Because large segments of the American population have become weary of dining out on food they consider ordinary, feel that they have been overloaded with junk food and are fed up with restaurants the consider outrageously expensive, Americans are turning to the phenomenon of "experience dining". When members of the general population talk about this kind of food, they are referring to places where they can get food that is fast but excellent, unusual usual but not expensive and, most of all, exciting. When restaurateurs talk about experience dining, they are talking about high profitability

The phenomenon Americans think of as "experience dining" probably originated nearly 4,500 years ago in Sumaria when vendors set up stalls from which they sold prepared food to passersby. As hungry people made their way through the narrow winding streets of cities such as Ur, they could stop at any of the numerous stalls, there to sample the fried fish, pickled cucumbers and onions or freshly grilled meat that were on sale. Records that still exist remind us that while some of these stalls served food that was barely edible, others became famous for the high quality of their cuisine.

The logic of those Sumarian vendors remains as valid today as it was then. More and more people come to the city to work. They want to eat during the day but, because they want to return home at a reasonable hour, they choose not to spend too much time in mid-day dining. Nor do they choose to spend a great deal of money for their lunch. Such stalls continued to exist in European cities until the 15th century when, for reasons not fully understood, they seemed to vanish. When they first appeared again it was in America. The cooking stalls of old had been reborn as fast food restaurants. American entrepreneurs had realized that in the middle of the work day, during a shopping spree, a casual stroll or on the way to or from the cinema people were delighted to spend their money on food that would take only a few minutes to order and consume and that was relatively cheap.

That fast food is big business is unquestionable. In addition to having sold more than ten billion hamburgers, McDonald's now has branches in Peking, Budapest and Moscow. Wimpy's is on the Champs Elysees, Colonel Sander's Kentucky Fried Chicken has an outlet on the island of Tahiti and Roy Roger's Roast Beef now has a branch in Damascus. In the United States alone, fast-food restaurants sell more than 64 billion dollars of hamburgers, pizzas, fried chicken and roast-beef sandwiches every year. To show just how large this business is, McDonald's is now the second largest supplier of food in the world, next only to the United States Department of Agriculture.

More and more people are coming to the realization that there is a shortcoming to fast-food. No matter how high the quality of the beef they use or the care that goes into making their pizzas, most of the stuff turned out by fast-food chains like Pizza-Hut, Wendy's, Wimpy's and McDonald's has limited culinary value. Because this stuff tastes so pasteurized, homogenized and Americanized, nearly all sophisticated diners correctly assume that most fast-food is little more than "junk food". Remarking on the phenomenon, sociologist Richard Sennett said that "although the rich and discriminating may munch on occasional fast food hamburgers or pizza, they see such foods primarily as comic relief, an experience to talk about over their next bite of artichauts a la reine".

All of which is somewhat of a shame, because there is no reason for fast food to be associated with junk. New Orleans corn fritters, Maine oysters, Wiesbaden knockwurst, Greek sausage rolls Spanish churros, and Chesapeake Bay soft-shelled crab sandwiches are all treats that will be admired by any lover of the culinary good life. And, in each of the places where these are sold, they are thought of as fast food. Nor do America and Europe have an exclusive claim to fast but delicious regional foods. Egyptian ta'amia (spiced bean cakes), Jordanian sfeeha (meat, cheese and tchina pastries), and, lets face it, even well made felafel or shawarma can make for marvelous snacks or light meals.

About five years ago, Americans began to realize that there was a definite market for fast but high quality foods. They also real- ized that while there is no decrease in demand for junk food, many people are becoming more sophisticated and demanding far better for their money. The fear of some critics, who felt that fast food would destroy people's ability to appreciate really good cookery has simply not come to fruition. In fact, purveyors of junk food never went out of their way to attract those people who gladly devote a full day's work to the kitchen or a week's salary in pursuit of a fine meal. The rich continued to dine at three star restaurants; the poor continued to be underfed and fast food em- poriums cater primarily to the young, the family and that late twentieth century phenomenon of an ever increasing middle-class.

