Le Coucou

At Le Coucou, A Day In the Life of a Line Cook | Bon Appétit

"Opened in June 2016, this modern take on classic French dining quickly became a critically lauded, high‑end destination — earning a three‑star review from a major paper, placement among top new‑restaurant lists, praise from prominent food sites, and a national award — and now runs dinner reservations out about a month. The dining room is golden‑lit and formal, prices are premium (one seafood entrée, for example, is finished with a rich beurre blanc and pickled daikon), and the kitchen is copper‑accented and intense: roughly 14 line cooks execute precise, fish‑forward preparations such as sole set in a vermouth‑butter sauce dotted with peeled grapes, powder‑white fish cakes, monkfish bathed in shellfish broth with a sautéed lobster claw, and cloudlike pike quenelles served in lobster broth. Culinary leadership includes a celebrated executive chef who honed his craft in Paris and a demanding but supportive chef de cuisine who mentors staff; the restaurant is part of a larger restaurateur group that provides some employee benefits. Service nights are high‑pressure and meticulously timed, and despite a more balanced gender mix in the kitchen than is typical, the disparity between tipped front‑of‑house earnings and cooks’ wages — and the difficulty of making a sustainable middle‑class life in the city — remains a persistent reality." - ByAmanda Shapiro