2. ...and look forward
Some operators are rethinking the tasting menu, which has received some consumer backlash for high prices, hourslong meals and, in some cases, rigid menu options. When Chicago’s Alinea reopened last year after a massive renovation, the tasting menu was trimmed from 30 courses down to 12.
Chef Sean Brock, for example, told Eater he launched an “anti-tasting menu tasting menu” at his revamped Charleston, S.C., restaurant McCrady’s. Brock created a two-hour, 15- to 18-course tasting menu that's crafted down to the minute. He tells his servers that the goal of the experience is to take away diners’ stress for the entire meal.