Chevalier at The Baccarat

[Sneakeater]

 

 

There's a decent number of Japanese restaurants in NYC where all the staff are Japanese. Do you object to those, as well?

 

No, nor do I necessarily have a problem with with all french staffed restaurants. Restaurants owned by a recently arrived french chef, or by the ex-pat community don`t bother me in the least. An all japanese waitstaff at Nobu would be problematic. .

 

 

I was trying to say the same thing above.

[taion]

Ippudo is obviously cheesy. Same with the Little Italy places.

 

You expect more from a serious restaurant.

 

Chevalier's no joke, so it wasn't cheesy, but the connotations of French did make it seem a bit pretentious, and anyway it was just so unnecessary.

 

I can imagine a wide variety of preferences with respect to formality. Certainly even here there's a pretty wide spectrum.

 

Would anybody here actually prefer to be "bonsoir"ed and "monsieur"ed at a (serious, high-end) French restaurant in NYC? The best I can say is that it didn't bother me all that much, but that I still would have preferred they not do so.

[Wilfrid]

I guess the moral of the story is to avoid not just the cocktails, but also to avoid the tasting menu and wine pairing unless you're Wilfrid.

Obviously it's better value if it's cheaper. I can't account for the difference.

 

It's just that, here we have the highest quality opening of the year by far, and there's this urge to somehow pick faults with that. It's actually regressive from the early days of eGullet, more than ten years ago, when this just wouldn't have happened.

[prasantrin]

 

 

There's a decent number of Japanese restaurants in NYC where all the staff are Japanese. Do you object to those, as well?

 

No, nor do I necessarily have a problem with with all french staffed restaurants. Restaurants owned by a recently arrived french chef, or by the ex-pat community don`t bother me in the least. An all japanese waitstaff at Nobu would be problematic.

 

 

Right. Then why are they even bothering with the "Bonsoir monsieur" stuff?

 

 

 

Why is Ippudo bothering with the いらっしゃいませ stuff?

 

No idea what that means. If, like bonjour monsieur, it is simply a greeting with no other meaning then it is pointless. I`m guessing they do it because it sets an atmosphere they want and patrons enjoy it. I guess I expect more from patrons, or I expect owners to expect more from their patrons.

 

 

Irasshaimase is what a host would say to guests as they entered his/her establishment. It basically means "welcome" but in a much, much more respectful way.

 

If I were working at a Japanese restaurant,even in the US, and I were Japanese, it would be very difficult for me not to say "irasshaimase" as people entered the shop. It's something that has been ingrained in you as part of the culture, and it's hard to stop doing it without feeling like you're being disrespectful.

 

Similarly, I'm not Japanese, nor was I ever anything but casually fluent in Japanese, but even now, when I enter into someone else's space (home, office, etc), I want to say, "o-jama shimasu" (literally means something like "I'm being a bother")

[LiquidNY]

I wish they'd do a "guten Abend, mein Herr" when I walk into a German/Austrian restaurant.

[Orik]

I was sumimasening my way through Mexico for a couple of weeks, but actually a chain like Ippudo, as almost any Japanese restaurant, trains its employees to deliver greetings at specific times, volume, intonation, etc. It's true that when they try to avoid delivering them (as in French restaurants in Japan), service takes on the appearance of having something stuck up its behind.

[rozrapp]

Here's a factlet: other than Wilfrid, oakapple, taion, and me, I don't know a single person who's been to Chevalier who hasn't hated it.

You forgot. I loved it. (And so did Michael.)

[Sneakeater]

I am SO sorry. That's right: and you and Michael.

[Sneakeater]

When are you guys going to Rebelle? I really can't wait to hear what you think.

[Wilfrid]

I wish they'd do a "guten Abend, mein Herr" when I walk into a German/Austrian restaurant.

 

It's not hard to find a "Prost!"

[Wilfrid]

When are you guys going to Rebelle? I really can't wait to hear what you think.

 

I think everybody needs to go to (1) Willow and (2) Wildair, and stop worrying about the top level.

[Patrick]

Irasshaimase is what a host would say to guests as they entered his/her establishment. It basically means "welcome" but in a much, much more respectful way. If I were working at a Japanese restaurant,even in the US, and I were Japanese, it would be very difficult for me not to say "irasshaimase" as people entered the shop. It's something that has been ingrained in you as part of the culture, and it's hard to stop doing it without feeling like you're being disrespectful.

 

Similarly, I'm not Japanese, nor was I ever anything but casually fluent in Japanese, but even now, when I enter into someone else's space (home, office, etc), I want to say, "o-jama shimasu" (literally means something like "I'm being a bother")

Thanks, that's helpful. If it's a question of manners and culture I can understand the impulse.

The screaming it out bit seems odd.

[Wilfrid]

Irasshaimase is what a host would say to guests as they entered his/her establishment. It basically means "welcome" but in a much, much more respectful way.

The New York deal is have all the staff yell it (and I mean yell it) in unison as each customer enters, leaving many customers asking "What the hell was that?"

 

If you’ve been to Japan, you’ll be familiar with the way in which diners are greeted on entering a restaurant (or just about any other establishment for that matter). If you’re not, the welcome at Ippudo could seem a tad odd. “Irrashaimase” — which roughly translates as “welcome” — say the door staff and receptionists, and the entire chef team shout it out as we pass the open kitchen on the way to our seats. They do the same for every single party which goes by, adding a quirky eccentricity to proceedings...

http://londonist.com/2014/10/ramen-reviews-ippudo-and-kanada-ya.php

[Sneakeater]

The first time I ever experienced that was at Kuruma Zushi. I was, to say the least, startled by all these people -- many with knives -- yelling at me.

[rozrapp]

When are you guys going to Rebelle? I really can't wait to hear what you think.

Probably not until sometime in July. But we did have dinner yesterday at La Gamelle which we liked a lot.