Yes, the Kitchen's Open. Too Open.

Observes that, in many New York City restaurants, the barriers between dining room and kitchen are coming down. Perception of this trend as a metaphor for the way many diners regard the experience of eating and the way many chefs regard their roles; Example of the third-floor dining room of BLT Fish, in the Flatiron district; Comments of BLT Fish's chef, Laurent Tourondel; How the current boom is linked to the ascendant phenomenon of the celebrity chef; Observations on Bar Americain, Café Gray and others; Why open kitchens make special sense in New York; Drawbacks of the open kitchen.