What Things Should Vanish From Dining Rooms in 2014?

'Tis the season for year's end wrap-ups, and while that means a plethora of "Best Of" and "Top Ten" lists, it also means the airing of grievances. Morning News critic Leslie Brenner is doing her part over at Eats Blog with a list of "things in restaurants [she'd] like to see disappear forever."

Brenner's please-go-away-now list includes, but isn't limited to: the ever-present "smear of sauce on the plate," "menus where the dishes appear as lists of ingredients separated by commas," cronuts (and, we assume, cronut impostors), "red wines served way too warm," sides served in mini-cast iron pans, and "servers who tell you their favorite dishes without telling you what's compelling about them."

To Brenner's list, we'd add: servers who ask if it's your first time dining at a particular restaurant and then insist on 'walking you through' the menu (oh, this page has entrees, and that's the cocktail list? How different and intriguing!), braised short ribs (please find a new protein, especially in the summer), and the ubiquity of shishito peppers on menus (it makes sense at Asian restaurants — otherwise, it feels like the chef is just lacking in imagination).

How about you, Eater reader — what would you like to see disappear from dining rooms in 2014? Are you sick of kale, juice bars, or perhaps servers who introduce themselves by name? Air your grievances in the comments or fill us in via the tipline.

· Mounds of Crumbs, Sauce Smears, Cronuts and Other Things That Need to Disappear in 2014 [Eats Blog]

[Photo: Village Kitchen]