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Le Cirque 2000 Revisited


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Hi Ruth Reichl - I’ve been a fan of yours since your original review of Le Cirque 2000 – which you discussed in Garlic & Sapphires. And I’ve read all of your books. My husband and I had a lunch at Le Cirque 2000 in New York which was an “apology from the owner” for a rather bad dinner at Le Cirque in Las Vegas (we wrote a letter to the owner complaining about the dinner in Las Vegas – and he invited us to be his guest for lunch next time we were in New York). It was the kind of lunch where the risotto with lobster had a bunch of lobster chunks in it. And our server suggested that a glass of sauternes would pair well with the foie gras. In other words – it was fabulous - the Le Cirque 2000 where Ruth Reichl dined (well maybe not that good) – not the Le Cirque 2000 where Molly Hollis dined.

I’m not sure that I – as a tourist from Florida – would have received this first class treatment from Le Cirque 2000 were it not for the unique circumstances of the meal I ate there. And I never returned to the restaurant because I feared being treated as a second-class citizen. And having my memories of the first meal ruined.

There are still many restaurants in the United States and the rest of the world where the celebrities and the regulars enjoy one class of food and service – and the hoi polloi tolerate another. Having dined at many 3 star restaurants in the world where this does not happen – I’ve come to the conclusion that diners shouldn’t tolerate this type of separate and unequal treatment. So my practice is to avoid restaurants where I suspect this happens – since I cannot become a celebrity or a regular in a restaurant in a city I only visit occasionally.

What is your advice to diners if they are thinking about dining at a restaurant where they know – or have reason to believe – that a restaurant uses a double standard in how they treat the people who dine there? Regards, Robyn Greene

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Hi Ruth Reichl - I’ve been a fan of yours since your original review of Le Cirque 2000 – which you discussed in Garlic & Sapphires.  And I’ve read all of your books.  My husband and I had a lunch at Le Cirque 2000 in New York which was an “apology from the owner” for a rather bad dinner at Le Cirque in Las Vegas (we wrote a letter to the owner complaining about the dinner in Las Vegas – and he invited us to be his guest for lunch next time we were in New York).  It was the kind of lunch where the risotto with lobster had a bunch of lobster chunks in it.  And our server suggested that a glass of sauternes would pair well with the foie gras.  In other words – it was fabulous - the Le Cirque 2000 where Ruth Reichl dined (well maybe not that good) – not the Le Cirque 2000 where Molly Hollis dined. 

I’m not sure that I – as a tourist from Florida – would have received this first class treatment from Le Cirque 2000 were it not for the unique circumstances of the meal I ate there.  And I never returned to the restaurant because I feared being treated as a second-class citizen.  And having my memories of the first meal ruined.

There are still many restaurants in the United States and the rest of the world where the celebrities and the regulars enjoy one class of food and service – and the hoi polloi tolerate another.  Having dined at many 3 star restaurants in the world where this does not happen – I’ve come to the conclusion that diners shouldn’t tolerate this type of separate and unequal treatment.  So my practice is to avoid restaurants where I suspect this happens – since I cannot become a celebrity or a regular in a restaurant in a city I only visit occasionally.

What is your advice to diners if they are thinking about dining at a restaurant where they know – or have reason to believe – that a restaurant uses a double standard in how they treat the people who dine there?  Regards, Robyn Greene

Personally, I'd just avoid them. Why put yourself through that?

But if you really want to brave that kind of a restaurant, I'd follow the lead of my late friend David Shaw, who was the squeakiest wheel on earth. He'd call and tell them that he'd heard that they sometimes treated people badly and wanted their assurance that it would not happen to him. He'd ask for the wine list to be faxed ahead of time. He'd ask about specials. He'd send stuff back if he didn't like it. In short, by the time he walked into the restaurant, they were already intimate with him. IT worked like a charm, and I was often the beneficiary of it. But I hate doing that kind of thing, and on my own dime, I stick with places that I know I can count on.

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