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Benihana introduced it stateside and Avec made it hip. Now, with communal tables popping up around town faster than you can say, "Howdy stranger!" it's time to lay down some rules.
1. The bustling beer-hall vibe at the Publican may be conducive to boisterous conversation—the 100-plus selection of brews probably helps. But that’s no reason for you to add to the already deafening sound level. So please, try to contain your excitement after that first bite of schnitzel sweetbreads.
2. Making enemies at communal tables can happen just as easily as making friends, especially if you’ve never learned how to play nicely in the sandbox. Translation: Don’t hog the condiments—whether it’s salt and pepper at The Bristol or housemade garlic-chile and soy-balsamic sauces at Urban Belly.
3. There’s no way around it: At some point you should acknowledge your tablemates. At the Bristol, where the extra-wide communal tables—think 42 inches—might make you think otherwise, the people already sitting should make the initial introductions. Once that’s over, it’s up to you if you want to share, say, your pull-apart monkey bread or Scotch olives. Just don’t expect us to.
4. You know how annoying it is when the person next to you on the bus is chatting away loudly on his or her cell phone? It’s worse when you find that person at your table. So just because Bucktown’s Duchamp has a neighborhood feel to it, that doesn’t mean you can act as if you’re in your living room. Put down your cell phone and pick up that juicy burger instead.
5. With a menu packed full of tempting small plates—pork rinds! oysters! blood sausage!—odds are your (and your neighbor’s) portion of the communal table at the Publican is going to fill up fast. Which means your purse, BlackBerry or other nonfood items shouldn’t be on the table (hence, the nifty hooks underneath the round bar tables). And while we’re on the subject, be aware of the shared space under the table as well. Unless, that is, playing footsie is part of your plan.
6. Don’t get us wrong. We have nothing against kids. Rather it’s their parents who are often in need of an etiquette refresher course. So just because you think it’s great that your in-training foodie is all over the Bristol’s Parmesan-crusted sausage, that doesn’t mean we think so, too. Keep everyone at the table happy—and out of flying-food and poking-finger range—by placing your tot in between you and your partner. If junior starts getting fussy, may we suggest duck-fat fry? And not from our plate, but yours.
7. Don’t put your coat on the bench next to you. At Urban Belly, just sit on it. Literally. The hard wooden bench underneath you will seem less so, and the “booster seat” means you’ll be that much closer to those wonderful lamb and brandy dumplings. At communal tables with chairs, that coat should act as a slipcover.
The Bristol (2152 N Damen Ave, 773-852-5555); Duchamp (2118 N Damen Ave, 773-235-6434); the Publican (837 W Fulton Market, 312-733-9555); Urban Belly (3053 N California Ave, 773-585-0500).
