“Every restaurant exists to entertain people,” says Nick Kokonas, a partner in Chicago’s upscale Alinea. “No one needs to eat out. Why do you go to a restaurant? To be entertained. To enjoy yourself. To celebrate.” Director Joseph Levy explores three restaurants that offer dining experiences that resonate beyond the simple act of being fed. At Alinea, the experience is an artful performance by chef Grant Achatz and his staff. In Balltown, Iowa, Breitbach’s Country Dining regularly serves more people than live in the town; it’s a community center as well as a tourist destination. In Tucson, Arizona, Francisco Martinez opens La Cocina de Gabby so everyone can enjoy his wife’s cooking “because she cooks like an angel.” These three varied stories illuminate our associations with dining as family gathering, community expression, and performance art, or sometimes all three at once.  AT