Introduction

For many people, the idea of a world class meal conjures up a certain image.  White tablecloths covered in ornate silver and crystal; waiters in black tie silently parading about with plates covered in silver cloches, dignified expressions on their faces; hushed conversation between fancy patrons who know all the Emily Post rules.  These restaurants do exist, and they can be wonderful – Le Bernadin in New York was one such place, and I had a delightful time there – but there is another class of best-of-the-best restaurants.  The fun kind.  These places might also contain white tablecloths and crystal goblets and a certain level of class, but there is a distinct lack of stuffiness, and the delightful addition of whimsy and play.  These restaurants are my favorite.  They are joy and wonder, curiosity and experimentation.  They are fun.

Even sitting here in my living room on a cold, gray, wintery day in Minnesota, just the thought of these most memorable of meals brings a smile to my face and warmth to the cockles of my heart.  Having been a part of them makes me feel like I’m in on a little joke that we played on the serious foodies of the world.  The memories just… tickle me.  And so I would like to tell you about four of them that stand out in my mind, glorious meals full of fun and laughter and, of course, fucking mind-blowing amazingly delicious food.

I’ve eaten at Travail twice since moving to the Twin Cities in 2022, and while both meals were playful and fun, they were very different experiences.  I suspect that not only does the menu change often at this tasting-menu venue, but also the whole concept of the meal!  Between that and the attitude of the staff when I’ve visited, I imagine a lively group of them sitting down together, eating of course (you always eat during restaurant planning sessions, in my experience), devising a whole new theatrical concept for the meal in the coming term, then the designing the menu around that idea or theme.  This image I’ve created of the inner workings of Travail as this silly, happy place where they’re really just playing… it almost makes me want to go back to kitchen work (but then I get the almost PTSD reaction that always comes with that thought, and I move on).

On my first visit, the theme seemed to be art and color.  When I arrived, there was a time to mingle about and explore the hors devours, have a mocktail, settle in.  There was a color wheel that you spun to determine what kind of coating your foie gras lollypop was dipped into; a Monochromatic bite consisting of only red ingredients (and laid out on a deep red table); a Jackson Pollock event where we were given squeeze bottles of three sauces and a canvas made of square plates, and encouraged to go nuts.  I may have gone a little too nuts though, as I def squirted another diner a tiny bit in the face.  She was not amused, but I think she just wasn’t in the spirit.  I mean, it wasn’t much, and it was on her cheek for god’s sake!  I didn’t even hit her in the eye or anything!  But I digress… After we sat, the theme continued with dishes like the Texture and Contrast (creamy white parmesan, chewy, earthy shiitake, crisp tater tot) and the Print Making (sauces stenciled onto plates to create a beautiful canvas for pork belly).  Was the meal perfect?  Absolutely not.  The mocktails were all too sweet, the chicken was a bit dry – but what I remember was a wonderful meal that was also entertainment, a meal that delighted all of my senses, a meal that was fun.

My second meal here was, I think, even better – and I couldn’t actually tell you if the food was better, but I had such a rip roaringly good time that the memory is better.  This was a meal all about games and contests.  The dining room was divided into two sections, each with a team of chefs and patrons, and we competed for the title!  Every course was a head-to-head of dishes that the diners got to choose between, and between rounds there were games – trivia for each individual party, and rock-paper-scissors, price-is-right wine edition, and hammerschlagen between the two teams.  (Hammerschlagen is a weird Midwestern bar game with German origins where you use a narrow-headed (cross-peen) hammer to drive a nail into a stump.)  I am happy to report that I served a rousing smack down of two wins off the bat in the RPS competition, and though my team narrowly lost in the hammerschlagen and lost badly in the PIR Wine (the chick who was in charge of the bid ignored the team and put in a nonsensically low bid… I would’ve won if I’d been in charge!), we also won the food competition.  And most importantly, I had the most fun I think I’ve ever had at a fine dining restaurant.  My rock-paper-scissors win had me jumping around like I wasn’t in heels, screaming and waving my arms like a lunatic.  I laughed so much my sides hurt, told jokes with the staff and patrons alike, made new besties-for-the-moment of the people around me, and had a fabulous meal (which I got to be super critical of, another fun touch) to boot*.

It was fine dining of a special occasion variety, and we all dressed up in our finest (I even wore my sparkle pants, and heels!), but because of the attitude of the restaurant it got to be so much more.  These meals were theatrical performances, full of drama and mystery; they were dazzling art show spectacles; they were lively parties between friends.  And unlike so many wonderful meals that I have eaten over the years, these will hold special places in my memories forever.

Up Next:  The Joy of Eating: Part Two – The Best Restaurant in the World

* because I love the origins of the weird things we say, I will let you know that “to boot,” meaning basically “on top of that,” comes from “the Old English to bote, which was once used as part of a legal term in English law, meaning something extra that is added as part of a bargain or compensation.” vocabulary.com