Field Notes on Restaurant Plate Envy
You were very happy with your order. Then theirs arrived.
Field Notes on Restaurant Plate Envy
Site: A restaurant table, four occupants Event: Arrival of the mushroom risotto ordered by the person to the left Timing: Approximately twelve minutes after the decision was locked in
Before the Dishes Arrived
The choice was made after a standard amount of menu deliberation. The pasta was selected. The pasta was described on the menu as: house-made tagliatelle, slow-cooked pork ragu, parmesan, topped with crispy herbs.
This description was good. The choice felt correct. There was a mild sense of having ordered well.
The Moment of Arrival
The dishes arrived. The mushroom risotto — chosen by the person to the left — arrived first. The mushroom risotto arrived with a visual presentation that the pasta's description had not anticipated.
The mushroom risotto was dark and fragrant. It had a quality the menu had not communicated. It was the kind of dish that changed the lighting at the table.
The pasta arrived thirty seconds later. The pasta was fine.
What Happened Next
The person with the pasta performed an immediate internal assessment. The pasta was good. The pasta was correctly what the menu had described. The pasta had done nothing wrong.
The mushroom risotto had also done nothing wrong. The mushroom risotto was simply visible.
The Technique
A technique exists: order last, see what others are getting, adjust if necessary. The technique exploits the information gap between first and last ordering.
The technique requires being willing to change your order after others have ordered, which requires a relationship with the table that not all tables have.
The technique was not available at this table. The ordering had been simultaneous.
The technique has been noted for future use. The technique has been noted at several previous meals. The technique is almost never in the right conditions.
Outcome
The pasta was eaten. The pasta was good. A bite of the risotto was offered. The bite was accepted. The risotto was better.
Neither party changed their relationship with their respective dishes.
Restaurant Plate Envy becomes policy after the second meal in which another person's order looks better on arrival. The policy produces no change in ordering behavior. The behavior was not the point.