By Tom Sietsema
Washington - No one wants a repeat of 2020, but a diner can find silver linings in some of the many restaurant changes resulting from the pandemic. Here are six shifts worth making permanent:
Cocktails to go
Bartenders made life more worth living –and bags of take away splashier – by pouring their craft into plastic pouches, glass apothecary bottles and other flasks. Added value: Instead of trashing the containers, some customers are re-purposing them as condiment or dressing jars.
Finessed hygiene
Hand sanitiser at the host stand and the table is the new flowers. Let's hold on to the reminders to keep clean. Some establishments are even making sanitisers chic by offering the product in cologne spritzers. Like yesterday's matchbooks, they make for good branding.
Take away from everywhere
Not just Chinese and pizza, as before, but high-end cooking, too, often personalised with handwritten notes, gratis sweets, even suggested playlists – the sort of fillips you might get when you eat in a dining room. Chefs who tested their wares for endurance learned what travels well and what does not. Wins all around – and a world more choices.
Year-round outdoor dining
Restaurateurs feared cold weather but responded to diners' desires with greenhouses, tents, igloos, yurts, blankets, fire pits and other heaters. Customers learned to dress for the elements - it's all about layering, right? - and came to enjoy the sense of community and shared adventure. Please, bring back B Y O B – Bring Your Own Blanket.
Well-spaced tables
Pools of space between diners might not be great for restaurants' bottom lines, but customers appreciate the elbow room and sense of privacy. Diners need to know that the safety accommodation is likely going to affect menu prices. Expect to pay more for meals. Also, say goodbye to eavesdropping.
Respect
Customers have been showing it – and restaurant workers have been enjoying it – as never before. In a sentiment echoed by many of his peers, chef Brendan L'Etoile says, "I hope the appreciation of the work we do sticks around." When I think of first responders, restaurant workers come close to doctors, nurses and others who tend to our well-being.