Groove Theory: #2 - The street food rebellion at a Michelin restaurant

Picture this: You're at one of the best restaurants in an amazing culinary city - São Paulo, NYC, Tokyo. You and three fellow food lovers are wrapping up your gastronomic tour, having hit all the legendary spots.

As you prepare to leave, one of your crew exclaims "But we never got to try the street food…"

Any reasonable server within earshot of this would smile politely and move on. After all, this is a temple to fine dining, not a grungy sidewalk stall.

But at Eleven Madison Park in New York, Will Guidara isn’t feeling reasonable.

He drops everything, sprints outside to the nearest hot dog vendor, buys a street dog, races back to the kitchen, and somehow convinces the head chef to plate it with sauerkraut and mustard. Then he serves it to your table alongside the final course.

"I wanted to make sure you don't go home with any culinary regrets", he tells you.

You lose your minds. In the best possible way.

The Tension

Here's the thing everyone gets wrong about this story: they think it's about hospitality.

It's not. It's about rebellion against your own expertise.

Guidara broke the unwritten rules of fine dining because he was paying attention to something his industry had trained him to ignore: what people actually wanted versus what they were supposed to want.

Step Into It

This isn't just a restaurant story. It's about recognising the moment when you can give someone what they actually need.

Let's say you're wrapping up a client check-in. The project is on track, deliverables are solid, everyone’s cool.

But as you're finishing, someone makes a half-joke; 'I'm a bit nervous about the board meeting next week'. As the words tumble out of their mouth, they scramble to ‘so, what are you guys doing this weekend?!’ - voice spiking up a half octave.

Your scope of work is already confirmed. So is your Lyft - it’s literally outside.

But something tells you that high-pitched pivot just told you everything.

The Groove: Presence

Most people think “presence” is about confidence or charisma. Even the mention of that word probably brings certain people to mind (wut, you didn’t think of moi? no, neither did I.)

Here’s the thing - real presence is about being awake to what others miss.

We can think of this as practicing intentional attention.

At Will Guidara’s Eleven Madison Park restaurant, they turned this into a system. Staff don't just serve meals - they write down guests' names during service, note even the smallest of dietary preferences, listen for emotional subtext.

They practiced what Will calls "unreasonable hospitality" - going beyond what was asked to deliver what was needed.

The famous hot dog story? That wasn't luck. It was the result of systematic attention to detail.

Three levels of intentional attention:

1. Surface level - What they're saying
   "We've had an amazing trip, hit all the best restaurants."
2. Functional level - What they're asking for
   A great meal to cap off their culinary tour.
3. Emotional level - What they actually need
   To feel complete, to not have any regrets about missing a quintessential NYC experience.

Most of us stop at level one. The transformation happens at level three.

Presence is one of the five elements that create groove - you can see how all five work together here

The Release

Presence isn't about imposing yourself in a room. Nor is it being psychic. It's about being intentional with your attention.

Here's how Will and his team put this into practice, and how we can do the same:

Whether it’s hot dogs or conversation, the magic happens when you stop delivering what's expected and start noticing what's actually needed.

Next time: something different. An excellent new album, ADHD, and the underestimated value of an empty field...

Got a hot dog story of your own? Hit reply - I'd love to hear it.

Howard

P.S. Will co-produced an episode on Season 3 of “The Bear” where a similar moment - Richie running to get deep-dish pizza for disappointed guests - became a turning point for the character. Art imitating life, imitating art. Season 4 of The Bear is released later this month.

Build the Groove

Extended Mix: Groove Tools

• The Lost Chapter: an unpublished extra from Will Guidara's book 'Unreasonable Hospitality' on the power of (unusual) brand collaborations
• Systems of Progress: The three levels of intentional attention closely mirror the Jobs to be Done (JTBD) model. Systems of Progress takes JTBD to the next level. Strong recommend.
• First Star: Mexico City's Expendio de Maíz - undisputed #1 Wavetable co-location lunch spot - just got their first Michelin star last week