Restaurant of the Moment: Zen Garden

I come from the school of reviewing that says that I should give a bit of where I come from so that you can better understand what I mean and how you might apply it to your own opinions. I'm a bit of a foodie so I'm guessing it was only a matter of time before I decided to go ahead and increase my * of the Moment series to include semi-frequent Restaurant reviews. Because this is the "first" forgive me if I over divulge...

I was having a bit of a disagreement on what constitutes a great meal or a "gourmet" meal with a friend of mine. I was troubled that there seemed to be such a wide gulf in our opinions when both of us had somewhat similar amounts of knowledge of food and food preparation. The closest I have come to explanation is that ultimately I'm something of a student of the East and he's something of a student of the West. Forgive any generalizations in my analogies, but basically he's a by-product of French Culinary Snobbery. Don't get me wrong, the French did a lot for standardized restaurants and the business of food preparation, but I think there are a few ideas they promulgated alongside their business acumen (and power of conquest) that I disagree with. First is the attitude that vegetables and fruits are mere accessories to a meal. Most gourmet Western food uses vegetables sparingly and generally only in side dishes, salads, and sauces; very rarely do you see a vegetable-centric entree. Western dishes so often focus on meats and cheeses to the detriment of balance and variety.

The second idea, and I find this seems to come directly from the business side of the expansion, is what might ...