Blueprint for conviviality

A happy restaurant experience comes from a combination of food,  people and  place.  While all that can come together as a lucky accident, more often it's the result of careful planning.

NY Times food writer Frank Bruni recently wrote admiringly of the convivial nature of some of Seattle's most popular restaurants.  As Nancy Leson told me, a big part of that comes from the design of the space.

In Seattle some of the best work is being done by Graham Baba -- an architectural firm, she tells me, that isn't specifically dedicated to restaurant design. 

“A restaurant is a fantasy-a kind of living fantasy in which diners are the most important members of the cast.”

-- Warner LeRoy