CITY Issue 57

EACH FRONT-OFHOUSE STAFF MEMBER AT PER SE MAKES UP A PLATE FOR SOMEONE IN THE KITCHEN, A THANK YOU OF SORTS FOR MAKING THE MEAL. W ould you like some wine?” asked the neatly atti ed twentysomething sitting ac oss f om me. Now I’m not one to tu n down a glass of anything, but I hesitated and instinctively looked to the den mothe at the end of the long, c owded table. Suddenly I was ﬁ een again, caught eaching fo the Riesling at Ch istmas. But she just sh ugged and smiled: “I don’t mind if they have a little d ink with thei meal.” My tablemate pou ed me a sho t glass befo e etu ning to his f ied catﬁsh and conve sation. Pops, the mat ia ch’s husband, pulled up a seat beside me, a full plate in f ont of him. “So whe e a e you f om?” he asked, his voice as calm as his wife’s. When I told him New O leans, ou talk tu ned quickly to family and food — the f ied catﬁsh had been a p escient choice, he said. Then, in a ﬂash, the twentysomething and his coho ts a ound us began to dispe se, dutifully taking thei dishes to the kitchen sink. Mom and Pops linge ed at the table, enjoying the ﬁ nal few moments of espite befo e thei humble home on Ha ison St eet tu ned back into one of New o k’s most beloved estau ants. The extended family that I had joined on that sp ing a e noon in T ibeca sha ed no blood elations, of cou se: They we e the chefs, line cooks, unne s, se ve s, busse s, and dishwashe s of Ka en and David “Pops” Waltuck’s Chante elle. In , the couple opened the gou met F ench estau ant in a small SoHo sto ef ont at G and and G eene — David as the executive chef, Ka en the f ont-of-house manage — and though it has since moved fa the downtown, Chante elle emains a New o k institution. It must be said that my dining expe ience was ve y diﬀe ent than that of any Chante elle egula late that night — o likely any othe night in the estau ant’s p evious th ee decades of se vice. The e was no o de ing o waiting fo the next cou se; I didn’t sample the a tisanal cheeses o foie g as. In fact, what I ate wasn’t even on the menu. I had a ived at p.m. to expe ience a daily itual that takes place in hund eds of estau ants ac oss the city, and in thousands mo e ac oss the count y: family meal. Chante elle was the last stop on a month-long, eight-venue culina y tou of Manhattan. My mission was simple: to see how a estau ant, with seemingly endless talent and esou ces in the kitchen, nou ishes its staﬀ, and how that -minute meal impacts the seven hou s of dinne se vice that follows. I’ll admit that my p evious exposu e to family 60 CITY TY

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CITY Issue 57

City Issue 57 Contents Letter from City Our Friends Action Wanted City Moment Temporary Contemporary In Rouge Fast Food The Amused Bouche How We Live/The Kitchen Taste Test Dessert Wine Going Local Expert Opinion Travel Employees Only Summer Showers Wild Things Be There at 10 P.M. Sharp If... Where To Buy It Icon

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