaned properly. The stringy vein was left in each portion. I know it's picky, but I like my foie gras.
The real struggle was getting through all of the courses. One of the people at the table described getting to the end of the meal like the last moments of a wrestling match. You just couldn't quite see yourself able to finish and wanted to die. I wouldn't go that far, but it is an apt description.
The circus part of the meal was the service. The service was well-timed so that everyone got their courses at the same moment, napkins were replaced if you got up to use the washroom, wines were presented and served properly, and the table settings were exquisite.
There was one glaring mistake that no one but I would have noticed. There was one course where one person finished before the others and the bus person removed his plate. That is a big, big no-no in fine dining. Plates should never be cleared until everyone has finished. Like I said, I would have noticed that because of previous experience, but I would have thought the waitstaff would be well aware of it.
One of the other things that was important was the personality of the wait staff. Usually, in restuarants like this, the staff tends to be a little stuffy. These people were warm, open and inviting of all questions. They made the experience very pleasant without being overpowering and noticed - they were in the background to make everyone's experience notable.
Well, there was one exception and it probably was my fault - at least my perception. The sommelier was very helpful in choosing the wines since I didn't know what food was being served; he did. I had very particular varietals in mind but not knowing their wine list, which was extensive, I would have searched forever. He agreed with my first choice, made an excellent recommendation for the second and pointed me in the direction for the type of red I was looking for. This is where the problem came into play.
I told him that I wanted the red slightly chilled. The look bordered on "this man doesn't know what he'd doing" to rolling his eyes. What I had asked for was a french red burgundy that is normally only seen as a white. I had hoped for a red Meursault but he pointed out a Chassagne-Montrachet that fit the bill. The first time I ever had this type of wine was at a restaurant named Lou Landes in Paris. It was to die for! Since it is normally a white, it should be served slightly chilled. As it warms up while you are drinking it, the aromas and flavors open up from subtle to demonstrative. The sommelier didn't like this or maybe didn't know about it.
This Montrachet did exactly that. What bolstered my opinion that his nose was so out of joint is that he served the first two wines but didn't touch the Montrachet. The table waitperson did that, and she did a great job, asking if I wanted it more chilled, sitting out, etc. I have to commend her greatly.
I hope the wine steward at least tries chilling wine like this once in order to see the benefits. The people I was with trust me in wine judgements and go along with my suggestions. One of the men pointed out exactly what I described above and he knows something about wine but had never heard of doing this before last night.
I think that everyone should do this kind of dinner once in her/his lifetime. McDonald's is great and has its place, I love just the plain old cheeseburgers, but you have to broaden your scope. I couldn't do this over and over. [The doctor would have a fit with my cholestrol!] But once in a while you have to treat yourself, be kind to yourself and give yourself little unexpected moments of pleasure. Be in the present. Stop listening to your past telling you what you should and shouldn't do all the time.
no matter what...
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