I think its the unspoken moment one graduates to true New Yorker status. When one meets people that they've worked with, in a decent restaurant,they exchange pleasantries, don't want to talk to each other and politely ask the host for another table.
I was very stressed running from meeting to meeting and wanted a fabulous lunch (this was a few weeks ago, when I could afford such luxuries). I walked by Fleur de Sel a little upscale bistro I've always wanted to try.
I enter and got a table. My boss, is right there. My old boss. Okay maybe not my boss at The Modern. Yet this person fained friendship, didn't stand by me and was in a position of leadership. Basically I hate her turncoat ass.
I was being sat at a table next to her. I tried not to scream on the outside, as I'm screaming on the inside. I pretend not to notice that I'm being sat next to her. We shake hands, do air kisses, she politely asks me to join her at the table next to her. I politely ask the host for a table across the room. I'm actually surprised how accommodating the host is and how unflinching she is. I guess this sort of thing happens all the time. It is a small restaurant and a small city non-the-less.
Regarding the restaurant, it was good, at three courses for 25 dollars. Totally a steal. The parsnip soup was lightly garnished with truffle oil and perfect as can be. Hake, a light white fish, was excellent in its port wine reduction. The desert and service rocked. For the price this restaurant is offering for lunch, it's an amazing value.
Now I have to go on a tirade about sauce spoons. Restaurants are starting to provide guests with fish knives and sauce spoons. Yet both are completely unnecessary. Maybe, it's possible this new culinary trend has to do with new and improved education.
The fish knife (yes I know the history behind a full range of cutlery) is shaped in such a way to take the bones of a fillet. Yet any restaurant really does take the bones off for you and I have to say, that in all the faults I find with restaurants, I've never actually found or served a fish bone in the fish. So it's sort of pointless, just sort of annoying to eat with.
Sauces spoons are another pet-peeve. Really, they are unnecessary. I've never seen someone actually make use of them. Besides the fact that one can't actually pick up the sauce with a sauce spoon and they're mostly meant for service: to artfully drizzle something onto a plate. I don't get it.
Next time I encounter such awkwardness. I'm actually going to request regular cutlery. Now there's an ethical consideration to this request. How badly do I want to get my server fired. Yes, when I've worked at hard to work at places. I've gotten this request. I wasn't able to fulfill it because I knew the management would get very upset with me for replacing the all important specialty silver with just boring old guest request silver. So yes, I would have to take that into consideration, do I really want to get my server in trouble because I can't really stand a fish knife and a sauce spoon.
Truly the things one has to put up with when eating out in this city is a gas (insert laughter here).
Check out pictures of the food.
the food looks pretty incredible.
that is really strange, that management would have a problem with meeting the requests of a guest!
Posted by: marc | March 28, 2006 at 08:02 AM