Here’s What It Was Like to Actually Dine Inside a Restaurant Again | Eater LA

"I visited Selanne Steak Tavern in Laguna Beach three days after it reopened and found a brick-lined 1930s cottage turned white-tablecloth steakhouse owned by hockey hall of famer Teemu Selanne. The restaurant was operating reservation-only with reduced capacity, temperature checks, symptom screening for guests, staff in masks and gloves, an abolished waiting area, a closed bar, and tables spaced roughly six feet apart; a prominent sign outside reminded guests to wear masks while moving through the space. Fewer than 50 diners were spread across the veranda, upstairs patio, and multiple dining rooms, with a couple of TVs replaying the 2016 World Series in the background; tables lacked utensils or water glasses and servers handed out paper menus (the heavyweight leather wine book remained). Our server — who said he longed for the day he could safely work without a mask — served professionally plated dishes: two salads (including a wedge mottled with blue cheese and cherry tomatoes), broiled prime-grade steaks ladled with a silky bordelaise, and a New York strip finished with compound truffle butter; the food felt like a true luxury and eased my initial anxiety about dining indoors. I also learned co-owner Kevin Pratt kept employees on payroll through March, furloughed front-of-house while continuing benefits, kept kitchen staff on for takeout (which produced about 15% of normal sales), and that the restaurant did not receive a rent concession." - Matthew Kang