Menu Language: Good, Bad, and Ugly

[PAYAL SHARMA]

As someone who regularly used to write menus (our menu changed daily at my previous restaurant), I am all about the least amount of words, sometimes, even just listing the highlighting ingredients. 

For example:  Grilled Fillet Mignon, Potato Torta, Wild Mushrooms, Sauce Jerez. 

One of the reasons that I used to do this was because I didn't want people to be dissapointed by an appetizer that featured only about a cup full of food, with a description that took longer to read it than to eat it.  I also like the aspect of a diner saying "What is Potato Torta and Sauce Jerez?"  This fosters an atmosphere of learning for both the guest, and the people cooking the food.  I think that in today's food conscious society, there is a desire to know as much as you can about food, and if I can give someone a great meal, and a little education, all the better for me.

←

What about ethnic restaurants where the menu items are written in its own language and the guests need explanation to what it is. How would you write that? Would you write the name of the item and then translation underrneath or you would word the menu item in english to simplify it. Please comment. Thanks...

[*Deborah*]

perfection at its finest

I am astonished that they spelled "its" correctly! Are there un-fine levels of perfection?

What about ethnic restaurants where the menu items are written in its own language and the guests need explanation to what it is. How would you write that? Would you write the name of the item and then translation underrneath or you would word the menu item in english to simplify it. Please comment. Thanks...

I think it's best to put the words in their native language first, so those who are familiar with that terminology can use it. Then it's helpful for people who don't know that terminology to put a pretty straight translation, e.g., "Chicken with Green Curry Sauce." After that, a brief description with other important ingredients (e.g., coconut milk).

That's just my opinion...but I know I like it when I can spot an item whose non-English name I know on a menu.

Edited November 14, 2005 by *Deborah* (log)

[Tri2Cook]

I'm dragging this one from the depths because I have to get this one out of my head. I was browsing the restaurant menu from the hotel where I'll likely be staying during an upcoming work-related trip (that I'm trying very hard to get out of) and found this little gem that pretty much makes eating somewhere else a done deal. It wraps up a very lengthy description of a very simple dish by saying that it is...

"...blessed with Essence of White Truffle".

Seriously? Blessed? Where's the "barf" emoticon when I need it?

Edit: Further reading revealed this beauty as well...

THE IM‘PORT’ANCE OF ONION SOUP

Tawny Port blessed Caramelized Onion broth, hints of Rosemary baked with four Cheeses and Marble Rye Crostini

Maybe I'm just being overly critical because it's a trip I'm hoping to avoid but...

Edited January 21, 2010 by Tri2Cook (log)

[Qwerty]

Is the hotel, like, a converted monastery or something? Thats the only way that type of thing is even remotely justified, and then, even still....

[David A. Goldfarb]

"Blessed with the Essence of White Truffle" sounds like "there's so little white truffle in this dish that it might as well be a kind of metaphysical consecration."

[Kerry Beal]

"blessed with the essence of white truffle" means topped off with a dollop of fake white truffle oil to me.

[Tri2Cook]

Yep Kerry, I'm sure that's exactly what it is. For some reason saying it's "blessed" with white truffle oil just seems a bit cheesy to me. Like they were shooting for pretentious... and missed.

Anyway, I'm over the initial laughter now. I suppose they can write their menu any way they want to.

Edited January 22, 2010 by Tri2Cook (log)

[Alcuin]

Reading this thread, I'm surprised no one's mentioned false menu writing. I remember a dinner my girlfriend and I had a couple of years ago. She ordered a scallop starter that advertised truffles of some sort and another dish that supposedly had "sweet potato confit." I knew there'd be no way they were going to use fresh truffles but expected at least some truffle flavor in the dish (she'd never had truffles before and was very excited by my description). There was no truffle flavor at all, not even a noticeable dollop of artificial truffle flavored oil. As for the "confit," it was not sweet potato cooked in it's own fat (ha!) or submerged in some other fat, it was a lame puree. We were not happy about this (not to mention the food itself) and have never returned to the restaurant.

Whenever I see words like "truffled" or other suspicious and intentionally vague terminology, I usually just completely avoid the restaurant. To me, it spells an attention to superficiality or maybe even an attempt at hoodwinking a less knowledgeable clientèle (I do not live in a good restaurant city--bad restaurants flourish due to what I guess is people not knowing any better).

[Alcuin]

Yep Kerry, I'm sure that's exactly what it is. For some reason saying it's "blessed" with white truffle oil just seems a bit cheesy to me. Like they were shooting for pretentious... and missed.

Anyway, I'm over the initial laughter now. I suppose they can write their menu any way they want to.

Blessed with truffle oil--I love it. I can already see tomorrow night's dinner: sauteed chicken thighs consecrated with pan sauce, brussels sprouts baptized in water then anointed with butter, roasted potatoes blessed with duck fat.

[Edward J]

I dunno about all of this....

I am very old school about menu writing. During my apprenticship we took the subject "Menu writing" in all three years and it was a critical part of the whole program. Firstly we were brainwashed into the "14 methods of food preparation",(saute, poach, braise, blanch, etc,) and this theme was carried out through the whole program. If an item was stated in the menu as "sauted" it MUST be sauted. I have lauging fits evry time I see a menu here in N.America with something stupid written like "Penne sauted in Marinara sauce". "Oven roasted", "Fire Roasted", "pan seared", are all terms tht give me the laughing fits as well.

The language thing too, was big. The Swiss have 4 national languages but they oly want to see ONE on the menu. "Chicken a'la King" is a no-no, "Chicken King style" is accepted, "Veal Piccatta Milanese" is a no-no, but "veal scallops in a cheese and egg crust" is O.K. But this is ld fashioned stuff, and you never see it on menus anyway. Still, it's always a good idea never to mix languages on the menu

Like many others, I'm a big fan of K.I.S.S. (No, not the Gene Simmons thingee) Keep It Simple, Stup--, well you get it. As few words as possible, enough to get the guest interested

[DanM]

Sorry for digging up this old thread, but I have a good one to share from The Kitchen Table here in New Haven. The whole menu is laden with grandiose language, but this one takes the cake.

½ Pound Burger* from Authentic, Artisan, Sustainable Cattle Topped with Sustainable Bacon, local Abby Cheese, local Arugula

Authentic, Artisan, Sustainable Cattle?? Authenic, as in not grown in a lab?? Artisan? Will I find the cow's paintings in the Met?

For a restaurant trying to play the local, sustainable game, their draft beer selection has the usual macro beer selections, Bud, Bud Select, Henie, Guiness, New Castle, and Sam Adams.

Wow.

http://thekitchentablenewhaven.com./dinner.cfm

Dan

Edited July 12, 2010 by DanM (log)

[Paula E]

I understand and support the practice of cooking with local and sustainable ingredients, but in the name of sanity, put the fact as a footnote on the menu rather than...well what The Kitchen Table did.

Maybe they ingested one to many Buds while writing?

Any how, thanks for digging up the thread...it led to a pleasant morning of surfing.

[judiu]

Gee, what's a venison "lion" ? Deer with long teeth, or a lion with horns (sorry for the snark)