One Problem Solved, Bigger One Created… People who go to restaurant websites usually want to know one of three things: where it is, when it’s open, and what they serve. Though the first item is usually easy to find, on many websites the other two are often either well-hidden or entirely absent. I find this mysterious. Being coy about when you’re open is a strange tactic, as nothing else about the establishment is important if it’s closed when you want to go.
A restaurateur explained that some restaurants don’t provide online menus because if they do people might decide they want something and be disappointed that it isn’t offered when they actually visit. What menus are provided are sometimes shown unpriced for the same reason – restaurateurs want to be able to change prices based on the cost of ingredients. This strategy has a downside, namely that when people see unpriced menus they assume that the restaurant is very expensive. As a reader remarked recently when surveying one such menu, “I guess if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.” The restaurant in question is actually moderately priced, but had created a very different impression. The problem could have been avoided by posting a menu with the words “prices and selection subject to change based on availability of fresh products,” which is a way to both reassure customers that they use the good stuff and blame any lack of selection on someone else…
Event Alerts!… Kincaid’s Restaurant is now 18 years old and presumably can now vote, be drafted, and drive after 10 p.m. It isn’t actually doing any of those things as far as I know, but there will be a party to celebrate the achievement on January 27 and 28. They’ll be serving an over-the-top menu that includes oysters, diver scallops with a crab and lobster cake, roast duck, grilled venison, and fried rabbit – and a lot more, 10 courses in all. The cost with wine pairings by Far Niente is $150 per person, which includes tax and gratuity. You can see the menu on their website at Kincaids.com. This should be a remarkable evening of dining with an ocean view. Seating is limited. Call (310) 318-6080 for reservations…
Right around the corner on the boardwalk, A Basq Kitchen is having a beer dinner with King Harbor Brewing this Sunday, January 22, with three courses offered for $49. Reservations are recommended. Call (310) 376-9215 to book a table. Also that week, on Sunday, January 22, Chez Melange is offering a dinner with winemaker Ivo Jeramaz of Grgich Hills winery. Five courses with exquisite wines will run $90 plus tax and tip. Call (310) 540-1222 to reserve.
The First New Restaurant Of 2017… Nikau Kai has been equipping surfers from their shop next to The Kettle on Highland in Manhattan Beach, and now is feeding them, too. It’s a simple menu of burritos, bowls, quesadillas and of course poke, and what makes you imagine tropical waters like that Hawaiian treat? They open at 6 a.m. on weekends, 7 a.m weekdays, so you can hit the waves to work up an appetite, quench it at their counter, and still be gone before the city starts enforcing the parking meters. 1140 Highland, Manhattan Beach (310)-545-7007.
Any new places I should investigate? I’m at Richard@richardfoss.com…ER
