The elaborate menu

At a restaurant in a star hotel, I was given a book weighing 1 kg like a textbook running to a few pages. It was the menu. I was sure of my selection which is one plate of idli plus a vada and coffee. I needed to turn page after page to arrive at the dishes since each had a section followed by subsection.

On my return to office, my reporting manager asked me about my experience staying in a star hotel and food. I told him the room was a great experience. About the food, I had to tell him that it was the first time I read the menu from right to left in my life.

Back in the 1930s, when my father was in school, the restaurant owner and waiter would list the dishes orally. They will bring a glass of water, stand near the table, and recite the menu with amazing memory and focus. They will remember table-wise orders and items and calculate the amount in no time. Most of the customers were known to them. They would even suggest some special items to your taste.

Slowly, family rooms were introduced with swinging doors . I have seen waiters getting hot coffee and cooling it by repeatedly pouring between the tumbler and the dabara so that you can drink at the right temperature. They love that you enjoy the serving and food. Not an easy job when it is crowded. The first to face flak from customers are the waiters for no fault of theirs.

Later, glass-paned shelves and almirahs were introduced to display the dishes. The famous barfi, Mysore pak, gulab jamoon, and hot bondas were put on display.

Even if not qualified in catering, the waiters know that seeing is eating. A waiter should remember an average 15 items plus the price.

Food is half eaten by the eyes. So, the display acted as a sales pitch. By 1960, black boards were introduced to list the menu. Soon, colour chalks entered and one could find “Today’s special” listed prominently. Ice cream was not popular, except in a few big restaurants which could host big parties and gatherings. The board was updated frequently.

The concept of menu card and menu book was introduced with the growth of printing technology in the 1970s. But still, one has to depend on serving professionals for updates and availability. This is like how we depend on paper despite of the growth of digital technology.

But the introduction of digital menu and QR code-based ordering make me tense. These tell us what is available but not what is ready or how much time it takes to be served. This is cumbersome and taxing but still you wait for the food to make sure you got what you ordered.

There is nothing like eating in a restaurant with unknown crowds who are all focused only on the food — that is eating together under one roof with no introduction to each other.

Fine dining or premium restaurants allow booking of tables now. In some other restaurants, you are expected to give your name and wait for the table. I made some new friends in this process. You also change your order by watching what another person is eating. Dining and being served is a different experience of social activity and fun, particularly when you go with family, which door delivery will not provide. Going to eat in a restaurant helps a family develop a strong bond.

I only wish digital assistants will not enter the place and order on our behalf.

Vedsarvotham57@gmail.com