# Have you ever eaten at a celebrity chef's restaurant? How was your experience? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [May 14, 2023, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011 "2023-05-14T00:47:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/1 "2023-05-14T00:47:18Z")
Back in the early/mid-90s I worked in Manhattan, two block away from Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill. I’m not sure how famous he was then, but I went there once for lunch. I remember the food being very good. It was much more expensive than I would usually spend on lunch, but I definitely enjoyed it. A few years later I was in New Orleans and had a phenomenal dinner at Emeril Lagasse’s eponymous restaurant in the Warehouse district. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/2 "2023-05-14T00:49:43Z")
I had an exquisite meal once at Mark Miller’s Coyote Cafe. While not a household name, he is famous among chefs. It was pricey as hell and worth every bite. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/3 "2023-05-14T01:08:18Z")
I have eaten at Ming Tsai’s Blue Ginger (the OG) and Blue Dragon (spin-off). Neither was too expensive. Blue Ginger was nice in terms of both food and atmosphere. A traditional menu of Asian Fusion. Blue Dragon (small plates) was a noisy, crowded mess. Food was pretty good, but the diners were packed in like sardines. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/4 "2023-05-14T01:34:37Z")
Many years ago I ate at the Chez Panisse Cafe in Berkeley, Alice Waters’s restaurant. It was very good. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/5 "2023-05-14T02:51:32Z")
I’m not sure if it counts when it’s long after they are famous and don’t have anything to with the day to day operation. If it does count I’ve been to places by Bobby Flay, Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse. All of them were at casinos. All were quite good. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/6 "2023-05-14T03:20:10Z")
I’ve been to a number of famous chef’s restaurants - Morimoto’s, Keller (not the French Laundry, the other one), Batali, Beau Macmillan, and probably a bunch more. They are all good, but not all that memorable. I’ve had the best-tasting meals at less-famous places. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/7 "2023-05-14T03:24:58Z")
I ate at Hell’s Kitchen in Vegas a couple of years ago. Had a $90 filet mignon. It was incredibly delicious. But not worth 90 bucks. I’ve had similar quality filets for 2/3 the price. Though I’m sure being right outside of Caesar’s Palace inflated the price by as much as Gordon Ramsay’s name did. ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/8 "2023-05-14T03:54:28Z")
The closest I have gotten to “celebrity” is eating at Tomohiro Inoue’s Rock N Raw at Hard Rock. The buffet was incredible. I will never forget the baby octopus salad. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/9 "2023-05-14T03:57:11Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > A few years later I was in New Orleans and had a phenomenal dinner at Emeril Lagasse’s eponymous restaurant in the Warehouse district. I ate at one of Lagasse’s restaurants in Orlando way back in 2000. I don’t remember it being bad, but I don’t remember being wowed by it. But at the time, I think I wasn’t really interested in anything that was on the menu. And I can’t even remember what was on the menu since it’s been 23 years. My experience was fine. I guess. If it has been bad I would have remembered it more strongly I think. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/10 "2023-05-14T03:58:46Z")
> [@Disinfectus](#): > > I had an exquisite meal once at Mark Miller’s Coyote Cafe. While not a household name, he is famous among chefs. It was pricey as hell and worth every bite. Holy cow! I ate at the Coyote Cafe at the Venetian in Vegas back in 2000! And unlike my trip to Lagasse, I remember enjoying the breakfast I had there which was a southwest variation of biscuits and gravy! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/11 "2023-05-14T03:59:01Z")
How famous is Michael Simon outside of Cleveland? I think fairly famous if you follow the cooking shows. Even tho he has a lot of spots in Cleveland I’ve only been to BSpot, his (now closed) burger joint. Burgers were delicious. I am not a wing person but when I was low carbing I loved his garlic wings. Also they had an all-you-can-manage pickle and olive bar. When NOT low carbing I enjoyed BSpot’s crazy milkshakes such as burbon and apple pie (literally apple pie mixed with ice cream and burbon). Fries were shoestring IIRC. They were fine. I think they had garlic and truffle oil fries. It was high quality stuff. I took out of town people there. Of all Symon’s restaurants it was the most affordable and most accessible to me being in a southeast suburb. Most of his other spots were on the west side and/or downtown and/or fancy. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/12 "2023-05-14T04:04:56Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > New Orleans and had a phenomenal dinner at Emeril Lagasse’s eponymous restaurant in the Warehouse district. I ate there in 2002, and it was excellent. Have eaten at Jean Georges and others in Shanghai that were good but not spectacular. Blue Ginger in Bellevue WA is fine but definitely not killer or memorable. Have eaten there many times. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/13 "2023-05-14T04:05:01Z")
