I prefer a restaurant with ......

[Stinky The Clown]

Poll question: I prefer a restaurant with ......

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

1. Great food.

[sazemisery]

2. Open kitchens are great entertainment and informative also

I love watching a kitchen at work. A good one is cohesive in it's movements and operation. A bad one can mean good entertainment and bad food.

[supernova]

3. Also less chance for winding up on Kitchen Nightmares

for bad hygiene.

:D

I didn't know if I would like this trend when it started, with the kitchen facing out to the dining area, but I do love it now.

Like you said, it's fun to watch.

[NMDemDist2]

4. keep it open, I like to walk by and make sure it's clean in there n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

5. I truly enjoy watching a skilled cook at work

It is, to me, like watching a ballet. Economy of movement. Maximized efficiency. The ability of the cook at station A consistently being faster than the cook at station B. The expediter not so subtly pushing station B to match the speed of station A. The comis coming out from the back, placing down a huge stack of freshly washed, carbon encrusted saute pans and carry away a huge stack of freshly used, carbon encrusted saute pans, the former looking for all the world exactly like the latter. The glares, the joking, the curses, the smiles, the mutual aid when one station or another gets overwhelmed. The communication by glance and gesture instead of spoken word.

Yeah. I like open kitchens, especially when I sit right in front of it and watch it all up close. Or better yet, sit in it and have my meal there. The 'Chef's Table.'

[Warpy]

6. It depends on whether I've come to eat or to dine

The racket of an open kitchen is fine with prole food. In fact, my favorite North End restaurant had an open kitchen.

However, if the experience involves cloth napkins and a string quartet, please keep the kitchen closed.

As for slime, they never keep that out where anybody can see it. It's always below the level of the counter: behind the appliances, underfoot, in the bottom of the fridge, or collecting in the bottom of the Fryolator.

An open kitchen might be entertaining, but it's no guarantee of good hygiene.

[housewolf]

7. It depends...

On whether I'm going to the restaurant for the experience of being entertained by the cook staff and enjoying the food, or whether I'm going for the purpose of conversation and enjoying my dining companions. Open kitchens, in my experience are so noisy, the general noise level in the restaurants so loud what with everyone needing to speak loudly in order to be heard over the kitchen racket, that it's enjoyable to me as a spectator experience but not in terms of social interaction.

[Mind_your_head]

8. I prefer a kitchen that has ABSOLUTELY NO TIES to corporate america. n/t

[Mind_your_head]

9. Oh and now they are going to try and be "tricky"......

The JUNK peddlers are TRICKY! (they ARE!)

[hippywife]

11. A kindred soul.

I do sometimes miss living someplace where there are little ethnic owner operated restaurants. Oklahoma seems to be bereft of such places as we are not a very international place to live. Even the few you will find here take deliveries from the trucks of Sysco, Ben E. Keith, MSM, and the other food brokers.

There are a few places, though very expensive and to the gourmet side of things, that are trying to establish themselves serving locally grown and raised food. Which is fine, except the serve only the elite that can afford them.

I would much rather eat from my own kitchen with at least half of the ingredients coming from local sustainable farms. Still spendy but it's our way of voting with our grocery dollars against corporate ag.

:hug:

[hippywife]

10. We eat out so infrequently

but I don't mind an open kitchen. I used to a lot when I traveled for business and dined clients. What I remember contributing most to the noise factor is not the openness of the kitchen but the construction of the restaurant itself. To many these days are built with little thought to acoustics. Every little sound is bounced off of hard surface walls and ceilings, especially the noise of the patrons without the manners to match their money.

The only one we seem to eat out at with any real frequency (maybe twice a year) is Carabba's since my parents send us their gift cards for birthdays. It's one of the few corporate restaurants shared by both cities.

[Stinky The Clown]

12. We like Carabba's

They do a good job for a chain. We're also lucky to have many mom and pop places. Some good. Some ordinary. But when we have a jones for something we just make it. For us, we're the best eats in town. :)

[hippywife]

13. They are the only Italian

corporate chain restaurant that I do like. You're right, they do a pretty decent job. We went last month and I did notice a slight slip in the usual quality and smaller portions, the latter not a bad thing. I could sit there and dip all the bread they could bring me in the sauce of the Cozze in Bianco. As much as I love their olive oil seasoning combo, I leave it behind once those mussels hit the table. :9

[Stinky The Clown]

14. Hahaha

We get Cozze in Bianco every time we're there. I could make a meal of that and the bread.

[hippywife]

15. We do, too.

We have gone in before and just had those, salad, and bread. Those mussels are the best thing on the menu. :9