A Subtle Interplay: Music and the Menu

Music might have universal appeal, but that doesn’t mean that all music is universally appealing. We’ve all had bad experiences in restaurants, whether shouting at friends over jams played at club-level volume or enduring Muzak so schlocky it conjures up visions of the dental office. Conversely, music can make a good meal better, often with the diner unaware of what’s at work.

Fred Eric, owner of the chic Silver Lake dinner restaurant Vida and the 24-hour diner Fred 62, is arguably the king of Los Angeles restaurant music. Eric burns his own CDs to play at specific times during the night and gives them wacky names such as “Funk Smoker” and “Kimba Meets Maggie” (his two cats). He says he has few rules when it comes to choosing music for his restaurants. His approach might be considered a thoughtful variation on “Anything Goes.”

“I don’t like to restrict myself,” he says, “since there’s so much stuff I like. I might go from Erik Satie to Brian Eno, then pull back to Dolly Parton.” Or he might toss in the H.R. Pufnstuf theme.

The CDs are organized into three categories: early, which might play from 6 to 8 p.m.; mid, 8 to 10 p.m.; and late, 10 p.m. until closing. “Early is a little softer, more ethereal,” says Eric. “Mid picks up a bit. Late will really pick up. It’s not like we’ll be playing hard techno, but we’ll come close to it.”

There’s no strict schedule, however. At 7 p.m. on a Thursday night, a room full of high-energy 20-somethings might call for a CD from the late category.

He even welcomes sing-alongs (nothing engineered, just impromptu outbursts to beloved tunes). But heavy bass is best avoided, Eric says. “When you’re dining, heavy bass is really disturbing. It ruins digestion.”

David Meyers, the chef at Jaan at L’Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills, also chooses his music very carefully. “I’m obsessed with the entire experience of this restaurant,” Meyers says. He favors progressive groups such as Air and Buddha Bar, the “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” soundtrack--and some music he mixes himself.

“We’re trying to create a meditative sense of energy,” says Meyers. “We choose music that makes people feel they’re in a different realm: still urban, a little London-chic. I don’t want people to focus on it, but if they happen to hear it, they find it wonderful to listen to.”

Music can have a powerful effect. The beat alone, for example, can determine whether guests have a leisurely or speedy meal. A restaurant that wants to turn tables quickly will sometimes play upbeat tunes. A speeded-up beat and pumped-up volume can also energize a room.

“Sometimes I’ll be in the dining room and the room will be full, and if I feel things are too quiet, then I’ll change the music and you can see the room starting to become more alive,” says Andy Nakano, owner of Jozu, a sophisticated Cal-Asian restaurant in West Hollywood.

Music seems easy enough to get right. Still, says Nakano, “the last thing a lot of restaurateurs want to deal with is music. They’re focused on food, menu, wine and service. So music gets left on the shelf.”

One popular option is a satellite system, something like radio without commercials or DJs. DMX Music is probably the biggest name in the field. It serves nearly 200,000 businesses in the U.S. (not all are restaurants). Los Angeles clients include high-end places--Spago, Eurochow--as well as casual spots such as Islands and Koo Koo Roo.

DMX Music’s most widely used system allows a restaurant to select from about 100 music programs. Lite Classical, Latin Jazz, Golden Oldies, Cajun, Hawaiian, Euro Hits and Retro Disco are among the dizzying options. Businesses need not commit to one program; they can shuffle among them at will. And at less than $100 a month, the system is affordable.

David Munyon, the general manager of Santa Monica’s popular Italian seafood trattoria I Cugini, likes the options DMX offers. “We’ll go with classic Italian, Italian instrumental and a lot of different jazz,” he says. “We change the music with the time of day and the crowd. When we open in the morning, because we have a lot of Latino workers, we’ll play Spanish music. It gets people moving and motivated.”

Plus, adds Munyon, the system doesn’t require baby-sitting. “With CDs,” he says, “you get busy and the manager forgets to change them.” Another often-overlooked advantage of DMX and similar systems is that artists’ licensing fees are covered in the price.

DMX Music isn’t for everyone. Nakano used the system for more than a year at Jozu. While some guests liked the music and told him so, others did not. Their feelings, recorded on comment cards, ranged from “this music is boring” to “get rid of this elevator music.”

Nakano, who now uses CDs, admits he was tired of the music too. “I felt the variety wasn’t enough,” he says. “It wasn’t eclectic enough. It was kind of dated.” He was also bothered by how quickly he was able to identify DMX in other restaurants. “Right away you notice it’s DMX,” he says. “It’s the sequence they play the music.”

In general, restaurants rock out more on Friday and Saturday nights, so diners looking for quiet conversation might go out earlier in the week. As for those who must dine out on a Saturday, they’d best go early, choose their destination carefully or prepare to exercise those vocal cords.

Of course, some restaurants are in permanent concert mode. Chan Dara, the casual Thai eatery in West Los Angeles, is among these. Its patrons eat satay to the sounds of pounding American rock.

“Sometimes we get complaints,” says co-owner Vavy Kittivech. “[Customers] will ask you to turn the music down. We please the customer. But then when they leave, we turn it back up. Our music is kind of a trademark.”