Unpack your (culinary) adjectives
A few towns over from where I live, there is a spoon of indeterminate but presumably highly concentrated greasiness. Whenever I drive by this beanery, I notice the sign in front that has the words “Large Food Menu” printed on its face.
I always wonder which noun the word “large” modifies, and which of the various meanings of large the sign’s creator intended.
Does the eatery have a menu of large food — meatballs the size of grapefruits, cheeseburgers with the same diameter as manhole covers, omelets made with a gross of eggs apiece?
Is the term “large food” related to portions? For example, do they serve diners enough pasta to choke a horse that was itself used to choke a blue whale?
On the other side of the equation, perhaps “large” is a measure of the extensivity of the menu itself. Perhaps this seemingly unassuming slop house has a selection reminsicent of a place like the Cheesecake Factory, where the diversity of the offerings raises the inevitable question of if they offer so many different things, how can any of them be good?
Regardless of the application of the word “large” one thing seems certain: I derive more satisfaction from pondering the meaning of this sign than I ever would from a meal at this restaurant.