Podcast Summary: New Books Network – Brian Duff, "Restaurant" (Bloomsbury, 2025)
Published: September 6, 2025
Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher
Guest: Dr. Brian Duff

Overview

In this episode of the New Books Network, Dr. Miranda Melcher interviews Dr. Brian Duff about his latest book, Restaurant, published by Bloomsbury in 2025 as part of the Object Lessons series. The conversation explores the restaurant as a cultural object, delving into its psychological, social, and philosophical significance. They discuss themes such as the childhood roots of the dining experience, the role of conversation in restaurants, notions of virtue and cynicism in dining culture, and the broader implications for art and hospitality.

Main Themes and Discussion Points

1. Author’s Background and Motivation

• [02:32] Dr. Duff introduces himself as a political theorist, whose work intersects family theory, political thought, and a longstanding personal engagement with restaurants as a critic and former worker.
• Transition to Book: The blend of his academic interests and restaurant experiences gradually built up to a book project, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted his restaurant column and prompted a deeper reflection on restaurant culture.

Quote:

"I did have sort of a side gig as a restaurant critic for many, many years... As I've been reading and teaching political theory, I've also just always been going out to restaurants and writing about restaurants and thinking about restaurants, and the two kind of like started to blend together in my head."
— Dr. Brian Duff [02:35]

2. Why the Object Lessons Series?

• [04:05] Duff chose the Object Lessons series as it aligns with his interest in object relations theory (a branch of psychoanalysis focusing on the formative significance of early infant-caregiver relationships).
• Restaurants, in this framework, become meaningful objects resonating with deep-seated emotional experiences of nourishment and care.

Quote:

"That's part of what I think is going on in the restaurant is that it really resonates with some of these early experiences we had of being cared for and nourished... the restaurant as an object, that we have strong feelings about our experiences there."
— Dr. Brian Duff [05:20]

3. Approach: Restaurant as Object and Cultural Experience

• [06:58] Duff distinguishes his focus from typical industry-centered accounts. Rather than analyzing labor or sourcing, he centers on the experiential and psychological aspects of dining out—what the restaurant means to people as a site of encounter and emotion.

4. Cynicism vs. Magic in Restaurant Culture

• [08:56] The conversation addresses widespread cultural cynicism around restaurants—the sense that obsession with dining can seem shallow, expensive, or fraught with disappointment.
• Duff acknowledges this cynicism but argues that the restaurant experience can also be "magical" when expectations are met.

Quote:

"It can start to feel a little crazy that here we are at some late stage of human civilization, and what we are all obsessing about is... where will I get my next yummy meal? ...When it goes well, it can be really magical. And almost for that reason, when, for any reason it doesn't go well, the disappointments can be profound."
— Dr. Brian Duff [09:07]

5. The Deeper Appeal: Childhood Roots and Conversation

• [11:31] Duff posits that the real allure of restaurants is rooted in childhood experiences of nourishment, care, and being looked after—echoes of the parent-child relationship.
• The social function of restaurants is central: "Very often you don't go to the restaurant just to eat. You very often go to have a conversation..."
• Restaurants encourage a unique form of connection—face-to-face, present, set apart from digital distractions.

Quote:

"When people really experience the restaurant as magical ...very often is because it's tapping into this deeply felt stuff that goes back to our childhood."
— Dr. Brian Duff [12:34]

Quote:

"Our relationship to conversation has really changed... there's a kind of conversation that can unfold at the restaurant... that is in and of itself like a really important human thing and is increasingly hard to find."
— Dr. Brian Duff [13:38]

6. Evidence from Literature and Film

• [14:25] Childhood nostalgia and the search for care surface in food writing and criticism. Duff references Adam Gopnik’s The Table Comes First and the film My Dinner with Andre to illustrate how adult dining experiences often evoke primal memories of comfort and care.

Quote:

"Even in the most adult conversation, I feel like that childhood magic that we associate with nourishment and care is still there. So, yeah, I work hard to make the case."
— Dr. Brian Duff [17:32]

7. Restaurants as Sites for Transformational Conversation

• [18:00] Duff draws on psychoanalytic thought (notably Christopher Bollas) to examine how restaurants encourage a psychological regression to dependence, fostering openness and enabling transformative personal dialogues—akin to the therapeutic environment.

Quote:

"He said to create a transformational environment... there should be this regression towards dependence... you just bask in the nourishing care, you know, the food and the hospitality is a kind of regression to dependence. And then of course, what happens next in a therapist's office is you have to start talking. And that is exactly what we do in a restaurant too."
— Dr. Brian Duff [21:55]

8. Art, Culture, and Restaurants

• [26:24] Dr. Duff discusses how dining has, in some ways, replaced the appreciation of other cultural arts, noting Hannah Arendt’s warnings about the “crisis in culture” when art becomes merely consumable.
• Yet, he suggests that the restaurant, despite being a consumable object, paradoxically fosters important human activities like conversation and shared reflection—a central Arendtian value.

Quote:

"She [Arendt] said things are getting easily consumed and so we're no longer making cultural objects that are going to last. They become kind of this momentary fascination... but then I really thought about, okay, so what if the only way out is through? ...the restaurant then creates a context for conversation and for, you know, the human interaction that she valued most..."
— Dr. Brian Duff [29:05]

9. Virtue and the Ethics of Eating Out

• [32:25] Addressing virtue, Duff is skeptical that the modern restaurant industry can be truly virtuous, given exploitative labor practices and unsustainable sourcing.
• Nonetheless, he draws on Arendt’s separation of the political and the personal, arguing that the restaurant’s focus on pleasure, rather than compassion, opens space for new kinds of conversation and plurality.
• He traces the historical origins of the restaurant as a space concerned with virtue and health, noting the shifting role over time.

Quote:

“I don't think we can, we can find like, a virtuous meal at a restaurant. But... Hannah Arendt thought that... the search for, for, like the effort to be as compassionate as possible is actually... not appropriate in all scopes of life... Once you've gone in to a restaurant, you've decided, like, we're here to enjoy ourselves, we're here to indulge ourselves. And you know, in that environment, we're going to have a conversation...”
— Dr. Brian Duff [34:08]

10. Hospitality in Modern Life

• [39:00] Duff references philosopher Emmanuel Levinas’s idea of hospitality as a foundational human good, remarking that restaurants now provide a “manageable version of hospitality”—an accessible way to connect with others in a busy, fragmented world.

Quote:

"It's this new version of hospitality that even though it's not that rich and full version of like allowing the stranger into your home... it still taps into some of that, some of that feeling. It's a manageable version of hospitality."
— Dr. Brian Duff [39:37]

11. Future Projects

• [40:39] Dr. Duff hints at next steps: expanding the notion of transformative conversations in restaurants, especially as it connects to gender and identity; and a return to writing about family and parenthood in political theory.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• "I did have sort of a side gig as a restaurant critic for many, many years... and the two kind of like started to blend together in my head." — Dr. Brian Duff [02:35]
• "The restaurant as an object... we have strong feelings about our experiences there." — Dr. Brian Duff [05:20]
• "It can start to feel a little crazy... what we are all obsessing about is... where will I get my next yummy meal?" — Dr. Brian Duff [09:07]
• "When people really experience the restaurant as magical ...it's tapping into this deeply felt stuff that goes back to our childhood." — Dr. Brian Duff [12:34]
• "Once you've gone in to a restaurant, you've decided, like, we're here to enjoy ourselves, we're here to indulge ourselves." — Dr. Brian Duff [34:58]
• "It's a manageable version of hospitality. I think that we still get some of the important human benefits of it." — Dr. Brian Duff [39:37]

Key Segment Timestamps

• [02:32–04:05] – Author’s background and connection to restaurants
• [04:05–06:41] – Why write for Object Lessons? Childhood, care, and object relations
• [08:56–11:31] – Cynicism and enchantment: Why restaurants matter
• [14:05–17:49] – The role of childhood memories and nourishment
• [18:00–24:07] – Restaurants as spaces for transformative conversation and personal change
• [26:24–32:01] – Food, art, and the “crisis in culture”
• [32:25–38:49] – Can restaurants be virtuous?
• [39:00–40:26] – The evolution and meaning of hospitality
• [40:39–43:05] – Duff’s upcoming projects

Conclusion

Dr. Brian Duff’s Restaurant goes far beyond the surface of dining out. Drawing on political theory, psychoanalysis, art criticism, and philosophy, Duff crafts a nuanced exploration of why restaurants matter—as objects, as social spaces, and as sites of deeply rooted human experience. The episode offers much food for thought for anyone interested in the psychology, ethics, or cultural significance of restaurants today.