It’s no secret that menus provide diners with food and beverage choices, but some restaurants are ditching the traditional à la carte menus and spicing things up by offering innovative menus.

1. The edible menu
Moto
945 W Fulton Market
Chicago, Illinois 60607
(312) 491-0058

Hours:
5 p.m.-10 p.m. (Tues-Thurs)
5 p.m.-11 p.m. (Fri-Sat)

Not long after opening his doors and establishing his restaurant as a leader in molecular gastronomy, Chef Homaro Cantu, who does not use any paper in his restaurant for environmental reasons, invented an edible menu.  These menus not only tell diners what’s for dinner, but they are actually part of dinner! They are made using four lasers, edible paper, edible ink and are completely safe for consumption. Make your choices and then eat up!

 

2. The tasting menu
Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10010

Reservations: (212) 889 - 0905

Lunch: 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. (Monday - Friday)
Dinner: 5:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. (Monday - Saturday)

Diners at Eleven Madison Park were in for a surprise this week, when the restaurant reopened (after what was referred to as minor renovations) with a brand new menu. The world-renowned restaurant has shed the à la carte dining menu for a minimalistic tasting menu. The restaurant’s general manager, William Guidara, has said that the new menu, which is simply a square card with a list of 16 single-word ingredients, has changed to encourage dialogue about the meal between the diners and the servers. The serves explain the preparation of each ingredient listed and diners are encouraged to vocalize any changes they might like in the preparation of their dish. The ingredients listed on the tasting menu are constantly changing to reflect seasonal, fresh ingredients.

3. The secret menu
Fukuburger
Location varies (Las Vegas Environs), check online first

Hours: Opens at 8 p.m. (Tues. - Sun.)

If you’re on the go or looking to grab a quick bite, you might try out a different kind of restaurant like Fukuburger: A gourmet food truck. At Fukuburger, there is a small menu, but a large portion of their clients order off of the secret menu, a phenomenon in which restaurants offer unadvertised menu choices that customers learn by word of mouth. Our gourmet food truck expert Colin Fukunaga, co-owner of Fukuburger, says that some of their most popular burgers are actually named after customers who have come up with the dishes concept and shared it amongst the truck’s Twitter and Facebook followers. For more on Fukuburger and their secret menu, click here.