Another to add to the trite food list?
This week Tom Sietsema wrote a feature article about tasting menus. He posits:

They tend to be too much food and require too much of a time commitment. ...

When I'm shelling out hundreds of dollars for dinner, I want an impression of more than the first thing I ate, the last thing I ate and the fact that the restaurant offered me a selection of salts from around the world. ...

In those and too many other situations, I felt as if I were there for the amusement of the chef rather than the other way around.

Reading reminds us of a scene from the food nerd-fave Ratatouille. Remy, the rat chef, is explaining to his brother, Emile, how to taste - in the foodie sense. Remy brings Emile some cheese and tells him to close his eyes and take a bite. Emile promptly shoves the entire piece of cheese in his mouth and swallows. Remy smacks Emile on the back of the head and says, "No, no, no! Don't just hork it down!" Seems like exactly what many tasting menu chefs are saying to their patrons.

Tasting menus are an invitation to slow down and savor food, to enjoy the entire experience and converse with friends. Komi, one of the restaurants mentioned in the article, has about one and a half seatings a night, which is suited exactly for such purposes. And if you feel extremely full in the end, it might be because your stomach has had the time to feel full, something you're less likely to notice when you're doing the overhand fist hold on your fork and shoveling it down.

Photo by LaTur

As for dishes that are too small, they should whet the appetite. Much in the way that the first bite of an apple is regarded as the best, the amount of pleasure derived from continuing to eat a dish diminishes the more bite that you have. Keeping dishes small captivates you and keep you wanting more.

Perhaps a more suitable thesis might be that the ubiquity of tasting menus popping up all over the city renders them trite. It takes a certain level of ability to create a tasting menu that is cohesive, divine, and worth spending three hours consuming. Choosing to eat from them should be reserved for special occasions when you have the time to appreciate them.

Small Bites
Dining Out for Life
Local restaurants are banding together on March 6 for Dining Out for Life, to raise awareness and money for a number of diseases. Many of the restaurants are donating 100 percent of their profits for the cause. So get out there and eat for charity.

Marshmallow masterpieces
The Washington Post is holding its Peeps Diorama Contest for the second year in a row. They're asking for scenes that depict historical events, pop culture, current or future events. Time's running out, as entries are due on March 2. I'm looking forward to the Hillary Chickton and Barack Obunny diorama.

First Tuesdays in Adam Morgan
A number of businesses in Adams Morgan are supporting some great deals on the first Tuesday of the month. Some restaurants are doing 2 for $25 deals on dinner, including my personal favorite, Bourbon, with their awesome waffle fries. Many retailers are also offering 10-30 percent off select items. Lists of business are on the Adams Morgan Main Street site. [via Express]

More on the pizza front
Edan Macquaid, pizza guru for 2 Amys and Red Rocks, is striking out on his own in Falls Church. He is shooting to open some time in 2008 with Neapolitan-style pizza and possibly a D.O.C. [via Don Rockwell]

Central lovin'
Michel Richard's Central is ranked amongst NY Times' reviewer Frank Bruni's top 10 intriguing new restaurants outside of New York. Congrats! Now it'll be even harder to get in.