PrintHave Menus Gotten Too Complicated?
Now, this is a simple menu. The way things should be? [Photograph: Robyn Lee]
In his review of new French steakhouse Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecote today—well, if a piece that doesn't review the food can be called a review—Steve Cuozzo barely mentions the steak, but has an awful lot to say about the menu. Or lack thereof. L’Entrecote serves steak with frites and a green salad with walnuts—and that's it. And to Cuozzo, it's "heaven."
This is the first new restaurant in a long time where I don’t feel like I’m working. No struggling to read a menu in dim light. No wasting time deciphering 22 categories the waitstaff can’t explain. No guessing which dishes would arrive when, subject to the kitchen’s whim.
Just bring us the food, people!
He calls out Craft, Megu, and Joseph Leonard for their indecipherable menu categories, which give a diner little sense of size, value, or timing. I couldn't help but think of a recent meal at Rye in Williamsburg, where the dinner menu had Snacks, Appetizers, Sandwiches, Entrees, and the Grill—but some of the Grill items were starter-sized and others could have fed two, some of the Appetizers could have been meals, and no one was sure whether Snacks or Apps would arrive first.
What do you think? Would we all be better served by a return to the traditional appetizer, entree, dessert menu progression? Or is this free-form dining here to stay?
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22 Comments:
no
BananaMonkey at 10:28AM on 09/23/09
wait, people can still afford to eat out?
sheesh-it's been almost a year since i was at a restaurant.
gastronomeg at 10:56AM on 09/23/09
I appreciate the creativity that some restaurants put into their menus, but often I find it misleading. What really gets me are the menus that are sprinkled in non-linear order. The first time we went to our local upscale diner in suburban Philadelphia, we found the menu incredibly difficult to read -- soups next to breakfast oatmeals and bagels, and other similar oddities. Another place nearby, a Belgian-style pub, has its cheese plate selections on the back of the menu... after the desserts!
Maybe it's just me, but I've found enjoyment in simply stated menus -- there are none of the descriptions to disappoint your expectations, and all is left to the imagination. And when the food does come, it's always delicious.
avaryne at 11:04AM on 09/23/09
If the menu experience is what you remember from the restaurant, then I would argue that the food is the problem, not really the menu.
I've been to the Megu, Craft and don't even remember the menu because I remember the experience and the food instead.
If Steve Cuozzo wants simpler menus, he might be better of going to restaurants that have that, like Tad's Steak or Mcdonalds.
midtowneater at 11:19AM on 09/23/09
@avaryne; in Europe, it's traditional to have the cheese course after the dessert.
NotAmerican at 11:25AM on 09/23/09
I don't know if we have to return to traditional menus but some indication of portion size would really be welcome.
bobbob at 11:27AM on 09/23/09
In Paris, we went to a restaurant that was almost identical to this one. They only servide steak and frites, with a salad. The only thing they actually had a menu for was dessert. I will say it was a fabulous meal and perhaps that is a result of the kitchen being able to perfect just one and only one set meal. Of course, I wonder how much talent you need in the kitchen when there is really no creativity in the meal.
Fweety at 11:41AM on 09/23/09
I don't mind choice, but being overwhelmed by pages and pages of food
offerings just doesn't seem to help with the dining experience. If I want buffet, I will go to one. I am out to relax and enjoy myself. I miss the places that were around in the 1970's that had only prime rib or steak on the menu. All you had to do was decide if you wanted it rare, medium or well.
queenbleu at 11:41AM on 09/23/09
more categories on menus = smaller plates = more sharing = MORE EXPENSIVE. I'm so over it. Those types of menus lead to people over-ordering and paying way too much for a not-always-satisfying meal.
laurbelle2 at 11:52AM on 09/23/09
i like simple menus. easy to read, make a decision AND i don't have to sit there helping the other people in my party decipher it. A lot of times I go out and its 'oh that's just roasted garlic chicken with beets and potatos' or 'thats a grilled skirt steak with a side salad and some fennel thing'.
its a small complaint though.. just please no pictures of food on menus. that drives me nuts. this isn't Dennys. its not seen much of it in nyc thankfully.
muffintops at 1:07PM on 09/23/09
@NotAmerican -- oops, my bad! That's something I wasn't aware of until now :)
avaryne at 1:07PM on 09/23/09
Honestly, I find a creative menu enjoyable. When I want only one or two choices I will eat at home. When dining out, I like to take my time, read the menu, compare and contrast dishes and ingredients. I like options so I can arrange a meal based on my level of hunger and what has been nutritionally lacking in my day.
foodshethought at 1:21PM on 09/23/09
I actually like lots of pictures in menus when I am out eating Korean, since the descriptions are never enough for me. Most of the time, I ask the person what the difference is between 3 plates because they all sound the same. Sometimes, they come totally different than expected even after an explanation.
