Welcome back to reality, friends. Now that Labor Day has come and gone, we can all get back to real work, like making fun of too-cool Brooklyn eateries with undecipherable menus, foodie buzz words and confusing prices. Enter the Brooklyn Bar Menu Generator, which takes the guesswork out of what to put on your trendy restaurant’s menu. Just press the button, start whipping up hand-pulled water frittata and you’ll fit right in! I originally found this on Slate last week and had to share. L.V. Anderson writes, “I love the way each menu is divided into three sections, none of which has a heading, leaving you to scratch your head about the relative size of each plate. (Prices, ranging from $8 to $18—but unsullied by any gauche dollar signs—don’t do much to help.) But my favorite part of each menu is the way it alternates between elaborate, if confusing, descriptions like “Japanese pork belly jam with orecchiette & locally-sourced shell bean” and infuriatingly uninformative ones like “fig,” “sardine,” and “scraped kale”.”
Turned Water. A bargain at $8.
One of my favorite projects in design school was to complete the branding design for a restaurant, including signage and logos and, of course, the menus. I love a well-designed menu. Trendy menus, however, in their never ending quest for ultimate simplicity, leave much to the imagination…like what you’re actually ordering. Create your own ridiculous menu here.
Jesus.