The truth is, however, that more and more people are becoming sophisticated in their tastes. The members of the generation that grew up on junk food are now seeking places where even though the food may be fast, it is of high quality. More than this, however, they are seeking something that is different, something that will give them, in the jargon of the Americans "an experience".

Experience Dining - The Rules of the Game

That there are certain elements in common between the experience oriented restaurant and the fast food eatery is inescapable. There are also critical differences, however. Whereas fast food places can be highly successful even though the food they often sell is truly terrible, experience restaurants that want to survive must serve dishes that are always fresh, never boring and extremely well prepared. The most successful experience dining restaurants serve excellent, frequently gourmet quality food at everyday prices.

Such restaurants may be tiny, with as few as four or five tables, or they may be large, with up to 100 tables. Many experience restaurants feature long bars at which clients can take a stool and eat. Regardless of their size, however, all will have at least a small bar and, in acknowledging that many of their clients take great pleasure from seeing their food prepared, nearly all will also have either an open kitchen or a bar at which the food is prepared in full sight of the public. Unlike junk food emporiums, nearly all of the food at experience restaurants is prepared to order and not made up in advance.

Like most other fast food eateries, experience restaurants are "specialists" and do not offer large or diversified menus. Successful oyster bars like New York City's Grand Central Oyster Bar and Boston's Union Oyster House limit their offerings to raw, fried or baked oysters, shrimps, cold lobsters and one or two soups (cream of oyster, clam chowder or lobster bisque). All of their dishes are garnished with cole slaw and chips and beer is the most popular beverage.

Sushi bars may offer as many as fifty different varieties of sushi but the remainder of their menu will be limited to a maximum of miso soup and possibly several types of sashimi. Although such places may have wine available for those who want it, their wine list is intentionally small and the most popular beverages are sake and beer. Restaurants that specializes in spaghetti may offer up to 75 different sauces to go with their spaghetti but they will not serve any other form of pasta and the only other offerings on the menu will be several salads and perhaps two or three desserts. Beer is popular, the wine list is small and the only other beverage offered is coffee.

Nor do such places "cross-over" even though other dishes are similar to the one they specialize in. Places that specialize in crepes will serve only crepes and never blinis; those where blinis are the specialty will offer only blinis and those that serve cheesecake would never make the mistake of putting any other kind of cake, cookie or pie on their menus.

Unlike most fast-food eateries, experience restaurants are capable of dealing with two kinds of diners - those who want to come in, order, eat and pay all in a maximum of fifteen minutes and those who want to use their restaurant as a social meeting place and where a stay of up to two hours is not unusual. They are also aware that customers who wander in alone, order a half dozen oysters and a small beer and then leave just as valuable to their reputation and profit-making capacity as groups that come in, move several tables together and spend two hours eating oysters, munching crackers (which are always free) and drinking lots of beer.

Also unlike fast-food restaurants, experience restaurants rely heavily on well trained personnel and can tolerate relatively little turnover in staff. The cook who has mastered the art of making fine, consistently good crepes, blinis or tomato sauce is critical to the success of the experience restaurant as are the waiters and barmen who get to know the regulars and what they want and who also have the talent of making newcomers feel immediately at home.

Like fast-food restaurants, successful experience restaurants do not run out of things that are on the menu. An oyster bar that runs out of oysters, even at three in the morning, immediately be- comes a bad joke; a sushi bar without wassabi, the green horse- radish so adored by the Japanese looks silly, and a blini eatery that runs out of smoked salmon is a place that will soon close its doors. Customers come to such places because they know they are reliable, not only in quality but in what will be available. They also come because they like to show off their "favorite eating place" to their friends. Such customers will not return if they are made to feel silly.

Unlike fast-food eateries, experience restaurants do not seem to thrive when they develop into chains or franchises. There may be twenty sushi bars in a city, all owned by different people, and all will profit because people enjoy going one day to this one, another day to that. Experience food, by its nature, thrives on individuality, and even though each of those twenty bars will be different (and thus enjoyable), those in a chain will all be the same which means that they will be judged as boring. Boredom in experience dining is a kiss of death.

