Can you spot the trends? Catch the cliches? Take a look at our “faux” menu. It should help you decipher some of the language showing up on today’s restaurant menus.
1. MISTA: Menu covers are increasingly rare–especially with many places printing their menus in-house–so a restaurant’s name (usually just one word these days) or logo is usually in evidence on the menu.
2. “cheesecake”: Don’t expect the real thing. Quotes are used around words to indicate this is a whimsical–not literal–description of a dish.
3. Caramelized fennel gratin: Putting the main ingredient or preparation of a dish in boldface helps navigate the menu. Some restaurants inexplicably bold any word.
4. Salads: Many restaurants lump salads in with first courses. Smart ones know that listing them separately can increase the meal tab, as diners may be more inclined to order both a first course and a salad.
5. Beets: One hot trend is to name a dish for its main component then list the details beneath it.
6. 9: There are no dollar signs on most upscale menus, and prices are not lined up one beneath the other. The reason? Keep the emphasis on the food, not the cost.
7. Main courses: What happened to entrees? Tres passe.
8. Pinn Oak Farms: Crediting purveyors is still popular among restaurants that want to showcase freshness and high-quality ingredients, but more progressive chefs now scoff at it.
9. Sablefish
Pineapple, macadamia, taro root, prosciutto: Rather than describe sometimes-complex food preparations, some restaurants prefer to list just a dish’s ingredients and rely on servers to provide details.
10. To Finish: Most restaurants still call them “first courses,” “main courses” and “desserts,” but others like to be creative with their menu categories: To start, From the sea, Sweet endings–you get the idea.
11. Meyer lemon: Educating diners is a priority at some spots.
12. China: Villeroy & Boch: If a restaurant credits the tableware or servers’ uniforms on the menu, they’re receiving them in exchange for such a mention.
13. Please alert your server … : Restaurants are increasingly accommodating, but they’re also trying to shield themselves from possible legal action.
14. 18% gratuity added to parties … : It’s right there on the menu, so don’t complain if this ends up on your bill.
15. Casey Cuisinart, Chef: In this Food Network Nation, chefs are hot, so don’t be surprised to find a name on the menu.
16. June 15, 2006: More and more restaurants update–and print–their menus daily. It’s all about freshness.
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1. MISTA
First courses
2. Lump crab and basil “cheesecake”with preserved lemon and basil 10
3. Caramelized fennel gratin, Parmesan-coriander crust 8
4. Salads
5-6. Beets
Salad of roasted beets, candied hazelnuts,blood oranges, Cocoa Cardona and mache 9
7. Main courses
8. Pinn Oak Farms baby lambwith fennel sausage, cannelini, winter roots 26
9. Sablefish: pineapple, macadamia, taro root, prosciutto 29
10. To Finish
Warm gooey butter cake with pomegranate sorbet, Meyer lemon curd and lemon pine nut biscotti 7
11. Meyer lemon, a cross between a lemon and an orange; its aromatic juice is sweeter and less acidic than that of regular lemons
12. China: Villeroy & Boch
13. Please alert your server if you have any dietary restrictions due to food allergy or intolerance.
14. 18% gratuity added to parties of six or more
15. Casey Cuisinart, Chef
16. June 15, 2006
