Yes, let’s retire the restaurant monologue. “The urge to direct diners through every bite of a meal runs counter to what I love about dining out, one of just a few cornerstones of American life that have not yet been optimized into oblivion.”
Advertise here with Carbon Ads
This site is made possible by member support. 💞
Big thanks to Arcustech for hosting the site and offering amazing tech support.
When you buy through links on kottke.org, I may earn an affiliate commission. Thanks for supporting the site!
kottke.org. home of fine hypertext products since 1998.
Beloved by 86.47% of the web.
Comments 1
ABSOLUTELY. I've come to really not enjoy superfine dining. And it's made me think of this word from industrial design: affordances.
An affordance is when a thing shows you how to use it: a meaty handle on a door that suggests "twist & pull!", or a wide flat bar on the other side that screams, "smack me & push!"
Fancy restaurant menus — and even the food on the plate — have NO affordances. It makes you dependent on the staff to explain the menu and then re-explain the food when it arrives. Beyond being performative (which, hey, I get: it's a show), it infantilizes the customer. I feel like an ass when I can't understand that those 6 ingredients are, well, a taco — as well as what the 6 ingredients are.
Fancy food needs more affordances. Let me understand this sh&t.
If you feel like this comment goes against the grain of the community guidelines or is otherwise inappropriate, please let me know and I will take a look at it.
In order to comment or fave, you need to be a kottke.org member. Check out your membership options.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions. Or try logging out and then back in. Still having trouble? Email me!