It was the restaurant where we first witnessed a frozen torchon of foie gras being shaved to make a mountain of salty pink snow. Where we had our first spoonful of panna cotta that tasted like the milk in the bottom of a bowl of cornflakes. Rational people began to blame their inability to score on nefarious bots and scalpers, a preview of things to come. Behind this was Mr. Chang’s hunch that the paraphernalia of fine dining — not just white tablecloths but maybe even tables themselves — had become clunky and dated. “Cook’s prices,” as Mr. Chang was heard to say.

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Persons: panna, Chang, You’ve, Ko, Le Bernardins, Daniels, Jean, Georges, —, . Chang Locations: Tennessee