Better Than It Needs to Be?

[weinoo]

This is a quote, but I'm not saying from where because I hear and see this phrase a lot...

"and that’s a shame, because the food is much better than it needs to be."

Obviously, it's from a restaurant review. But I also see it a lot on food boards, blogs, etc. Or a variation such as better than it has to be.

What exactly does it mean? Would we want to eat somewhere where food is only as good as it has to be? Don't we want a little more?

[gfweb]

Sounds like a load of crap to me. The sort of thing that sounds clever to a bad writer.

Wonder who I just offended

[HungryC]

You know, some places consistently attract diners despite mediocre food. Think of the countless waterfront restaurants on our coasts loaded with people who just want to sit and watch the sun go down, or the sailboats go by. Those diners don't care much about the food--if it's passable, they're happy. Or restaurants very close to major sports & events venues; for some, convenience makes a lower food standard acceptable when dining isn't the main focus of the evening. So those scenic or location-driven places will make money regardless of food quality or value...they don't "need" to offer better food (from a business standpoint).

I'm also thinking of some of the foods served at high school sports concession stands in south Louisiana: good jambalaya with local smoked sausage, shrimp & corn soup, homemade chili, pralines, etc. Tasty scratch cooking--perhaps the epitome of "much better than it needs to be". I mean, we're there to support the players, not to dine: bagged chips and peanut M&Ms would be fine. The food is way better than the typically acceptable standard for the venue and price.

Dunno how you've seen the phrase used/misused...perhaps some links to particular reviews would be helpful.

[Sneakeater]

That phrase is perfectly appropriate in the context I'm sure it was used: a restaurant that would be successful for reasons other than the food, but that also has food that, while not hitting the heights, is better than just acceptable. There are plenty of examples. Pastis in New York comes to mind.*

How else would you succintly express that?

Such restaurants are never aimed at people like us (who primarily care about food), so whether "we" want "more" is a moot point. But it's useful for us to know which "scene" restaurants have food you'd want to eat.

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* If I remember right, the passage you quoted came from a note on The Kenmare in New York. Which is odd, as most people I know who've eaten there have said that the food is not better than it needs to be, but rather much worse than you'd expect from the executive chef.

Edited January 3, 2011 by Sneakeater (log)

[mkayahara]

So "better than it needs to be" is a compliment, then? As in "better than required for the restaurant to be financially successful"? In the OP, it read like a criticism.

[IndyRob]

"...and that's a shame because..."

I guess I would like to know what was a shame. I think it might be key. Taking a shot in the dark, perhaps a well placed, fun establishment, in the shadow of a sports stadium, that's serving food that is out of place?

[Dakki]

Funny, I was thinking the opposite. As in, "the restaurant is located between an abandoned warehouse and a junkyard and the service is terrible, and that’s a shame, because the food is much better than it needs to be."

That more or less makes nonsense of the literal meaning of the "better than it needs to be" part, but your interpretation seems to make nonsense of the "that's a shame" part of the phrase. I think "better than it needs to be" is just used as a cutesy substitute for "good" in this case.

"The restaurant is located between an abandoned warehouse and a junkyard and the service is terrible, and that’s a shame, because the food is good."

Edited January 4, 2011 by Dakki (log)

[Sneakeater]

"...and that's a shame because..."

I guess I would like to know what was a shame. I think it might be key. Taking a shot in the dark, perhaps a well placed, fun establishment, in the shadow of a sports stadium, that's serving food that is out of place?

Here in NYC (where weinoo's quote comes from), it's almost always lounge/restaurants in fashionable downtown locations with really cool decor and very expensive cocktails that are packed with scenesters, and would be packed even if they served dogfood tapas (which most of them do). But every once in a while, there are a couple that, for some unknown reason, actually bother to have good food.

Edited January 4, 2011 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

Funny, I was thinking the opposite. As in, "the restaurant is located between an abandoned warehouse and a junkyard and the service is terrible, and that’s a shame, because the food is much better than it needs to be."

