The Tasting Panel magazine

April 2015

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4  /  the tasting panel  /  april 2015 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF A Tablecloth's Lament Dear Mr. Restaurateur, What happened? Remember how you used to love me? I was the symbol of how far you had come up in the world. I meant class . . . elegance . . . a big step above the greasy spoon you used to own when you first started out. I used to be crisp and white, proud of my position. Now I am folded up in a box in the back of a storage closet, next to the cleaning supplies. What a comedown. Instead of bright white and fresh, I'm beginning to turn yellow with age. One of my buddies was torn up the other day to be used as cleaning rags. What ignominy. Don't you remember how beautiful and festive the restaurant looked with all of us on display? Now we've been replaced (if at all) by plastic placemats. Ugh. And what happens when someone spills a glass of wine? There's no one there to sop it up. What happens when someone drops a napkin on the floor? Where do they wipe their hands? Haven't you noticed how much louder the restaurant is without us to soften the sound? Doesn't the laundry miss us? Whatever happened to "fine dining?" Is it a thing of the past? (Maybe I'm over-thinking this, but I have plenty of quiet time to think these days.) Where is this all heading? Can paper napkins be far behind? –Anthony Dias Blue

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