Rant: Plasma Screens Must Die

Why we hate plasma screens in restaurants

By Jeff Ruby

Yeah, they're nicer than a clunky Magnavox mounted high in the corner, but aren't restaurants going a little plasma-crazy? We expect sporty burger-and-beer places like Hop Häus and Kroll's to have them in spades (we counted 18 and 22, respectively); we're even willing to let gastropubs like The Gage and Paramount Room slide. But sleek wine bars like Joie De Vine? Stately steak houses like Morton's? A Place with Roland Liccioni in the Kitchen (Old Town Brasserie)? Heck, even Punta Cana, a little Caribbean BYO in Ukie Village, has its own plasma. We don't care where in the restaurant it is; it's still a TV, and we say: Enough.

Illustration by Alanna Cavanagh

This article appears in the January 2008 issue of Chicago Magazine.

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