We'll Still Lick Our Forks Clean, Thanks.

Ah, Phil Vettel. When the Tribune's restaurant critic isn't busy with finding bargain brunches or busting restaurants on the use of wine doggy bags, he's a stickler for a clean fork. Vettel writes in today's Tribune that in future dining excursions to restaurants "with ambitions higher than, say, hash house" he's insisting on a fresh, clean fork with every dish. His reasoning being that any restaurant that places hospitality over profit margin would not dare have a waiter or busperson ask if a diner would like to keep his fork for the next course.

We grok Vettel's rationale, but question the uniform application of his self-styled policy. Any restaurant worth its menu (even hash houses) places an emphasis on hospitality. But the definition of the term tends to change in relation to the price points of a restaurant's menu. If we're dining at, say, moto, we expect a new fork with each course without request because of the nature of the meal. But if we're just grabbing a bite at Cuatro, Eleven City Diner or La Fontanella, then we expect to either be asked or to ask, should we want a new fork. If anything, Vettel made us think about it, which we believe was the intent of the article.

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