Pro tip for restaurant owners and managers: Fresh ideas can get as stale as last week's dinner rolls and yesterday's sushi.
Just ask veteran Detroit food writer Molly Abraham, who calls out a trio of "Oh, that again?" touches. Her list, headlined "Too, Too Trendy," is at Chuck Bennett's The Social Metro blog:
1. Blue and white dish towel napkins: "I still like them, but at least choose a new color combination, would you?"
2. Craft cocktails on view: "Does every bar have to look like an apothecary shop? . . . There’s a reason why martinis and Manhattans are classics, and I doubt that such concoctions as the Pineapple Sheik or the Tamarindo Nut Job are going to join them."
3. Dizzying draft beer lists: "How many beer taps are enough? We really don’t need 37 choices, now do we? Apparently a number of establishments think we do."
-- Alan Stamm