Cesar Ramirez Accuses Note-Taking Diner of Stealing Recipes

Recently, Eater's Joshua David Stein took his wife for a birthday dinner at the much acclaimed and now increasingly popular Brooklyn Fare, chef Cesar Ramirez's intimate chef's table in downtown Brooklyn. Now there are three rules at the restaurant, which are treated with various degrees of seriousness: no note taking, no photography, and no cell phone use. Stein broke rule number one. And Ramirez did not take it well! Stein recounts in the NYPress that after one course, Ramirez came over to him, leaned in, and said the following loudly:

I don't know where you fucking cook, but you'll never replicate this. I've been watching you disrespect my kitchen all night. You'll never be able to do what I do...Why are you taking notes? That's some sneaky shit.

So that's why he doesn't allow note taking? Because he thinks people will steal his dishes? Of course this is not the first flare up from Ramirez. In our 12 Epic Meals to Eat Before You Die, commenters called the chef "a world class a$$hole," and "off-putting," while a fan wrote, "I relish it when he gives some entitled loudmouth a well deserved smackdown."

The author of the blog Law & Food was taken aside and yelled at by Ramirez for taking pictures of the food. And then the chef implied in front of the other diners that he was trying to steal ideas for recipes. Even Jay Cheshes at the end of his review mentions that a diner made a Soup Nazi reference and adds, "his lack of humility makes a poor digestif."

To see how Stein took the blow up, see his open letter to Ramirez. And in the meantime, we want to hear in the comments, is his behavior acceptable? Do some diners deserve a smackdown?
· Brooklyn Unfare [NYPress]
[Photo: Brooklyn Paper]