A couple of months ago I was speculating on the fate of the small reasonably priced family-run bistro in the age of fast food. Like everything else, dining out is being split into more and more categories for marketing purposes. The newest rave is fast casual food, the slow food version of fast food joints. It seems a pretty elastic term as it includes more complex dishes, even wine, McDonald’s Feng Shui makeovers and Tim Horton’s Deli Trio sandwich.

At the high end, fine dining prevails. I always wince when I hear the term “fine dining” which sounds evasive the way “loved ones” - the original mortuary euphemism for surviving family members - does.”Loved ones” is now ubiquitous even in newscasts and sometimes accompanied by a muffled sob. This is a triumph of hope over reality. How on earth anyone knows whether members of families automatically love one another beats me and should surprise psychotherapists. Everyone knows that the true loved one is cute and furry with green marbles for eyes, and added value, the newest medical claim is that cats ward off their owners’ heart attacks. Probably because they don’t talk back. Actually cats could talk but they’re too smart to go there having referenced Saki’s famous story Tobermory where an American psychologist taught a cat to talk between luncheon and tea with disastrous consequences.   more »