Keeping the excitment

[Explorer]

In one of the previous posts in this discussion, you said (re: French Laundry) "From that meal October 14 1996 until my last day June 30 2001 I dinned there 9 times! Each time it became less memorable. Not because the food was less quality, in fact if anything it was probably better. But knowing the repetoire like I did after such a length in the kitchen took away from the experience that diners feel."

One of the outcomes of this discussion is that I feel I have almost eaten at Trio already; actually I can picture some dishes in front me, right now. So, my expectations have risen.

How do you deal with the fact that regulars or experienced diners become more difficult to impress?

Do we have the wrong attitute in thinking: "impress me" before we even sit down?

How can a restaurant manage these expectations, i.e. the balance between outside buzz and inside delivery?

[chefg]

explorer:

Expectations are the enemy in some cases. We have all experienced watching the trailers and commercials for the "hit summer movie" only to go and be dissappointed. As a restaurant all we can do is to maintain the standard and evolve past it. For regular diners we obviously take extra effort to create new menu items and different stylistic touches to keep the excitement level high.

I think guests should have a reasonable expectation when they dine, based on the standard the restaurant projects and reality of the objective nature of what we provide.

I doubt any restaurant would intentionally avoid or cap the buzz about itself, unless it were untruthful.