I like to finedine occasionally(anniversaries, long lost friends etc.) but to me fine dining means that, after the meal is over and you are walking out the door you feel that, totaling up the service, the atmosphere and the food, you at least got your money’s worth…if not more. Fine dining is not snooty servers placing (theoretically) edible artwork on an over-sized plate on the table.
From what I know about chefs, they try to market a brand; a signature unique to them. Don’t expect Mom’s home cooking style in any restaurant. Even in the most expensive restaurant, you either like the signature style of cooking or you don’t. But a Michelin-rated restaurant is supposed to come with a lot of recommendations so it’s a good bet as far as overall quality is concerned. But, you either like it or you don’t.
That menu claims “The single best live langoustines on the planet”. That’s a bold claim. The seafood hut on Oban pier would beg to differ, although admittedly the hut does lack many of the details that mark out a fine dining establishment. Like, actual plates and that. 
I am happy to pay for good food, the decor and service are much less important to me (and service can be a negative if I feel I am being fawned over excessively). I don’t typically patronize the really super high end places like Alinea or Charlie Trotter’s, but for unbelievably delicious food I’m happy to shell out $50 a head (not counting alcohol) or so…that’s less than you’d pay for a ticket to a Broadway show or most major sporting events, and the chance of being severely disappointed is less.
Some of my favorite places in Chicago are Girl and the Goat, Topolobambo, Oceanique (actually in Evanston), and Bistro Campagne. Oh, and Katsu for sushi, although you’re not getting out of there with a full stomach for less than $100.
Although I have eaten in a fair number of fancy places where I left feeling the portions could have been a bit more generous, Everest was the only place I ever actually ate a full dinner and then had to go eat another one somewhere else.
Chefs having a personal brand is the latest trend but I’m wary of any restaurant with such a chef. They tend to be focussed on different rather than good. They are selling the sizzle not the sausage.
I’ve been to seriously good restaurants that did simple things very, very well.
Calvin Trillin refers to them collectively as “La Maison de la Casa House, Continental Cuisine.” He then speculates that the continent is Antarctica.
We love fine dining and indulge in it whenever we can. That usually means during a trip to Las Vegas. We usually don’t have wine with dinner, so we can escape for under $300 or so for an excellent meal at someplace like Delmonico or SW Steak or Morels or Guy Savoy or E or Estiatorio Milos or Scarpetta or…
Heh. When I was and editor in book publishing in Manhattan ('80s-'90s-early '00s), the business lunch norm was to knock back a cocktail, the better part of a bottle of wine, and possibly a digestif afterward. This may be because I was lunching with other editors, agents, and authors. If I was a plumbing supplies salesman…
I had lived in Paris when I was 19, so the idea of boozing it up throughout the day seemed fairly normal to me. Sorry to see that the American Puritan Ideal is creeping back.
Trillin wrote that in 1971, possibly the nadir of American fine dining AND home dining, a year in which our President lunched on cottage cheese covered in ketchup. Things have gotten a lot better since.
It’s an interesting grey area.
I lunch clients and alcohol is part of the equation, naturally. These days it would be two glasses of wine, maximum, three for a real blowout. Any more and I’m not going back to the office. Or if I go back I won’t do any work that matters. But there are still afternoons when I’m working while with some small amount of alcohol in the system. I actually do some things better after a couple of drinks. And no, I don’t mean I just think I’m doing them better because of the alcohol. I always check over my work the next day.
Yes, but I still doubt there is a decent French restaurant in Omaha.
Yeah, well, Australia. (Winky face emoticon)
In Omaha, one should go to a steakhouse. If you want a decent coq au vin, make it at home.
I’ve also had excellent “trad American” in Omaha, especially at breakfast. The only problem was that I was served enough food for six people.
Just confirming this has been my experience too - two or three drinks at a corporate lunch has been considered A-OK at a number of places I’ve worked at and it hasn’t been unusual at all for people to have more than that and call it a day (in the sense of not going back to the office) or to be working with alcohol in their system.
This isn’t an everyday thing at every company, of course - I work in the media, where being able to prop up a bar is almost part of the job description - but no-one at all would bat an eyelid at someone having two or three drinks at lunch for a team event or something like that. Even in the retail gigs I’ve had, almost no-one would begrudge anyone a cheeky beer or wine with lunch if they were so inclined.
As to the OP: I’m defining “fine dining” as the sort of place where you need to dress up a bit, it might have a “degustation” menu, or people care who the chef is - silver service, basically.
If someone else is paying (client/corporate hospitality tab) then I’m not going to turn down free fancy noms at all, but I often have trouble finding satisfying meals at those restaurants. If I order a steak, for example, I want a signficant chunk of cooked dead cow, now a few slivers drizzled with balsamic vinagrette.
It’s not automatically just the wankiness of the food that bothers me, it’s the fact there’s never enough of it and it’s exorbitantly expensive. For AUD$42 I expect lots of steak, lots of really fancy chips with an interesting seasoning, and a proprietary sauce of the chef’s own blend, along with some useful vegetables that are intended to be eaten, not displayed as “garnish” - yet that’s pretty much the exact opposite of what I’ve experienced at fine restaurants.
Also, while I don’t dress sloppily generally, I don’t do actual suits for dining. It’s too hot in Queensland and even in what passes for our winter, I always feel uncomfortable in a suit at the best of times, never mind when I’m eating.
Well there are plenty of fine dining places where you can get a very solid meal for your $42. The problem is that there are also plenty of places where you won’t.
As to dress, I couldn’t name a Brisbane restaurant where a suit (or even just a tie) is expected. And like you it would be an automatic dealbreaker for me.
Some of my friends in the business that have eaten at or worked with Charlie Trotter back in the day swear by a place there in Chi-town called Blackbird.
Their menu looks pretty damn good to me, and the prix fixe lunch for $25 looks like a good deal for this level of place for three courses. Ever been there?
For lunch…not really. I’m normally too busy during the day to take the time to enjoy a meal in a fine dining setting. My wife and I have a regular Saturday night date night, when we will enjoy a nice meal out where we can take the time to enjoy cocktails, the food, and the conversation of catching up on the week and any upcoming plans.
On vacations we also normally enjoy nice meals in unique places. We have a couples trip coming up next month to Napa Valley, which I have never been and we are having lunch at some place called the French Laundry. One of the other husbands worked on getting a lunch reservation for the 8 of us there. He said it has 3 Michelin stars, whatever that means. I’ve heard of Zagat and see those signs on windows of places occasionally, but I guess the Michelin rating is supposed to be more prestigious. We don’t have any Michelin rated places in our hometown.
The French Laundry is a super-famous restaurant. It was named “Best Restaurant in the World” in 2003 & 2004. It is still usually listed near the top of best restaurants in the world rankings. It is also very difficult to get reservations to so I am impressed that your friend was able to get one at all especially for 8 people. That is not going to be a cheap meal though.
Michelin Stars are generally more prestigious than other types of ratings. It is very difficult to even earn one. 3 star Michelin restaurants are extremely rare (there are currently only 14 in the U.S.)
Thanks Shag. I talked to our friend who is coordinating details. You are right. Turns out that whenever we do the next poll on the most expensive meal you have ever eaten comes around, this one will be it for me. He also said that the restaurant told him that we should allow about 4 hours for the total meal experience, which is a 14 course chef tasting menu in a private dining room. It will be one of those lifetime experience things!