One of the unique aspects of the experience restaurant is that relating to exaggeration. By their very nature, such restaurants must exaggerate. What, one might ask, is moderate about a restaurant that serves 75 different sauces for spaghetti, a place that offers 120 varying dessert crepes, or one whose ice cream sundaes that have up to 40 scoops of ice cream in them? There is a danger in over-exaggeration, however, for once an establish- ment acquires a reputation for catering primarily to jaded tastes it may become very "in" for a short while but it will then fade and disappear from the scene. One New York sushi bar, for example, included on their menu one sushi made from walrus fat and mango slices and another of smoked duck with maple syrup and coriander. A San Francisco tapas bar served grilled salmon with raspberry vinegar and guacamole and carpaccio made from camel meat. While it is true that both places were virtually packed for six months, even the jaded yuppies of the East and West coast finally moved on to calmer pastures. Exaggeration is fine, even critical, but it must be within the limits of good social and culinary taste if such an establishment is going to survive for more than a few months. One restaurateur put it quite well: "Be outrageous, but for heaven's sake, be civilized".

Those planning to open such eateries should also be aware of the phenomenon known as "grazing". Many of those who patronize experience restaurants will organize an evening where dinner starts at a tapas bar, move on to a place that specializes in shrimps and then make their way to a sushi bar before finally heading for a dessert bar. The fact that clients come in, have only one or two of the specialties being offered and then make their way to another eatery is one of the inescapable aspects of experience dining. The truth is that grazing is good for business, allowing for fast turnover and, if all has been as it should have been, guaranteeing return visits.

Several Models

Not all types of foods are appropriate for experience dining. Among appetizers (from which some grazers will build an entire meal) some of the most appropriate are Spanish tapas, Russian zakuski, sushi and sashimi, carpaccio and cold seafood. A Greek meze bar could also be successful but the dishes offered should have minimal resemblance to the mezes offered in Arabic and other traditional Middle-Eastern restaurants.

Other foods that fit into the category are eggs, sausages, spaghetti and fettuccini, on the condition that every dish served is considered luxurious and special. With eggs, for example, eggs Benedict, Italian fritatas, Spanish omelets, eggs Rossini, eggs Anna and unique forms of omelets and fried eggs are appropriate. Scrambled eggs with caviar are also appropriate, but plain scram- bled eggs are not. At a sausage bar, there must be a wide variety of sausages, none of which are considered "ordinary", all of which must be served in interesting ways and all of which must be of the highest possible quality. Such dishes as cipolitas with parsley, knockwurst with mustard sauce, spiced sausages with oranges and chorizo with apples will be popular. One might even consider of- fering true American style "hot-dogs", but the frankfurters used must be truly American as must be the sauerkraut, mustard, fried onions and other condiments offered.

Specialty bars can be based on either blinis or crepes. Although a blini bar may offer blinis that include appetizers, main courses and sweets (because all are considered unique), this is not true for crepes (because restaurants that feature crepes of all kinds have been common in Israel for nearly twenty years). There is a good chance that the crepe bar that succeeds locally will be based entirely on dessert crepes that are made, as they are in Paris, on stove tops specially adapted to cooking crepes. The crepes should be made only when they have been ordered and in full view of the client. Although fancy and stuffed crepes should be avoided, the client should then have the choice of between 15 - 20 different sauces with which his crepe may be spread before it is rolled up and handed to him wrapped in a piece of plain but grease-proof paper.

Other possibilities for experience desserts are cheesecake, (one shop in Los Angles offers 84 different varieties daily), eclairs or cream puffs (one eclair bar in Vancouver lists more than 90 different eclairs on the menu) and fruit pies (which can be sold as whole mini-pies or as whole large pies but never by the slice), and souffles (which can also come in various sizes).

Following are a few examples of successful experience dining restaurants.

Union Oyster House, Boston, Massachusetts: Specializing in oysters, shrimps, cold lobsters and several clam dishes, all of which are served cold, more than 2,000 people make their way to this restaurant every day of the week. Most order six or twelve oysters, half a cold lobster or a shrimp cocktail. All orders are served with chips and coleslaw. Beer is the most popular beverage.

