More Restaurants Inviting Big Brother to Dinner

In addition to taking your money, an increasing number restaurants are also taking video of your dining experience, at least according to the Post’s trend-spotting Carla Spartos. She notes five Manhattan restaurants that use closed-circuit video cameras to record customers in their dining rooms: Boqueria, the four star Daniel, Dos Caminos, Philippe, and Momofuku Noodle Bar.

The article features anecdotal evidence from a security consultant, who believes that restaurants are no longer worried that diners will be offended by cameras recording their feeding hour, because, lucky for him, “people have become oblivious to them now. Cameras are everywhere.” Christian Rodriguez, an assistant manager at Boqueria, concurs: “No one's ever complained. Everyone's used to being watched.” He says the cameras afford “peace of mind,” to ward off employee theft.

They might also come in handy when a diner tries to claim a cockroach fell in her hair, or if someone says they fell on a slippery floor. A spokeswoman for Daniel insists their cameras don’t record anything and they’re not spying on people; the chefs just watch video monitors in the kitchen to “observe the rhythm of the service for extensive menus.” Nobody knows what the Momofuku cameras are for, but at Phillipe employees have been rumored to gather for screenings of surveillance videotapes starring personalities like Diddy and Sienna Miller, just hanging out – which sounds more compelling than Factory Girl, at least.

Photo: excard1970.