The new dinner theater: Tableside flourishes return to New York
Showy tableside service is all the rage in many of New York City’s best restaurants.
Showy tableside service is all the rage in many of New York City’s best restaurants, said Chris Schonberger and Erin Mosbaugh in FirstWeFeast.com. A few “fusty old brasseries” never stopped filleting Dover sole at their customers’ sides or setting bananas Foster aflame. But old-fashioned theatricality is now flaring up throughout the city. Which is nice, because sometimes when we’re out, “we just want to be entertained.”
Porter House Chef Michael Lomonaco re-embraced tableside theater when he finally found a traditional French duck press last fall. The preparation of his canard à la presse culminates when he brings a marinated, just-roasted duck to the table, presses the carcass to release its juices, then prepares on the spot a sauce of foie gras and port that’s ladled over the sliced meat. 10 Columbus Cir., (212) 823-9500
Quality Italian This offshoot of nearby Quality Meats has gotten considerable attention for its $58 chicken Parm, which is carved tableside with a pizza cutter. But for real fireworks, order the lobster diavolo. First cooked out of sight in a spicy tomato sauce, the lobster is carried to the table by a waiter who flambés it in chile-infused vodka until it emerges a “gorgeous fiery red.” 57 W. 57th St., (212) 390-1111
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Eleven Madison ParkThis Gotham standard-setter has added so many tableside stunts that it’s “blurred the line between dinner and theater.” Our favorite trick involves wines over 25 years old: Instead of trying to remove the cork, the sommelier cleanly beheads the bottle at the neck using heated tongs. 11 Madison Ave., (212) 889-0905
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