“Excellent choice,” says the waiter in one restaurant, casting my companion’s order of braised short ribs as a bold inspiration.

“Perfect,” says the waitress in another restaurant, and she says it after each person’s selection of an appetizer and entree, as if we’ve managed to home in on the only out-and-out winners in a tough crowd.

If we’d chosen differently, would she have made an icky expression, a sourpuss face? Would she have warned us that the squab tartare with candied jalapeños and a botulism emulsion was imperfect — and possibly ruinous?

I wonder…

–New York Times' food critic Frank Bruni contemplating the patronizing air inherent in "restaurantspeak." [NYT]