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I had an early dinner tonight at one of my favorite tapas restaurants in the Mission in S.F., Ramblas. And was great, as usual. But once again I found myself in restaurant with a specific regional cuisine, Spanish in this case, with Spanish art on the wall (Picasso, Miro, photo of Barcelona, etc.), and really nice setting. But WHAT are they playing on the sound system? Jamaican Reggae. This really bothers me.
Many restaurants do this. It seems the last thing a Chinese restaurant would ever play on their sound system is Chinese music, so they play Muzak. What's wrong with pipa music with my wonton soup?
There is a Japanese restaurant in our hood that plays Tokyo nightclub music. It's so bad it's wonderful. I love it. Only problem, they seem to only have 2 cds that they play over and over again. I asked one of my friends living in Japan (Carl Stone) to bring over some new CDs of Japanese pop music and he did, but they never play them.
I was once in a hill town in Switzerland having raclette in a small hole in the wall cafe where no one spoke English. On their sound system was American country music. Bad, Hollywood type country music. Made me feel I was back in the Ol' U S of A. Except that was Mt Blanc in the distance over there. I wanted to hide.
I guess when I go to a restaurant that focuses on a specific cuisine, I expect an ambiance that fits. And that includes the sound in the air as well as the furniture. (Don't get me started about what the waiters choose to wear!) But why be ignorant (or ashamed) of the music from the region whose dishes are being served?
There was an Ethiopian place in downtown Oakland I used to go to often, mainly because they played Ethiopian tunes recorded on a cassette by one of the owner's relatives in Addis Ababa and mailed in. The music was strangely enchanting and totally enjoyable. It even made me find out more about Ethiopian music, which I still love. And it made me come back to the place often.
I tried to imagine my dinner at Ramblas listening to Paco de Lucia or Manitas de Plata. Or some of the really good new groups from Spain that I've heard of but don't know their names. I should be able to go to a restaurant for not just Spanish food, but total immersion. I'd like to leave California when I enter and arrive in Barcelona, at least for as long as a meal. And I'd like to hear something new from the same cuisine that sits on my plate. Because they do go together.
I guess the music being served is not really for the customers, but the staff. I guess if you have to be on the job for 8 to 10 hours over a stove and chopping block, you'd want some tunes. But that's what makes a great restaurant out of just a good one: the details, as seen by the customer. And in this case, I think the food at Ramblas, good as it is, could have been so much better if the tunes went with the music.
It's true that a lot of people are deaf to music, and wouldn't even be aware of it, like wallpaper. But some of us do, and I think the only way to make restaurant owners aware of this is by letting them know. Tonight I chose not to say anything, and it bothered me all evening. I could have confronted my waiter with something clever like "You know, Jamaica's no longer part of Spain". But I didn't, and just left. It was a fine early dinner. But not the experience I hoped for.
I'll probably still keep going back to Ramblas, but the next time I'm in a Spanish restaurant, I'm going to ask "..and can I have some Spanish music with that?" Let see what happens.
