Each day this week, we dive into the surprising and unverified history of the five-course meal. Join us as we interview resident food critic Bianca Strings on each course’s complicated social and political history at a restaurant worthy of Restaurant Week.
Those Stories: We have now arrived at the main event. The fourth course or the main course. In some cases, if you’re only having a main entrée, this is the only course. How should we think about this course?
Bianca: This is what separates a good restaurant from a great restaurant. The excitement of the other courses has worn off. Now it’s time to eat a good dinner. The restaurant needs to do everything possible to make this experience memorable. Bad restaurants think all they’re doing is serving food.
Those Stories: Don’t we go out to eat to be served food?
Bianca: No, we go out for the memory. The restaurant needs to control how the main course goes. There are a few elements that can make the experience better.
First off, is there something that surprises and delights you? Would you like to take a picture of the pretty plate? Does something unexpectedly light on fire, surprising the guests? Is there a bit of magic that the restaurant is performing?
Second, how is the conversation going? You go out to dinner to make connections. The great servers can subtly bring up conversation topics, inviting people to feel closer together.
If there’s a lull, sometimes restaurants hire paid actors to sit at other tables and add some flair to the main course. While proposals always go over well, there’s also a lot of excitement if a couple breaks up during a meal or a business deal almost turns into a fistfight.
Those Stories: So none of it is real?
Bianca: Come on, mister story man. You know what it is. It’s all to tell a good story.
Those Stories: Does it ever go awry?
Bianca: One time, a couple loved a restaurant so much that they invited their friends to visit the same restaurant the following week. The same actor proposed to different actresses both weeks. The diners raced to stop the second proposal, which caused a scene and led to a free meal.