The logical side of me would like starters in the beginning of the menu, salads or soups next, then entree, then dessert, then drinks or whatever.
People can get all creative/quaint by putting things in odd places, really small or intricate typefaces, and be vague or pretentious with their descriptions all they want, but the restaurant shouldn't be surprised if ppl just say wtf and not return.
Cassaendra at 1:28PM on 09/23/09
I love, love, love big menus. Why? Because at most restaurants, my selection's limited to one choice, maybe two. It's a novelty to have different items to choose from – so much so that I often get overwhelmed!
KarynMC at 2:15PM on 09/23/09
NotAmerican,
In Continental Europe, cheese comes before dessert, perhaps so you can finish your wine. In England, it comes after dessert, so you can have your port with cheese.
gustoct at 2:30PM on 09/23/09
actually i'd like to see more of the japanese technique of using photos in their menus
norman at 3:31PM on 09/23/09
I really don't care about the menu as long as the food is good. I've ended up ordering good and bad food from both "simple" and "complicated" menus. @laurbelle2: I personally like the concept of small plates so that I can share and sample. Inquiring into the size of each small plate is a good way to make sure that you're not ordering too much or too little for the table. At most restaurants it's unnecessary to order several small plates per person, and when people do that, no wonder they spend more than they may have liked to spend!
crisp444 at 4:44PM on 09/23/09
Ever been to a cheesecake factory? The menu's like reading Jane Eyre, I glaze over and check out. I am firmly in the keep it simple camp.
christopher at 5:16PM on 09/23/09
I don't think the problem is necessarily about overall length of a menu, although places like Cheesecake Factory are outrageously long. I think the point Steve Cuozzo is trying to make it about menus that just don't make any sense! I should be able to understand a menu without the server explaining it to me. We recently went to a restaurant in Cleveland called The Greenhouse Tavern where the only headings were "Firsts", "Seconds", "Thirds", and "Halfs". The server explained when she handed us our menus that Firsts were "bites" or "finger food", Seconds were appetizers, Thirds were entrees, and Halfs were tapas-sized dishes meant to be shared or eaten as side dishes. Yet the items in each category didn't make a lot of sense always...it was an odd meal. I'm a young diner but even I appreciate a more traditionally-organized menu. If the food is good enough I am more willing to overlook it, but this meal was not.
LizLemon at 9:10PM on 09/23/09
As a small eater, I do appreciate the proliferation of categories, if the restaurant maintains its quality standards. What I don't like is having to worry about being given dirty looks for ordering "too little". If I only want a snack, and appetizer and a dessert, is that too little to order? What about just an entree? I think the whole trend is a way to nudge diners to spend more, especially if portions are small and diners would like to try more of the money.
Maybe we should just revert to picture menues, a la Chinese takeout places. No surprises there!
firni at 9:11PM on 09/23/09
@firni: I don't like that pressure either, to order an appetizer, entree, dessert, coffee. Many times I'll order a meal that doesn't include a side, and the server will sniff at me "Is that allllll? Are you sure you don't want a soup or salad?" I understand that busier upscale places don't want a small eater like me taking a table that isn't going to make them much money, but I don't usually dine in places like that! (and my usual dining companion more than makes up for my small appetite, haha.)
That being said, I don't mind a long menu, as long as it's clearly presented. "Creatively" named sections, tiny fonts, and pompous terminology make it hard to decide in under 10 minutes.
Jengraf at 9:40AM on 09/24/09
I think the free form menu is the result of customers confusion about how to eat. A menu is to entice and be a road map for your dining experience. It should lead but when there are too many options it becomes useless.
artoeat at 6:06PM on 09/24/09