What are 3 good dinners from Burgos Spain's restaurants?

What is Jonas Luster's perspective about family dinners at restaurants?

• It sounds so good!  Is this often a testing ground for chefs to try out new dishes?  I recall reading both Nancy Silverton and Christina Tosi talk about how some of their most popular dishes were inspired by family dinner at their restaurants.  Also, seems like some of the fundamentals behind kitchen family dinners have made their way to "pop up" roaming chef dinners and food trucks, why do you suppose it hasn't trickled down to restauran biz models/menus more?

• Answer:

  Well, it's for me at least, a testing ground for new cooks above all else :). If we have a probie or extern around I make them prep something from the menu and cook it, a chance for me to see them work outside the distracting chaos of dinner rush and with the added benefit of 9+ harsh critics and myself eating it. And, yes, it lets me play and poke around, facing those critics myself with a new dish. More often that not, that actually leads to me tossing an idea... Why didn't it trickle down? It's a traditional thing. Traditions are expensive. Caring for your staff, caring for your diners, caring for your restaurant, that's tradition. Luxe, Calme et Volupté, that's tradition. And all that is, sadly, expensive. Chains and many "new" restaurant ideas are more about the money and less about the pride in one's work. We have moved from craftsmen to producers. There's another reason. We don't have employee handbooks and corporate strategy manuals and monthly manager-evaluations. We have family dinner. When we're in the kitchen, all I want to ever hear from anyone is "Oui Chef" and "deux minutes, Chef". During family dinner I can hear about your son's dental bill and offer to help, I can resolve issues between Marissa the princess waitress and Ernesto who feels put down by her, or Sultan our sommelier and his complaints about my negative opinion on wine pairings. I can find out who needs time off, can find out who needs more shifts, can bring out gossip and right it, in other words I have a chance to manage my people. I'll read our Open Table reviews and "message to the restaurant", trot out some paper's review, and have a few minutes to get everyone fired up about being craftsmen with pride, not just plate monkeys and burger flippers. It's the one time I can instill unity and work ethic and that, a few bucks in ingredients be damned, is more important than anything else.