Application for Recognition of Menu Overthinking

To the restaurant's establishment,

I am writing on behalf of customers who spend more time reviewing a menu they already know than necessary, for reasons that are individually defensible but collectively amount to a ritual performed in the direction of a decision that was made before the menu arrived.

The Application

I have visited this restaurant eleven times. I know the menu. I have a usual order that I find satisfying and that is reliably good. I am requesting formal recognition that reviewing the menu for eight minutes before ordering the usual thing is an appropriate and valid use of time.

Supporting Evidence

The review serves several functions:

First, it creates a moment of genuine possibility. Before the menu is closed and the order placed, the usual order could theoretically be replaced by something new. This theoretical possibility has value even if it is almost never exercised. The review maintains the possibility.

Second, it manages the social dimension. A group at a table reviewing menus has a shared activity. Closing the menu early creates a small social asymmetry, as if one person has finished a task others have not begun.

Third, it allows for the discovery of seasonal specials or new additions. These are sometimes genuinely new. They are reviewed and typically not ordered. But reviewing them is the only way to know they exist.

The Usual Order

The usual order is: the lamb from the main menu, with the green salad. It has been ordered nine of eleven times. The two exceptions were situations where the lamb was unavailable, resulting in the second-usual order.

The menu review does not typically produce a different outcome. The lamb is ordered. The review was still necessary.

I would like this recognized as consistent with reasonable dining behavior.