Allison and I had the opportunity to go to the The Kitchen restaurant for dinner last night. Let me just tell you that it was the best dining experience we've ever had. The Kitchen has a great reputation and after hearing people rave about it I was excited to check it out. It's unlike any other meal you'll ever have or enjoy. The Kitchen is a single seating reservation for about 50 people, which means there is no table turnover. You arrive around open time and leave at closing. At $125 a person (or was it $150?) it's an indulgence for sure. If you have some extra cash it's definitely worth it.
We arrived about 7:15 p.m. and were greeted at the front door where they showed us to our seats. Two other people from our party of seven were already there. We were sat at the counter/bar area right in front where all the demonstrations take place. We were immediately encouraged to look around and make ourselves at home. After walking around the kitchen, wine cellar, dining area and patio we made our way back to our seats and joined our now complete party. The bar area where we were sat looks like it seats half the overall group for the evening and some surrounding tables behind us sat the rest. They try to make it feel like you're at someone's house for dinner as a guest and they pull it off well. The staff is ridiculously friendly, which stands out immediately. Once everyone arrives for the evening they lock the front doors and the meal officially begins.
The chef plays kind of the master of ceremonies role throughout the evening and heads up the demonstration. Other staff members make appearances through the different courses. We were first treated to a little cup of the best popcorn I've ever tasted in my life, which sort of sets the stage for the evening. The chef talks for 10 or 15 minutes about what's going to happen throughout the evening and talks about the menu for the evening. He's loud, entertaining and comes across as a guy who definitely knows his way around food. I won't even attempt to go into what we ate throughout the night but I will say it was great. Click here to get an idea of the menu and what we ate over many courses. One of the things I really appreciated was the explanation of where the ingredients came from and why they were chosen, etc.
We were two of the four vegetarians there and they were easily able to accommodate us with equally good replacements that did not seem a bit like replacements. We were subject to some friendly ridicule for being vegetarian that was actually completely welcome considering where we were and what we were doing. Someone in our party bought several bottles of wine for us to drink as we worked our way through the courses. The demonstration aspect , service and hospitality, food, wine and everything else really, made this a truly unique and unforgettable experience.
Shane,
Glad to hear I'm making your day. Head on over to my blog that Steve links to and have at it.
XXOO,
Matt
Posted by: Matt | July 05, 2007 at 09:44 AM
Steve,
Please post more blogs. Not so much because I'm interested in what you have to say, I don't actually read your long winded ramblings, but I'm a HUGE "Matt" comment fan. Keep up the good work Matt!!!
Posted by: Shane | July 04, 2007 at 08:00 AM
Sounds like quite the affair. Cool concept.
Posted by: Matt | July 03, 2007 at 09:46 AM