Life’s uncertain, order dessert

January 31, 2024 by
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Everyone who has eaten with a group of people at a restaurant has encountered the following scenario: after finishing the main part of the meal, the server returns and asks “Did anyone save room for dessert?” People will glance at each other, looking for signs that someone else wants to order a sweet ending to the repast. Instead, there’s a refrain of “I couldn’t eat another bite” or “That’s too rich for me.” But secretly, most of the diners would have enjoyed dessert but didn’t want to be the first to order it. Food & Wine’s Darron Cardosa says we should abandon such inhibition and order the dessert if we want it.

Cardosa believes that “It’s time to embrace our confectionary desires and order dessert freely and with pride.” He pooh-poohs the idea of ordering one dessert for the table, saying that it is both unsatisfying and unsanitary. He reassures us that our friends are not going to judge us for it and it will be a benefit to the server. To him it’s a win-win situation with both parties getting what they want.

I am pro-dessert with a caveat: only if it is a good dessert. Too many dessert menus are uninspired and overpriced. Paying $10 or more for a slice of something I can easily make better at home does not appeal to me. I wish restaurants would put a little more thought and care in their dessert menus. It seems like they only include one as an afterthought, which is reinforced when few people order anything from it. If they made the choices more enticing, they would probably get more orders. They definitely would get mine, because like Darron Cardosa, I’m not afraid to order what I want.

Category: Antipasto

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6 Comments

  • inflytur  on  January 31, 2024

    Whenever my paternal grandmother ate at a restaurant she asked to see the dessert menu first. If she saw something she wanted she would plan the dinner around it. She was a fabulous baker but as always on the lookout for something interesting. I find that I am turning into her although you are right, I rarely find anything that inspires.

  • KatieK1  on  February 1, 2024

    If you’re so concerned about sanitation, don’t eat out in the first place. Sharing can be done safely to the extent anything is safe. It’s okay to share, it’s also okay to get your own dessert, or even to say no thanks.

  • Indio32  on  February 1, 2024

    “Paying $10 or more for a slice of something I can easily make better at home does not appeal to me”
    My mother gets cross me me for saying things like this.

  • Kinhawaii  on  February 1, 2024

    I miss this restaurant that used to have desserts as the stars & the rest of the menu was rather light, as in salads & small meals. I wouldn’t mind going to eat somewhere else after a meal for a special dessert, but unless it’s something like gelato, it can be hard to find.

  • FuzzyChef  on  February 1, 2024

    Tip: if the menu has the name of the main chef, but not a dessert chef, you should not order dessert there

  • fairyduff  on  February 3, 2024

    Take the lead from Aussie entertainer Virginia Gay. She orders one of every dessert on the menu for the table to share.

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