Sweet Willie

Dining at the Chef�s Counter: With theater tickets $100 a pop and hardly a guarantee of an entertaining evening, why not get some drama plus a good meal at a chef�s counter overlooking an open kitchen? At establishments such as Bread Bar at Tabla, Casa Mono, Hearth, Olives and Zo� patrons can observe close-up how a professional kitchen functions. For diners, the upside is interaction with the chefs and possibly free bites. For cooks it�s a different story. As if working in a restaurant kitchen weren�t stressful enough, the toques at the aforementioned places also have the additional pressure of performing under scrutinizing eyes and modifying their noise level and language (including code words for VIPs� dishes) while maintaining irreproachable sanitary conditions. Of course, it�s not all bad, as Olives executive sous-chef Michael Klein notes, �Some patrons will buy post-work drinks for the kitchen staff, or give them a nice tip� though they�re not expected. Moreover, as chef Floyd Cardoz (Tabla and Bread Bar at Tabla) points out, many chef�s-counter patrons are interested in cooking and the process of how restaurants coordinate a meal, and relish the opportunity to ask questions. And provided their time is not monopolized by chatterbugs, Cardoz says, �It�s very gratifying for the cooks to talk about their work with patrons,� many of whom come away as impressed by the hard work and discipline needed to excel on the open kitchen stage as they are by the food they�ve consumed.

from Zagat.com

GadgetFreak

This was the rage a few years ago. Places put in tables in the kitchen or in a private dining area overlooking the kitchen. One I remember was LeBernardin. They had a glassed in room that faced the kitchen on one side. The chef would come over and talk to the people about what he was preparing and such. Looked like a great idea. You paid by the room and it would seat up to 4. It was maybe 20% more than a typical meal for 4 would cost and included 4 meals as I recall. On a somewhat related note one of my favorite NY restaurants, Picholine has a private dining area in the wine celler which we did once and it was pretty nice. I dont think it cost extra, just hard to book.