Editor’s Note: For the love of restaurants

Not like I could hide that fact anyway. It’s my immediate recommendation for a nice place to eat when I’m asked, it’s all over my Instagram grid and I have a difficult time passing it without stopping whenever I drive down Monroe Street. Getting to know co-owner and chef Itaru Nagano while I was writing his Chef of the Year profile last year didn’t hurt, either, in solidifying Fairchild’s spot at the top of my list.

It’s the exceptional food, it’s the approachable yet upscale atmosphere, it’s the thoughtful drink pairings, it’s the service. Everything comes together so beautifully to create a dining experience that’s really special.

While I’ve learned a lot about the restaurant industry since starting at Madison Magazine, first as food editor, I had never really gotten a taste of what goes into creating an experience like that. Which is why I jumped at the opportunity when Nagano put out a call for front-of-house volunteers for a recent charity dinner at Fairchild. I had such little experience that I even awkwardly asked him what I should wear.

But the opportunity ended up giving me a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into a single night of service. And I have a new appreciation.

I was in charge of filling water glasses and clearing plates while the other volunteer that night, Lyndsay Byrnes, helped behind the bar. I used the two hours before the dinner’s 6 p.m. start to memorize table numbers — 11 in the front left corner. The bar: 3-10. The front right corner: 15. Table 27 is the one closest to the kitchen door. I listened to Nagano and his visiting chef for the evening, Andrew Jack, run through the dinner menu in front of the kitchen pass filled with that night’s gorgeous courses. The professional front-of-house team — Mathew Heinen, Mary Brady, Nancy Sorenson and Kaitlyn Pritzl — furiously took notes so they could speak with authority on each dish in the matter of a half hour. Guests arrived, I spilled water on tables, I got tongue-tied when someone asked me what the crumbly bits on the last dish were, I pulled the swinging kitchen door toward me to avoid collisions, I inhaled deeply every time I crossed the delicious-smelling kitchen, I shifted the weight on my tired feet after seven hours standing — and I loved every second. The back-of-house and front-of-house teams kept cadence with each other all night, everyone moving in different directions, but as one. It was a pleasure to be a part of.

And a few days after that when I ate at Lady Bird (featured in this month’s cover story) with my associate editor, Emma Waldinger (who helped select and write about the restaurants and chefs on our Restaurant List), I found myself watching the staff more than usual. I watched chef Nick Larke keep an incredibly cool head while singlehandedly cooking for that night’s 30 guests. I listened more intently to Seanna Whalen’s dish descriptions. I appreciated the always-filled water glasses.

We’re so lucky to have restaurants. With this issue’s cover story, we celebrate them and the people who make them possible.

Andrea Behling is editor at Madison Magazine.

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