I’m one of the many who love to criticize fine dining. You just paid how much for one tortellini?! People are starving out there, and I am spending a week’s worth of wages on a wine and cheese pairing? Shoot me! Worst of all: I leave hungry.
Then one day I finally got it: Fine dining is not a meal. It is entertainment. It is performance. It is art. It is a bloody rock show. Do not come hungry.
The purpose of fine dining is to stimulate as many senses as possible to create a unique, memorable experience, preferably shared with friends. (Yes, friends—please, do not go to fine dining with someone who you dislike.)