CITY Issue 57

CHANTERELLE’S ENTIRE FAMILY MEAL MENU IS SPELLED OUT ON A SIMPLE STRIP OF MASKING TAPE. ON THIS DAY: FRIED CATFISH, BROCCOLI, MIXED GREEN SALAD, AND RICE. CHANTERELLE WAS THE ONLY STOP WHERE THE DIVISION BETWEEN FRONT AND BACK SEEMED TO DISAPPEAR. 'IT FEELS LIKE FAMILY TO A LARGE DEGREE,' SAID CHEF WALTUCK. 'WE SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME HERE AND WE ALL GET ALONG.' yea , the Zagat Su vey anked G ame cy Tave n, Pe Se, and Chante elle among the most popula estau ants in town (numbe s , , and , espectively). G ame cy has held that top spot fo fou of the past ﬁve yea s, and is just one of the jewels in Danny Meye ’s Union Squa e Hospitality G oup, a collection of estau ants known fo its impeccable se vice. In his tome on the indust y, Settin the Table, Meye int oduces the concept of “enlightened hospitality,” in which management extends hospitality ﬁ st to its employees. Meye points out that the attitudes of a estau ant’s staﬀ di ectly inﬂuence those of the custome s, so why not sta t hospitality at its own sou ce? t Pe Se, a p e-shi meeting that follows family meal hits on the standa d points of se vice but also emphasizes the t eatment of custome s. p e-shi handout ead, “Seek ﬁ st TO unde stand, THEN to be unde stood.” ou can almost hea Kelle eciting the mant a to his team, insisting that its co e implication — take ca e of those who take ca e of you — guide eve yone f om the maît e d’ up f ont to the g eenest p ep cook in the kitchen. In the chef’s F ench Laund Coo boo , based on his othe th ee-Michelin-sta ed estau ant in Napa 64 CITY TY Valley, Kelle devotes an enti e section to “The Impo tance of Staﬀ Meal,” his espect fo which stems f om an ea ly job as a staﬀ meal chef at the Dunes Club in Rhode Island. “Staﬀ meal was ﬁ st about the fundamentals of cooking … but the message unde lying that was, ‘Can you be passionate about cooking at this level?’ ” Kelle w ites. “If you can make g eat food fo these people, c eate that habit, have that d ive, that since ity, and keep that with you and take it to anothe level in the staﬀ meal, then someday you’ll be a g eat chef. Maybe.” (That c ispy f ied chicken, by the way, th ew “maybe” out the Time Wa ne Cente ’s towe ing windows.) Back at Chante elle, the Waltucks eminded thei staﬀ to pick up the check befo e the custome s leave the table and, “Wish them well. Se vice is not ove until they’ e out the doo .” Ou wine and catﬁsh ﬁ nished, the Waltucks and I clea ed ou plates to the kitchen, which was al eady bustling in anticipation of the dinne ush. I thanked David fo the meal as Ka en b ought ove a t ay of petits fou s, he commitment to se vice appa ently still not complete. “We hope to see you again soon,” she said, oﬀe ing up the bite-sized t eats. I wonde if they’ll accept a p.m. ese vation.

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

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.