“Sell the sizzle, not the steak” is a bedrock principle of the restaurant business. It’s understood by successful operators across the industry – burgers with a pedigree, pizza from a wood oven, steaks from coddled cows, vegetables from the farm, celebrity chefs with tasting menus. The story is as important as the taste, presentation makes a difference, and some excitement makes everything taste better.

Coffee Diablo (2)A generation ago, the ultimate in high-end restaurant showmanship was tableside service. Caesar Salad, Steak Diane, Banana’s Foster or Crêpes Suzette prepared by a tuxedoed captain at your table was an elegant, sophisticated and exciting restaurant experience at the peak of the dining pyramid.

Over the years, it just about disappeared, displaced by the artfully arranged plates of nouvelle cuisine and a trend to informality. Chefs wanted control of the preparation and presentation of the food and owners wanted to do away with the time and space consuming tableside show. Open kitchens, where the whole cooking process is put on display, were the new trend – fun to watch, but not as personal and intimate as cooking tableside. Fortunately, a few stalwart restaurants have preserved the tableside tradition.

At a recent dinner at Carbone’s in Hartford, I was reminded of the fun and excitement of a tableside display and realized how much I’d missed it. We were celebrating a friends birthday, so he picked the spot. Carbone’s is a dining institution in Hartford that just celebrated its 75th anniversary, and was named Connecticut Magazine’s Best Italian restaurant in 2013 for its menu of time-honored italian favorites. Brimming with classic charm; with a wall of autographed pictures from political leaders, sports celebrities and show biz stars; there’s no trendy stuff here – just delicious food and professional service. Red wallpaper, mirrors, dark woods and a warm greeting welcomed us on a cold blustery night. This is your father’s Buick: comfortable, quiet, luxurious, and pampering – restaurant virtues not often seen in today’s high-energy, noisy vibe.

caesar-salad-cart

Caesar salad ready to toss.

Along with the beloved presentations of Fettuccini Carbonara, chicken veal or eggplant Parmigiana, and Chicken Marsala, Carbone’s encourages you to have your salad tossed tableside to begin and your dessert flambéed to end. We ordered the Caesar Salad and the Bananas Foster. The show was great and a complement to the delicious dinner. The experience transported us back to the time when this was the pinnacle of classy dining.

Vinnie Carbone, the third generation of his family to lead the restaurant, loves the showmanship involved in tableside presentations. He is proud that Carbone’s has kept this tradition alive and is happy to see it returning to special occasion dining. “What’s old is new,” he said, glad to hear about the return of tableside preparations.

For Carbone’s Caesar Salad recipe, visit www.FranksFeast.com. Try it at home, just for fun, or on a dress-up special occasion.

I enthused to my son in California about the nostalgic pleasures of tableside service, and he said, “But Dad, it’s coming back.” Sure enough, I looked around and found a few cutting edge chefs who are returning to this almost lost art form to put some pizazz in their dining room.

Tableside at 11 Madison Park

Tableside at 11 Madison Park

In New York, the restaurant 11 Madison Park is leading the way. With its $275.00 tasting menu, membership in Relais & Chateaux, three Michelin stars and four from the New York Times, it’s a very good restaurant. Chef Daniel Humm has brought tableside service back in a big way with about a dozen dishes that rotate through the menu including Lobster Newburg, Egg Creams, Chemex/Siphon coffee and port tongs (where the bottle is cut open with hot tongs instead of pulling the cork). Humm’s tableside service has been praised in the press for the innovation it brings to this cutting edge experience.

Jumping on the bandwagon, Chef Michael Lomonaco of Porterhouse sometimes does the classic Duck á la Presse tableside, carving the duck and then crushing the bones in an ornate antique press to make the sauce – all at the table. I once saw this done at the renowned French Laundry in the Napa Valley. It’s quite a production.

Locally, the consummately professional staff at Blackstone’s Steakhouse on Main Ave carves your steak and gives it a final sear tableside with a theatrical flair. The Dover Sole is relieved of its bones at the table, too, a tricky and almost lost art – requiring skill, confidence, experience and perfectly cooked fish.

The fun and excitement of tableside service is coming back. Now, if they would only bring back the dessert cart, too.