I don’t think he enjoyed it. 
My lips purse, like a cat’s arse that’s brushed against nettles.
It does as far as I know. I only remember one starred restaurant I went to (ages ago) and I was significantly poorer than everyone there. They surely clocked it immediately but made us feel very, very welcome. It was actually a lovely experience. The fact that we wouldn’t be buying the expensive wine etc. racking up the profits was not a concern. I assume they rightly felt the good vibes they spread would come back to them.
In an interview with the restaurant about their Michelin star they said that it was part of the criteria for awarding stars.
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Apparently, “…in the U.S.A. they don’t have serviettes, they have napkins” says Nardwuar.
Doot doo!
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I can’t even after reading that chef’s reply. So I’m just going to say the controversial thing and people can argue with me until they’re blue in the face.
Food. Is. Not. Art.
Art exists solely for the purpose of expression. A painting that depicts the genocide of a culture, or a story that recounts the author’s rape would both be created TO BE upsetting, and also potentially important because they provoke discussion of upsetting ideas and feelings, challenge social and cultural institutions. Most importantly, upsetting art exists for the SOLE PURPOSE of engaging its audience in a subject which is upsetting; it exists to evoke those negative feelings.
The primary purpose of food is to nourish. Its secondary purpose is for pleasure. But food is not, and cannot be art, because no one but a masochist wants to put something in their mouth for the sole purpose of making themselves upset. Rancid cheese? Foam served out of a porcelain mouth? AGH!
Imagine if an architect or engineer designed a building purposefully to fall over, and at the trial their defence, after taking a long drag on a cigarette, was: “But I made you FEEL something, no?”
Do not mistake disciplines with artistry for art. Otherwise someone is going to try to feed you rancid cheese and charge you 200 Euros for it.
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Correct, but visiting a restaurant can be for the performance as well as the food.
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Food can be art, just as architecture can be more than just an artificial shelter to keep out the cold and the bears.
That said, “it’s ART, you stupid philistines!!” is a piss-poor excuse for serving someone terrible food, just as it would be a piss-poor excuse for making a terrible movie everyone hated or designing a leaky building that was ugly and inhospitable.
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Oh yes. And in this instance that certainly was the case.
But of course, some consent for participation in said “interactive performance” is kind of important. I feel bad for the reviewers who left hungry and bewildered.
If you booked a nice hotel room and, upon arrival, are instead shuffled into a walk-in freezer where the same pop song is playing over and over again at max volume (and subsequently charged $200), most would argue that you were “kidnapped and psychologically tortured” rather than, “you participated in a performance art piece”.
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Yeah, starred restaurants in the Michelin Guide (which as you note was intended as a traveler’s guide) have a pretty clear (and succinct) definitions, addressing potential visitors to an area:
1 star: “A very good restaurant in its category”.
2 stars: “Excellent cooking, worth a detour”, i.e., if you are traveling in that proximity, it’s worth going out of your way to go to this place.
3 stars: “Exceptional cuisine, worth a special trip”, i.e., the visit to the restaurant alone could justify planning a trip to this location.
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I guess you could consider it art fraud? 
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In its category? I’m wondering if Michelin has a category for Abusive and Pretentious Performance Art restaurants?
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“Kevin’s Hamburger Heaven” at Wallace & Pershing
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ProTip: Charge your Michelin-star experience to your editor’s expense account.
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Bros?
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It’s not my usual thing but some friends and I went to an expensive steak place in vegas in which the salads were made table-side by a guy who was exceedingly entertaining in his own right, it felt totally part of the experience and I’m sure included in the price and the allure of the place.
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Then the next step is consistency. Are you getting the great food with great service and great experience every time? The quickest illustration was Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the sheer amount of work in making it good every time for every customer. A restaurant that gives you a good meal once every 10 meals and stinks for the meals inbetween isn’t going to last long, unless it can somehow parlay that into a schtick with enough fans to keep it going.
A great restaurant, like a beer or a great musician or dancer or any performer, is as much about consistency as artistry. It’s why so many interesting activities lose their charm the higher up one achieves (eta: and probably why this chef seems to be on purpose eschewing this component)
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I’ve seen at least three posts about better places to eat in Chicago than 2-star Ever, and they all seem to have the same thing in common: they’re hole-in-the-wall places, serving a short menu of quick-to-make, quick-to-eat entrees.
That’s not an equivalent choice. It’s a completely different eating experience.
There is an entire world of sit-down, appetizers through dessert, good quality restaurants that might not have 2 Michelin stars but also don’t require an expense account to go there, and where the service will be good rather than flamboyant.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to make it in the restaurant world, so either getting noticed by reviewers such as Michelin or sticking to quick, cheap, quantity-rather-than-quality-type food are the best bets for still being open in 2 years.
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I went to a French comfort-food restaurant in Chicago with family a few years back, but I can’t remember the name. I remember it being downtown, and not too pricey compared to Magnificent Mile standards. It had a square dining room, not long and narrow. I wish I could remember the name. The rabbit was excellent.
Otherwise, I’d have to say Club Lucky for reliably good Italian food for reasonable prices. It can be kind of crowded on the weekends, but it’s been a mainstay for us whenever we visit the 'rents.
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When you say ‘downtown’, do you mean the Loop, the Magnificent Mile, River North, or Old Town?
French comfort food and square dining room isn’t enough to go on, unfortunately! Because even if that restaurant closed, the chef might have moved to a new place, which I’m sure you’d like to try if you ever get back to Chicago.
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It is decorated in various shades of taupe, biscuit and fuck you. There’s a little gilt here and there, to remind us that this is a room designed for people for whom guilt is unfamiliar.
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