After a year writing for Minnesota Monthly and blogging for Dara & Co., I’ve been thinking about the way I eat and the way restaurants serve in 2011. Clearly, this food writing gig isn’t great for my waistline. I ordered a salad at the Lowertown St. Paul Bulldog last night, and that’s just a sign of insanity, desperation, and resolutionness. Which isn’t even a word.
So I’ve been thinking about some resolutions for 2011, for me and for restaurants. I’d love to hear yours.
For Restaurants:
- Let me make a reservation! With two young kids, if I can’t make a reservation, I’m probably not dining there.
- Enough pork belly! I love it, but come on. It’ll likely be on the TGI Friday’s menu next month. [h/t Amy Jensen]
- Megan Jones suggested: “Restaurants should go with more local produce/vendors.”
I’m hopeful that the local ingredients trend spreads to the suburban dining spots. I don’t need to see local everything (I’ll take French wine over Minnesota wine, thank you) but it’s nice to see a nod to place even if it’s a local cheese plate, or local produce.
For Diners:
- Expand the Comfort Zone. Read Kevin Sawyer’s list of top restaurants in 2010, and go to all of them. OK, pick one you haven’t been to and try it.
- Don’t just not show up: Call to cancel; call when you’ll be late.
- Tip and compliment good service. Servers tell me the compliment to them or their manager is almost as meaningful as a great tip. Almost.
- Complain in the restaurant before you blog about it: We can’t help but tweet, Facebook, blog, youtube all of our petty restaurant complaints. Give them a chance to fix it first.
For Myself:
- More salads, fewer burgers.
- No more blog write-ups about visits to TGI Friday’s.
It’s going to be a great year. What are your food resolutions for 2011?
