Trend We Love: tableside ceremony

Chefs are perfecting their tableside manner and bringing a bit of ceremony back to dinner. We heartily approve.

• At St. Clair’s Catch, chef Nigel Finley broils and then bakes whole, six-pound halibuts, which he skillfully debones at the table
• For his aburi sushi, JaBistro chef Koji Tashiro torches his immaculately fresh fish right at the sushi counter, to the delight of the watching Bay Streeters
• The roasted heritage-breed chicken at Edulis is baked in a cast-iron pot and carved with reverence in front of diners (of course, the hay that it’s baked with may not be to everyone’s taste)
• At The Grove, a server pours parsley root soup from a porcelain jug over snails and bacon relish
• Likewise, at Farmhouse Tavern, a server pours earthy broth from a silver teapot over four kinds of mushrooms and charred rosemary