Anticipation is a big part of enjoying a meal. There is a growing trend, however, born of the farm-to-table movement, to open restaurants that don’t have set menus. Instead, some chef-driven eateries go to market on a daily basis to choose the best provisions and produce available, orchestrating a nightly fantasia reflecting the improvisational skills of the chef.
Patronizing such a place requires deep trust in the chef. No matter what the chef envisions and executes, patrons must give themselves over to it. From an emotional standpoint, diners relinquish their power of expectation. And so, rather than anticipate what you might dine on, your expectation becomes the willingness to be surprised.
If you’re willing, consider two restaurants created by husband and wife teams that have morphed over time into culinary meccas: Coolinary and the Parched Pig (originally Coolinary Café) on Donald Ross Blvd. ibn Palm Beach Gardens and Oceano Kitchen, which relocated from Lantana to Lake Worth Beach. Reservations become more precious as their reputations grow.
Find Coolinary on Google Reservations and Oceano on Resy. Keep in mind that menus change all the time depending on what’s freshest, and don’t rely on menus posted on web sites because menus change faster than webmasters can post them.
