The smaller and brighter of the two dining rooms on the ground floor at Taillevent. Our table is on the left, at the foot of the staircase. The spotlight effect is, I am convinced, no accident. It is our table, and we are being subtly cued that it is the center of the universe, at least for the next few hours.

"As we round the corner and enter the dining room, all of this conspires to create, before we have even been seated, a mildly altered state of consciousness. It is the sense, most of all, of being almost supernaturally welcomed and cared for. To the unaccustomed, as with any performance art, such a restaurant is far enough outside the realm of the ordinary that it seems to operate under enchantment."

- A Meal Observed, p. 29