Here’s an idea: How about giving diners fewer choices, not more, when they go out to eat? That’s the philosophy that some restaurants are embracing, choosing instead to focus on local ingredients at their peak and letting them shine. At Montreal’s Restaurant Candide, for instance, diners only choose the main and dessert. Everything else is left to the kitchen. At hyper-local farm and restaurant Down Home in Markdale, Ont., the menu is comprised of only 10 small, considered plates made with seasonal ingredients. The end result? A cost-effective restaurant experience that diners are eating up. Read more

If you have a question on wine, e-mail it and we’ll answer a selection in the newsletter and on our website. Please share this newsletter, and if it was forwarded to you, sign up for this and other Globe and Mail lifestyle and arts newsletters.