Bogota
Food quality and service standards matter most to me when dining out. This is obviously the case with just about everyone.
Some of us pay close attention to other variables, too, such as food and menu presentations, wine program, decor, art, plateware, stemware and, well, everything else. Why not? It's interesting, especially in seeing and sensing how it all comes together - or not.
Lighting is a particular hobby horse of mine. Some establishments really get lighting just right, using soft light at attractive, mood-setting heights and distances and taking advantage of appropriate ambient light, too.
That brings me to one of the most interesting variables, the choice of musical playlist. First comes the question, however, as to whether music should be playing at all during the meal. The highest of high-end, fine-dining restaurants often forego music, believing patrons should be vacuum sealed in the "dining experience" without distractions.
There are times when
the playlists work fine, serving as welcome, interesting accompaniments to the
dinner. There are other situations, however, when the musical choices just
don't get the job done. Yes, it is a
subjective proposition, but let's face it. Some songs are just too lousy, too dark, too
fanciful, too shrill, too obvious or played just too loud to lift the
experience and actually detract from it. These failures always beg the
questions, "Who's music is this and did they consider actual dining
customers when they assembled it?"
The New York Times'
music critic Ben Ratliff wrote a fascinating piece on restaurant playlists for
last week's Food section. It seems the New York City musician and composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto loved everything about his favorite, co-located Murray Hill
eateries Kajitsu and Kokage except what he deemed to be their dreadful
playlist. He offered to intervene and produced a thoughtful, 52-song offering.
Sakamoto's list is
terrific, featuring Ahmad Jamal (whose tune "Bogota" we've been
enjoying on this trip), Bill Evans, Max Richter, Pat Metheny, Milton
Nascimento, Wayne Shorter and some artists I don't know. Even from a cursory
examination of the list, however, you can understand the varied, connected journey Sakamoto
prepares for diners. Now that's music to digest.
I made a playlist for
this Bogota trip and find that curating and enjoying it can be a
thoughtful, stimulating exercise.
Image courtesy of iTunes.com