One of the great charms of this eatery is the long mahogany bar at which many of the customers sit and behind which oyster shuckers use their special knives to open oysters so quickly that it defies the imagination, all without losing a drop of the tasty liquor in- side. A large mirror stands behind the bar, angled slightly forward so those seated at the tables can also enjoy watching the oyster-men at work. On the bar and each table are Tabasco sauce, cocktail sauce (which is made fresh every few hours) bowls of lemon quarters and chopped onion. There are also wood bowls of that contain the small, salty crackers Americans know as "oyster crackers". Open from 11:00 - 02:30, peak hours are from noon to four in the afternoon and from seven until about an hour before closing time. Because of the difficulties in obtaining large quantities of oysters, local restaurateurs might consider the possibility of adopting this idea to a "Shrimp House" or "Shrimp Bar", where the selection might include a variety of shrimp dishes as well as one or two each of calamari, pickled fish and spiced fish. Places counting on rapid turnover should include only cold dishes as this drastically reduces the number of sauces and styles of pre- paration that have to be considered. Those where turnover is of less importance should also consider including one or two hot dishes and possibly a soup. If the concept of experience dining is to be maintained, the temptation to offer salads and desserts should be avoided. Sliced bread (ideally well made baguettes), salty crackers, chopped onion, Tabasco sauce and lemon quarters should be supplied automatically and at no extra charge. Bottled beer should be kept, but draft beer is an absolute requirement.

Jacky's Foccaccio, San Francisco: With eighteen brick ovens, this establishment turns out nearly 12,000 foccaccio every day, more than two thirds of which are eaten by people sitting or standing at the long bar that faces the ovens. Leaning against one wall are hundreds of broad paddles, each attached to a long wood handle and customers particularly enjoy watching as the dough is stretched on the paddle and then placed directly on the bricks.

Currently the rage in many American cities, the focaccio that one receives in Jacky's is a traditional flat bread, the kind that has been the specialty of Tuscany for five centuries. Garnished more simply than pizza, the bread is sometimes called "white pizza" because many things can be put on it, but never tomatoes. Jacky DiAngelo, owner of Jacky's has come up with 120 varieties of focaccio. The simplest (and most popular) are those that have been sprinkled with olive oil, salt and sweet paprika, those that use onions or some that or that rely on herbs such as sage, rosemary or za'atar (while thyme). Among the more complex are those served with calamari, beef carpaccio, smoked goose breast and marinated shrimps. There are even fifteen dessert focaccio's offered, the most popular of which is coated with raspberries and chocolate sauce. The most popular beverage is the house white wine, a dry California sauvignon blanc that sells for three dollars for a four glass pitcher.

The Sushi Bar at the Hilton Hotel, Tel Aviv: The passion for sushi and sashimi has declined somewhat in the United States but it is on the upswing locally, rapidly becoming the "in" thing to eat. Working together with the Ali Grossman, the owner of Japanese restaurant "Takamaru", the Hilton has converted a portion of its lobby bar, imported several chefs from Thailand and started turning out sushi on demand. Everything served at the Hilton's sushi bar is kosher but this is not a culinary problem, for even though shrimp, calamari and other non-kosher seafood sushi are not available, the chefs are left with a large variety of fish and vegetables that are highly suitable for making fine sushi.

In Japan, sushi are everyday fare and are available at railroad stations, in takeaway shops and at picnic grounds. An inescapable part of Japanese culinary life, the favorite places to eat them are in sushi shops, places in character somewhere between bars and restaurants. Nearly all of these places have bars of light colored wood bars and large glass showcases that display all of the sushi ingredients. On the counter will be soy sauce and thin slices of pickled ginger. Americans have followed this pattern, and sushi bars became so popular that columnist wrote that "without sushi most American yuppies would probably starve to death".

