An upscale culinary experience awaits those who get one of the few coveted reservations at the Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare. Seating (for just 18) is in a gleaming steel kitchen at a D-shaped counter. The intensely focused chef Cesar Ramirez and his acolytes, er, sous chefs, perform their magic at the front of the room, moving like precisely choreographed cooking ninjas around the massive stove (really, they’re an eerily focused group; in the course of the 2 1/2-hour meal, not a plate clinked, a pot rattled or, it seemed, a chef spoke a word).

I can’t tell you what I ate because it’s forbidden to photograph the food or even take notes here (I got caught trying). I remember, however, hearing the names of fish I had never encountered before (“blue nosed”-this, and “shark grin”-that) during the 14-or-so-course extravaganza. We were also plied with caviar, gold leaf, foie gras, and many other pricey delicacies, which, I suppose, justified the $255 tasting menu cost (that price includes tip, but not alcohol). All in all, it was an unusual, only-in-New-York type of experience that I’d love to do again . . . especially if someone else foots the bill this time.

Note: While the word Brooklyn is in the name (that's where the first one was), today the only Chef's Table is in Manhattan.