1. Dimly-lit restaurants
Maybe it’s a sign of the times. Or of our advancing years. But we really can’t do the candlelight-only restaurants anymore. Nothing creates atmosphere like deep shadows, or casts a warm glow to our faces like fat candles encased in frosted glass. But for those who have exchanged their youth for myopic middle-age, dining out in the dim can highlight all that they’d rather not display. Peering at fancy fonts by candlelight is rather an excruciating exercise, frequently resulting in diners throwing up their hands and asking the waitstaff for their recommendations. Which may be spot-on, but that’s not the point, because, when the food arrives, one could well be as hard-pressed to distinguish Granny Smith from granola. When it comes to the menu, the better restaurants frequently provide discreet reading lights—the not-so-well-off ones make do with a torch—but we just need someone to shed some light over the dinner, chef!
(This story appears in the 11 January, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)