Debuting a citrus-cured kanpachi at 8:30 p.m., I got a request to cook it ‘medium-well for safety,’ so I torched the edges, plated it on crushed ice, and the guest smiled, ‘Perfect — raw enough.’ Do your menu innovations ever wander into these culinary paradoxes?
I add ‘citrus-cured, served chilled’ under crudos and offer a 2-second torch kiss on the rim — keeps it ‘raw enough’ without pretending it’s cooked (Schrödinger’s sashimi). Do you have servers pre-frame the cure so folks don’t ask for medium-well?
I’ve found that highlighting how we lightly sear certain dishes helps manage expectations upfront — like you said, it avoids the ‘medium-well’ request. It’s all about guiding their experience, right? Ever try using a bit of playful language in descriptions to steer them?
, the ‘medium-well’ requests drive me nuts too! I’ve learned to describe my dishes in a way that really sets those expectations, but I still get the occasional one. It sounds like you had a great save with that torching.