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Went out to lunch today, at a midrange restaurant (for our area) and I started thinking about how different going out to eat has become in "modern" restaurants.
1. Stay hydrated. Now in every casual place there is s serve yourself water station. Usually with a fancy pitcher. And nicer places give you a pitcher for your table (or a carafe). Uber fancy places ask you still or sparkling.
2. Faux rustic. Nicer restaurants, in aims to appeal to a more casual dinner, have buckets of silverware and napkins resting on all the tables. Less work for the waitstaff. Gives off a "friendly" impression for the patrons.
3. Weird vessels for your bill. These days your bill might come clipped to a slab of wood. In a cup. Or in one place I went to, a hollowed out old book.
4. Deconstructed or fancy kid food. I went to one restaurant that had deconstructed hot chocolate. You got some hot milk and a bar of chocolate. You "stirred" the chocolate in the milk till it melted. It came with a side of marshmallows. I have seen a few different takes on smores: fancy / deconstructed / homemade. And my favorite was cookies and dip.
I haven't noticed any of those trends but one place I went (and will not be going back) brought us an empty styrofoam container when I asked to take the rest of my meal home. We were supposed to fill the container ourselves from our plate.
I guess that's less work for the wait staff and maybe it's even more sanitary because it doesn't go back into the kitchen but for the prices you pay at a nice restaurant, I don't want do it yourself "service."
We ate out last night and nothing was new or trendy. They kept our water glasses full, brought us rolls, came back and asked how our meal was, brought us the dessert menu. I guess one more negative thing I've noticed is how many desserts have kid ingredients like oreo cookies or cookie dough ice cream. This place had grown up food though--that's why we go there.
I haven't noticed any of those trends but one place I went (and will not be going back) brought us an empty styrofoam container when I asked to take the rest of my meal home. We were supposed to fill the container ourselves from our plate.
Unless this was fine dining with white linen tablecloths, that is par for the course in my experience. Anyplace that serves more than a person can eat in one sitting is probably not the kind of place with the pretense to make a production of bringing your food back to the kitchen for professional repackaging by a Cordon Bleu trained saucier.
I haven't noticed any of those trends but one place I went (and will not be going back) brought us an empty styrofoam container when I asked to take the rest of my meal home. We were supposed to fill the container ourselves from our plate.
I guess that's less work for the wait staff and maybe it's even more sanitary because it doesn't go back into the kitchen but for the prices you pay at a nice restaurant, I don't want do it yourself "service."
I used to agree with you on this point. And then I got a doggie bag with someone else's leftovers. Now I ask for a container in which I can package my own food, and a bag to carry it in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jade408
Now in every casual place there is s serve yourself water station. Usually with a fancy pitcher. And nicer places give you a pitcher for your table (or a carafe). Uber fancy places ask you still or sparkling.
I love the trend of being offered sparkling water as a freebie. I usually order a bottle of San Pellegrino, so it's a money-saver.
#5: Put an egg on it! Now everything everywhere has an option to top with a fried egg (or similar). Burgers. Rice bowls. Pizza. Salads. I saw another weird one recently and I can't remember what it was.
It could be me that has changed, but it seems over the last few years, every restaurant serves way more than I would be able to eat. I too would rather put my own food in the bag, if taking it home.
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I guess one more negative thing I've noticed is how many desserts have kid ingredients like oreo cookies or cookie dough ice cream. This place had grown up food though--that's why we go there.
