Arrogant restaurants
Say what you will about Baltimore restaurants, even the best ones aren't arrogant. (Feel free to disagree by posting below.)
Last year my daughter's college roommate and her family traveled up from San Diego to attend a performance at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. I happened to be in town at the same time, and her parents kindly took us out to dinner at one of LA's premier restaurants, Patina in the concert hall complex.
It's a wonderful space, the menu was intriguing (and very expensive) and the company was good. We were having a great time. But when the food arrived...
(Photo courtesy of the Patina Group)
...the head waiter interrupted us to recite in a hushed tone, almost as if he were in church, what was on each dish as it was placed before the recipient -- and each of the ingredients. It stopped the conversation cold, of course. This happened for all three courses.
I felt like saying, "I know what I ordered, thank you very much," but as a guest I didn't want to be rude. It struck me at the time, though, that no chef in Baltimore would think his food was more important than the conversation of the diners. Or maybe he would, but he wouldn't do anything about it.
I have to say, though, that my lobster and scallop entree was so good it was almost worthy of all that awe.
Comments
What happened to you at Patina was not an act of arrogance. It was pretention. There is a big difference (though both can be equally disconcerting).
Baltimore has its share of both pretentious and arrogant restaurants. It also has too many restaurants that practice neglect, where the waitperson disappears and keeps diners waiting too long for service or to respond to a request or question.
Posted by: louis berney | October 22, 2007 11:25 AM
I was just Atwaters for lunch, and i love that place. But their menu listed where everything had come from, including the name of the person who had delivered the crab meat up from the Eastern Shore. I don't need that much damn detail!!! I'd rather know the name of the waterman who caught the crabs!
Posted by: Fairfax | October 22, 2007 3:18 PM
patina w/ joachim splindal (sp) is one of the premier restaurants in the west coast. they are very competitive in the california dining scene and always receive high marks. i think the staff just wanted to parlay professionalism befitting that environment. think of the french laundry and similar "church tone" description will probably be the norm. then again, we are talking about california, not baltimore.
Posted by: curious4food | October 22, 2007 3:58 PM
I was at Nasu Blanca last week with a large group, and when the waiter was reciting the desserts, one couple was still quietly talking. The waiter said, 'Excuse me', and then pretty much shushed them! I've never seen that before!
Posted by: EMW | October 23, 2007 8:45 AM
Having waited tables for several years, I applaud the NB server who politely, appropriately and necessarily 'shushed' the talkers. As a server, nothing is more annoying than reciting the specials or desserts and being talked over, it's just plain rude, to the server and the rest of your party who are trying (often in vain) to listen. Sometimes, I would stand there and just wait until the talkers stopped, but it's not always possible to wait....and wait...and wait... some patrons, just don't get it.
Posted by: aussiewonder | October 24, 2007 2:41 PM
I just read an interesting article in the LA Times called - Diners, stand up for your rights!. Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/392t3r
Posted by: Janet | October 25, 2007 8:01 AM
It is important to make the distinction between restaurants and diners in cities like Baltimore and cities like LA. The dining scene and consumers in Baltimore are not generally sophisticated. They are used to “here ya go hon.” Which explains why Baltimoreans tend to find formal fine dining service to be “arrogant” when actually it is traditional and technically correct service. The practice of announcing dishes as they are served is common in the context of a multi-course menu (which is the norm at Patina). It is serves as a reminder of what you are eating at that point in the meal. If you wish to experience arrogant in Baltimore go to Charleston and order wine. You will more than get your fill of arrogant.
This was more than announcing dishes as they were served, this was giving a detailed description of each dish.
Posted by: DinerD | November 5, 2007 11:51 AM
Who knew arrogance is synonymous with sophistication? I feel smarter now. Thanks, hon!
Posted by: SGI | November 5, 2007 1:14 PM