That more or less makes nonsense of the literal meaning of the "better than it needs to be" part, but your interpretation seems to make nonsense of the "that's a shame" part of the phrase. I think "better than it needs to be" is just used as a cutesy substitute for "good" in this case.

"The restaurant is located between an abandoned warehouse and a junkyard and the service is terrible, and that’s a shame, because the food is good."

No, I think the antecedent would be something like: "Most people serious about food would never consider braving the impossibly restrictive door policy at this sceney new restaurant, and that's a shame, because . . . ."

OR alternatively:

"This attempt at a fashionable lounge/restaurant failed to attract the scenesters, and the food people never took it seriously, and that's a shame, because . . . ."

Edited January 4, 2011 by Sneakeater (log)

[Dakki]

Okay so "(negative comment) and that's a shame because..."

The principle is the same.

[Sneakeater]

Well, I guess my point is that if you're located between an abandoned warehouse and a junkyard, it's not enough to say that your food is "better than it needs to be," because your food would ordinarily "need" to be very good indeed to attract customers. This usage only makes sense when it seems like the restaurant is designed to have something other than the food attract customers, so that the food wouldn't "need" to be any good at all.

Edited January 4, 2011 by Sneakeater (log)

[Holly Moore]

Strikes me as a totally inane statement by a pretentious critic.

Edited to add: Present company excepted, of course.

Edited January 4, 2011 by Holly Moore (log)

[Sneakeater]

I say it all the time (which is not to deny that I'm inane and pretentious).

[weinoo]

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* If I remember right, the passage you quoted came from a note on The Kenmare in New York. Which is odd, as most people I know who've eaten there have said that the food is not better than it needs to be, but rather much worse than you'd expect from the executive chef.

No, it's from a note/review of a different restaurant. Lower and further east.

Maybe that's my point; the phrase is used so much, that I don't really know what the baseline has become for food that is not as good as it should be. Which of course, makes no sense.

[Sneakeater]

Fat Radish?

[weinoo]

Fat Radish?

Yes.

[Sneakeater]

Maybe that's my point; the phrase is used so much, that I don't really know what the baseline has become for food that is not as good as it should be. Which of course, makes no sense.

Well, maybe the Kenmare is a good example of THAT, then.

[Sneakeater]

Fat Radish?

Yes.

I knew it was one of THOSE places.

So, now that I remember the blurb weinoo was referring to, I can tell everybody who's wondering that the antecedent was something like, "The pretty, skinny, fashion-conscious crowd at this smart new lounge/restaurant seems to drink much more than eat, and that's a shame, because . . . ."

Edited January 4, 2011 by Sneakeater (log)

[IndyRob]

After employing the Googling Device, it looks like this phrase must be a hot key assignment in a Microsoft Word restaurant review template.

The wine list is good, the room is fun, the vibe is casual, and the food is better than it needs to be.

Although BG will run you around $50 per person for lunch (including the requisite glass of champagne), the food is better than it needs to be, and you're certain to leave all warm and fuzzy.

The food is better than it needs to be for a place where chasing a fake high is the main draw,

The chef has the credentials, and the food is better than it needs to be in that location.

you' ll find the food is better than it needs to be for the price

young things of Dallas can teeter around in their Manolos, get sozzled, and bellow in one another's faces by flickering light of a half-dozen flat-screen TVs tuned to ESPN.

And J. Black's, the younger sibling to a 3-year-old joint in Austin, certainly is all that. But it's also something more: a place where the food is better than it needs to be.

IT MAY LOOK LIKE A TOURIST TRAP, given the Seaport Village location, but the food is better than it needs to be at this family favorite

We hope you feel right at home here at the MVP, where the food is better than it needs to be, in a casual, up beat atmosphere.

Edited January 4, 2011 by IndyRob (log)

[weinoo]

After employing the Googling Device, it looks like this phrase must be a hot key assignment in a Microsoft Word restaurant review template.

Exactly. So it kind of lost its meaning for me...I sorta knew what it meant when it was used as Sneakeater describes. But now...

Anyway, I think it's time to put it to bed, don't you? Because it really doesn't tell us anything anymore, imo.