Those contemplating opening a sushi bar should be aware that special talents are required to make both sushi and sashimi and that few westerners have these talents. Japanese chefs are not generally willing to come to Israel but Thai chefs who have mastered these arts can be found locally, in Europe and in Thailand. As is the case at the Hilton, the most successful sushi bars re- strict their offerings to sushi (a minimum of 12 varieties, a maximum of about 50), sashimi (five or six will suffice), sake, beer and perhaps wine. High quality soy sauce is critical as are good wassabi, pickled ginger and shredded radishes. Especially in Israel, waiters should be prepared to explain precisely what it is that clients are about to order and, if necessary to teach them to use chopsticks (or, if all else fails, to let them know that it is acceptable, even in the most prestigious establishment, to eat sushi with the fingers).

Sushi bars may be luxurious or simple but they should have a crisp, clean appearance and never be cluttered.

The Bar Gayango, Madrid: Spaniards have a passionate need for being in social company, there to discuss everything they consider important. Topics appropriate for public discourse are the bull- fight, flamenco dancing, food, sexual conquests, football and politics. The places that serve as centers for such social gath- erings are the many tascas, special bars found everywhere in Spain that specialize in serving small portions of appetizers called tapas. In America and England such places are known simply as tapas bars, and the last fifteen years have demonstrated that not only Spaniards adore such places.

A tapa may be as simple as a paper thin slice of warmed chorizo sausage or a few tidbits of cheese, olives and almonds. On the other hand, a tapa may be an elegant composition of delicacies which are inspired culinary treats. It is impossible to list all the tapas available, for there are thousands of tascas throughout Spain, each boasting at least one specialty that no one else makes.

The style of tapas varies enormously from place to place and while some tapas bars offer a wide variety of tapas, others spe- cialize in those made from a certain kind of produce. One bar in Madrid offers nothing but forty different preparations of mushrooms. At Orlando's, a popular place in Zaragoza, more than sixty varieties of fish and sea-food tapas may be found. In Barcelona's Cristal, famed for the beautiful women to be seen there, smoked fish is the specialty of the house. Not that long ago I feasted in a tasca in Seville where one hundred and twenty different tapas were offered.

My own favorite and one of the most popular tapas bars iin Madrid is The Bar Gayango where between seventy-five and a hundred different tapas are always available. The tapas at Gayango are displayed on a long bar and are also offered by waitresses who wheel carts from table to table, letting people take what they like. Gayango's barmen and waitresses are dressed formally, and are familiar with every one of the tapas being served. Service here, as at many tapas bars, is a combination of self-service and waiter assisted service. That is to say, those who want to give their waiter their order may do so while others prefer to walk up to the bar and take what they like. Although this seems haphazzard, one of the functions of the barmen and waitresses is to keep very close track of just what every client takes.

American tapas bars (including Bar Gayanga which now has a branch in Los Angeles) can be divided into two categories - those that serve exclusively Spanish tapas and others that include inventions of their own. The most successful are those that offer authentically Spanish tapas and the second most successful have a majority of real Spanish tapas along with a few European and California style appetizers. Some tapas bars have added full meals to their menus. Those places have not remained open very long because the principal of tapas bars is that of grazing, of eating a bite-sized bit of this and a sample of that but never a great deal of anything. In tapas bars, perhaps more than in any other experience restaurant, originality and high quality are critically important. Those planning to open such places should also keep in mind that although beer, white wine and soft drinks must be available, the drink most in demand in tapas bars is sherry, and several good varieties should be kept on hand.

Cutting It Thin, Huston, Texas: Sam Huston once said that Texans "like their steaks big and their whiskey strong". The times have not changed that much but tastes evolve and in addition to large steaks, upwardly mobile Texans have developed a passion for carpaccio. Originally a specialty of the area of Venice, and then adopted by followers of French and California nouvelle cuisine, the original carapaccio consisted of paper thin slices of raw lean beef fillet dressed with a vinaigrette or mustard sauce and served with thin shavings of Parmesan cheese and sometimes a bit of pesto sauce. The idea has grown, and "Cutting It Thin" offers 85 different forms of carpaccio. Raw beef, smoked goose breast, raw and smoked salmon are all there but so are octopus, tuna, sword- fish, lamb and Alaskan king crab. In addition to sixteen differ- ent sauces (including the hot Mexican and the mildest vinaigrette), the restaurant also offers fourteen types of cheese (from New York State cheddar cheese to sweet Italian marscapone).

