OK, let me begin by stating up front that we are not fine-dining virgins.
As middle-aged people, we have been to a few nice restaurants or two. (In other words, girlfriend doesn't cook on weekends. Or as my sister Re says: Friday night is takeout night; Saturday night is take me out night!)
So we go out with two friends to a BYOB in Philly that has garnered some solid reviews. I've made sure to come on an empty stomach to fully enjoy my meal, not an easy task for a chowhound. Our friends are a bit late, so as we wait, we hanker for a piece of bread, but notice no bread baskets on other tables. When the friends arrive, the server brings us something that looks like wisps of fried dough. She mentions something about it being dusted with powdered sugar and chocolate. Really? So what do they have on the menu for dessert - broccoli? We four devour the wisps in no time. After a miniscule salad (my beloved describes it as "four pieces of fluffed-up lettuce") and a bitsy square of cornbread each (finally, a bread product!), our dinners are served. The server explains to each of us ( and, we notice, to every other patron in the place) what the meal is, otherwise no one would know that this is indeed the dish we ordered. Everything is child-sized and minimalism reigns. I have a paella with a superb sauce but no rice. What do these people have against starches and carbohydrates? Vegetables are the size of grapes. We consume the meal quickly. When the server asks how everything is, my friend, the kind of tall, slender woman who never had to wrestle with a zipper her entire life, says in all honesty that it was delicious, but the portions were extremely small. As a chubette, I wanted to second that emotion, but swallow my thoughts along with the last bits of shrimp on my plate. The server looks annoyed. We dare not order dessert for fear it will resemble a Hershey Kiss and flee elsewhere for some hearty sweets and coffee.
So all I'm saying is that culinary innovation is an artform that we appreciate fully, but one that we admire even more when we're full.
Anybody up for a midnight run to Mickey D's?