Thank you for this! I just bought trout from Whole Foods on Fairfax that turned out to be rotten (ew). Will try the farmer's market from now on!

Thanks, yes let me clarify: My specific quest was to try and avoid cold, corporate, or overly precious decor (with patrons to match, mostly older), in favor of warm ambiance and some decent art (with a mix of both corporate and artistic types, all ages). I also wanted to avoid that grim, march-of-the-plates torpor that can settle over a long prix-fix... By contrast, I don't find the concept of Omakase to be stuffy at all--in fact, I love it--mainly because (at least here in LA) you can raise a white flag at any point and they stop. But when it's 8 courses and there's no getting off the ship no matter how full you are, it becomes oppressive. Yes you vill eat ze foam! Combine that with greige, board/bored room decor and you get: my definition of Stuffy. By contrast, watching the chef prepare the food at Brooklyn Fare sounds like a totally exciting/modern/fun fine dining experience. Thank you Food Whisperer! Reminds me of the 4-person secret chef's table off the kitchen at Matsuhisa (back when it was hot) and more recently, eating at the bar at Hungry Cat (which by the way, is extraordinarily good, one of the best in LA).
Thanks again for all the fantastic input! Do you guys do group therapy? ;)

Ooh, thanks for the clarification... It's like getting into North Korea...

Settin' my alarm for 5:45AM (!!) to try and make my EMP rezzie (I'm on the west coast)... SO appreciate learning about the corporate vibes of Jean-Georges and LB--thank you for the excellent steer away from the chill! Can't wait to try the others, esp the Kaiseki. Thank you for the wonderful help.

Thank you! I will check out Del Posto too!

Thank you! Don't want to skimp on the food--just don't want one of those severe/modern/cold dining rooms. Unfortunately I missed the Per Se reservation window (you have to call at 10:00am on the DOT!)... Now scrambling for second option... Will try EMP!

Dear Chowhounders,
Could you recommend which of the Per-Se level restaurants is the least stuffy? We want outstanding food, but also warm ambiance...