Within seconds after they have been seated, every client is given a complementary glass of Kir Royale and a menu. Cutting it Thin then allows their clients to order a variety of sampler plates (each plate about 12 cm in diameter), to platters appropriate for as many as twelve people and all orders are served with butter, a basket that contains freshly baked rolls and sliced Italian country-style bread and a small bowl of spiced olives. Like many other experience dining establishments, the restaurant stocks several kinds of wine, beer and soft drinks but the most popular beverages are white wine and draught beer.

With Caviar, Denver Colorado: Some might consider this charming establishment a tapas bar because everything served, whether at the long handsome mahogany bar or at the tiny marble tables in and out-of-doors is bite sized. The point is, however, that every dish is based on caviar. Eighteen types of caviar are offered, ranging in quality from Beluga and Servuga to salmon eggs and cod-roe eggs. Clients can order a plate of one of those (from 10 to 50 grams) or of a variety and those will be served with finely chopped onion, lemon wedges, black bread and butter or from the 185 different caviar based canapes that are offered. Every waiter is capable of explaining the national origin of each form of caviar and of each of the canapes on the menu.

The most popular beverages are champagne and dry white wines (French chablis and California Chardonnay are the wines most in demand, but Sauvignon Blancs from Chile are also popular). All wines may be ordered by the glass, half-bottle or full bottle). The house white wine (at $6.00 for half a liter) is an excellent California Chardonnay.

Tante Claire, Washington, D.C.: Open from 09:00 - 04:00 every day, the only offerings here are 125 versions of dessert crepes. The crepes here range from the ultimately simple to the unbelievably complex. The simplest are those served in the style of Paris' Boulevard Saint Michel. With nothing more than chocolate sauce or jam spread on them before they are folded, tube like, these are most often eaten by people standing next to one of the 12 crepe makers on duty or who purchase them and continue walking down the street while they are eating. The most complex dish on the long menu is probably that in which twelve crepes are piled one on the other, each crepe separated by a thin layer of sauce, or other confection and the entire dish then coated with meringue and finished in the oven.

The most popular beverage is coffee, and nearly 1/3 of all the people who stop here also have a snifter or brandy (the bar has 18 kinds of cognac and 16 of Armagnac).

Spaghettim, Tel Aviv: With more than sixty different styles of spaghetti, including several sweet dessert spaghettis, this Tel Aviv eatery is modelled after similar and equally successful restaurants in New York, Washington and California. The sauces offered are divided into several broad categories - tomato based, olive oil based and cream based. Some, such as the Napolitana with its herbs, and the carbonara, with bacon, ham, white wine, nutmeg, black pepper and cream are well known. Others, like the arvieta with tomatoes, sweet red and green peppers, hot peppers and garlic or the one that comes with walnuts, riccota cheese, parmesan cheese and cream are a bit more adventurous. The sweet spaghettis come with sauces such as one with orange pieces, orange peel, butter, Calvados and cream or another that comes with chocolate, cream, brandy and cacao.

In keeping with the spirit of experience dining, many of these dishes can best be described as "fun". The fact is that they, like the few salads that are offered, are well made. The service is friendly and competent, the food comes in generous portions and the prices are comfortably low. The most popular beverages seem to be the house wines although beer and soft drinks also move well.

Ten Guiding Points For Successful Experience Dining

1. The food must be unique
2. The food must be excellent
3. The quality must be consistent
4. Food must be prepared fresh and not in advance
5. Much of the the food should be be prepared in full view
6. Service must be rapid but no client should feel rushed
7. Waiters and staff must be trained to recognize regular clients
8. Prices must be perceived as reasonable
9. Every experience restaurant must have at least a small bar
10. Nothing should be "ordinary". The food, the decor, the service, the menus, the bar, should all be perceived as special.

© Daniel Rogov