Monday, November 28, 2011

Small Plates

Welcome. Have you eaten with us before? We do things a little differently here. All our entrees are what we call “small plates,” which means that the portions are slightly... smaller than you’re used to, and come on serving vessels that can be accurately described as being both “small” and “plates.”

We think it’s a fun way to get you to order something that you wouldn’t usually order: everything on the menu. We recommend you each order six dishes; or 10 dishes if you are very hungry; or an endless stream if you’re looking to fill the shank of your evening.

How small are we talking? The Octopus Plate is not a whole tentacle, but one sucker off of one tentacle: it looks like a diaphragm for a mouse, or a dollhouse bathroom’s wash basin, or a calcified contact lens. It’s my favorite thing on the menu. The Micro-Toasts would fit on the head of a pin; Two Grains of Rice is a very generous term for what is, at heart, cellular. The Three Strands of Spaghettini is DNA.

Shall I give you a minute?

How did we do? Have we made some choices? Excellent. The octopus is a great choice, a great choice. The Fennel Pollen: also great. Just so you know, though, that one is especially small: a member of our waitstaff will come and spray .00005 milligrams of fennel pollen into the air, and then encourage you to walk into its cloud while a light breeze from an overhead fan blows the cloud toward the back of the restaurant in the direction of the parking lot. It’s my second favorite thing on the menu.

by Henry Alford, NY Times |  Continue reading: