Welcome to Ask Eater, a column from Eater Philly where the site’s editor Ernest Owens answers questions from readers on all things Philly food related (hype around certain dishes, dining trends, restaurant etiquette matters, food influencer crazes, service labor problems and more). Have a question for him? Submit your question to [email protected] with the subject line “Ask Eater.”
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Dear Ask Eater,
Lately, the heightened political climate has made me more alert to the disregard of minorities like myself in the food scene. I’m a Japanese-American who has worked in the city’s restaurant scene for nearly ten years. Like any industry, racism is flagrant here in passive and overt ways. Recently, there’s been an obsession with white-owned restaurants hijacking the language of Japanese culture to sell their menu. One spot recently called their sandwich event a “sammiekase” as a play on an omakase – which is actually a specific Japanese dining experience. Such trends seek to make a mockery of my culture without actually involving people who look like me in the process.
Are Philly chefs committing cultural appropriation when they do this, or am I overreacting?
Thanks,
A Philly Food Pro
Dear A Philly Food Pro,
First things first: Don’t ever question your legitimate feelings as a person of color in an industry that’s not been fairly inclusive and equitable towards you. Your concerns are valid, whether others might find them trivial.
Now to the issue at hand: Cultural appropriation is defined by Britannica as “when members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way.”
A white-owned restaurant in America belongs to a member of the majority group. By adopting cultural elements from Japan – a minority group in America – in a way that can be exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical to a Japanese-American like yourself arguably fits the description of cultural appropriation.
The frustration you’re feeling is rooted in inequity. You’ve experienced racism in an industry where you’re underrepresented. And to make matters worse, the dominant population within said industry is profiting off of the coolness of your culture on top of it. We see this often during Cinco De Mayo, when white-owned restaurants will play into Mexican stereotypes (performative uses of sombrero hats, cringy margarita names in faux Spanish, and Mariachi music) in an industry where there’s also a lack of proper Latinx representation any other time. This is about power and the lack of proper redistribution of said power to those who feel disempowered. Continue to share your experiences with those you trust who can either speak up or amplify your concerns. Nothing changes in silence.
Ernest
Dear Ask Eater,
Once a year, I go to one of my favorite restaurants to eat in Rittenhouse around my birthday. When I tried to make a reservation online, they wanted to charge me the full amount upfront. I was baffled because the price was for their prix fixe menu — and it wasn’t anything cheap.
It’s a popular restaurant, so I doubt they will be missing out – but it’s wild that they are trying to shake me down before I walk in. Why would they do something like this?
Regards,
Upset Birthday Boy
Dear Upset Birthday Boy,
I get it, but I would like you to consider this from the perspective of said popular restaurant.
Imagine being so popular that it’s hard for anyone to easily grab a reservation if you made it free to do so. To add insult to injury, with free reservations comes easy access for people to drop out last minute — causing your restaurant to lose tables (read: money) and be inconvenienced.
So now, you choose to make diners pay upfront for a dinner that they will more than likely love — and also slow down the rapid reservation process because people will need to think before they drop out. Now, the opportunity is more accessible for diners who might have missed out if the reservations were free. The risk of drop-outs are now less frequent for said popular restaurant and they can continue to thrive under these economically shaky times in the industry.
Welcome to the new world of dining in 2024.
Restaurants, big and small, are testing new things to stay afloat. This is a trend for several acclaimed restaurants who see their reservations run out fast — but run the risk of losing business when people cancel at the last minute. If this is one of your favorite restaurants, my best advice is to simply plan ahead — especially for a special occasion like your birthday.
Ernest
Dear Ask Eater,
I’m a dinner party girl and wine and dine with my girlfriends twice a month. Over the summer, we’ve noticed that restaurants have been trying to force us to get a prix-fixe menu for our group. It’s normally 8 to 10 of us, and while I understand that they want to ensure they make money — it’s killing the mood that we can’t mix it up like we used to.
How do we best convince these restaurants to let us slide on this silly policy?
Thanks,
Dinner Party Queen
Dear Dinner Party Queen,
Respectfully, this isn’t how any of this works.
No, seriously. Next to a diner who dines-and-dashes, an unruly large party is a restaurant’s nightmare.
Put yourself in the seat of a server. Not everyone wants to manage a dozen different orders on a busy night. On top of that, mandating that everyone partakes in a prix-fixe dining experience ensures that it is worth it for the restaurant — because nobody wants to deal with splitting a bill from a mix of steak eaters and “I just ordered the salad” folks.
Your best bet is for your group to dine at more intimate spots where you can avoid such policies – but you can forget about trying to “slide” past restaurants that enforce group prix-fixe menus. They are there for a reason.
Ernest