I’ve eaten at a restaurant in Seattle owned by John Sundstrom, who’s a James Beard winner and would probably have a Michelin star if Michelin rated restaurants in Seattle (they don’t). He was hosting a Burns Supper headlined by a haggis he had prepared from a lamb he butchered himself, and was thus able to get around the FDA’s rule against using sheep lung in food. It was an utterly delightful meal. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/14 "2023-05-14T04:14:34Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Beau Macmillan I ate at Sanctuary in Phoenix back when he was still running it. Excellent food. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/15 "2023-05-14T07:37:46Z")
I’m a serious foodie and I pay attention to chefs and restaurants. Restaurants branded with the names of “true celebrity” type chefs like Flay and Lagasse don’t interest me; I focus on chefs who keep their attention focused on the experience of the restaurant, and not touring to promote recipe books or whatever. I’ve been to many top places around the world (with the exception of Asia, which is a travel gap for me). > [@Loach](#): > > I’m not sure if it counts when it’s long after they are famous and don’t have anything to with the day to day operation. Whenever possible, I prioritize restaurants where this hasn’t yet happened. When you’re talking about a franchise of five or six places being run simultaneously (like Batali’s empire), you’re right, you’re experiencing less a chef’s individual culinary fingerprint and more their managerial skills. I much prefer when the chef is a star in his or her single restaurant and is still there most of the time. A couple of examples: When I went to Grant Achatz’s Alinea (this was before he opened Next and the Aviary), I asked the servers lots of questions about the menu, such as why the L’Escoffier dish had been interpreted in that way, and at the end of the meal Achatz himself came to visit and invited us back to the kitchen. For similar reasons, I also got a kitchen invite when I went to Wylie Dufresne’s WD-50. The best of these experiences was at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco; chef Dominique Crenn always visits all her tables when she’s in the restaurant so that wasn’t unusual like the previous two, but the meal itself was spectacular. It’s been many years and I still think probably once a week about the magic trick she pulled off with the tasting sequence of her menu. By contrast, my visits to the one-among-many outposts of chefs like Keller and Morimoto and Robuchon were relative disappointments. Professional, high-quality food to be sure, but not _personal,_ if you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/16 "2023-05-14T10:39:08Z")
When I lived in London I ate maybe a half-dozen times at [Fergus Henderson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergus_Henderson)’s St John Bread and Wine. Obviously I liked it or I wouldn’t have gone back so many times. 🙂 I appreciated the fact that the menu changed daily, and usually included ingredients (including particular plants, particular animals, and particular parts of animals) that were rarely served elsewhere. The prices were pretty reasonable for a celebrity chef restaurant—at least, they were affordable to me, who was pulling the salary of a generic IT drudge. (Henderson had two other restaurants in London with Michelin stars, but I never ate at them and so don’t know if they were accordingly more expensive.) The best thing I ever ordered there was sweetbreads. I’ve never managed to make them so well at home. Another great memory was taking a large party there and ordering (in advance) a whole roast suckling pig. As the organizers we were served the head. The only disappointment I experienced there was when I ordered squirrel. I was expecting it to be served warm and whole, like a roast squab. Instead I got a cold, congealed cylinder of coarsely ground and boiled meat, almost exactly as if someone had upended a small tin of cat food onto the plate and put a sprig of parsley on top. And it tasted pretty much exactly like a tin of cat food. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/17 "2023-05-14T11:18:50Z")
Just like the OP, Emeril’s place in New Orleans. I was with a group who decided to go there for dinner. I was not happy about this (we’re in one of the best cities for food, you want to eat at a cliche?). The food and service were amazing. There’s a reason he’s famous. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/18 "2023-05-14T11:22:05Z")
A few, such as La Fracais and Charlie Trotter’s. Most recently Ever. All in the Chicago area. The experience is always lost on me, as I view food as fuel, and cannot appreciate the expense and (to me) pretentiousness. Kinda glad to have done it (on other peoples’ dimes) just for the experience, but would never pay for it myself - or even willingly eat at such a place if given any option. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/19 "2023-05-14T11:56:57Z")
I’ve eaten at several of Tom Douglas’s restaurants in Seattle. He’s a James Beard winner. The food was always consistently good. Also several Beard winners in Portland, all of which were excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011/20 "2023-05-14T12:04:42Z")
I’ve eaten at a few. The oddest was at a reputed place in Kyoto with personal service from a starred chef. It used exotic ingredients and was beautifully prepared, but was not nearly as good as the fresh fatty tuna available at many other places. Some celebrity chefs write cookbooks in which most recipes look like something I would make and enjoy. This is true of Flay and, Brown, and surprisingly, Fieri. But not many other TV chefs. I have had good but not unbelievable meals at Las Vegas outposts of several - the best was at Boulud’s. After graduating in Montréal we cekebrated at Toqué which was very good. Montreal has a lot of good places to eat. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-at-a-celebrity-chefs-restaurant-how-was-your-experience/984011.md?page=2)