However, operating a specialized independent restaurant in Chicago brought unexpected hurdles rooted in local culture. According to Chayaluk, the region’s characteristic "Midwest nice" mentality often translates into an urge to overaccommodate and appease the masses. During the early days of service at Taan, guests frequently submitted detailed requests for modifications, ingredient omissions, and substitutions driven by personal preferences and dietary restrictions.
With a small kitchen and a lean staff, these constant tweaks began to take a heavy toll. Chayaluk explained that accommodating every custom request slowed down kitchen operations and service speed, negatively impacting not just the restaurant’s workflow, but the overall guest experience as well. It reached a point where the tight-knit team felt less like an authentic dining establishment and more like a fast-casual assembly line, drawing a comparison to Chipotle. The breaking point arrived when a diner ordered green curry mussels, but explicitly requested them without the mussels.
Faced with mounting operational strain and the risk of compromising the food’s identity, Chayaluk implemented a strict, limited substitution policy at Taan. She took to Instagram to clearly communicate the restaurant’s boundaries, emphasizing that foundational ingredients such as fish sauce and shrimp paste form the very fabric that defines their cuisine and therefore could not be removed from dishes that inherently include them.
This tension between rigid restaurant policies and sprawling customer customization reflects a broader, growing conflict across the modern hospitality industry. A decade or so ago, asking for menu substitutions was generally frowned upon and widely derided as bad manners. In recent years, however, operators across the country report that substitution culture is bubbling back up with full force, driven by a confluence of cultural and economic factors.
Several distinct forces have converged to create this environment. The proliferation of lunch slop bowl spots has primed modern consumers to expect a granular level of customization with every order. Meanwhile, the widespread influence of concepts championed in books like Unreasonable Hospitality has intensified an unyielding "customer is always right" mentality. Furthermore, the rise of food influencers and social media reviewers has made any pushback from restaurants—such as choosing not to accommodate a specific dietary preference—ripe for immediate, viral criticism. Couple all of this with the stark economic reality that keeping an independent restaurant afloat is remarkably difficult, and it becomes clear why many operators feel forced to give in to endless requests or alter their menus altogether, a trend also highlighted by the ongoing de-spicification of spicy dishes in major metropolitan areas.
Amid this landscape, restaurants like Taan in Chicago and Ha’s Snack Bar in New York—which proudly announces in its Instagram bio that everything contains fish sauce—are choosing to stand their ground.
A similar dynamic has played out at Lom Wong in Phoenix, Arizona, where chef and co-owner Alex Martin and chef Yotaka "Sunny" Martin experienced a sharp increase in modification requests following a wave of national recognition. Last year, Sunny Martin was recognized by the James Beard Awards, and in August, the restaurant earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation.
According to Alex Martin, the accolades brought a sudden influx of diners who were unfamiliar with the restaurant’s style and eager to pick dishes apart. Guests frequently asked for modifications or questioned why the kitchen did not course meals in a traditional European fashion. Martin observed that there is a prevailing European distinction of what an award-winning restaurant is supposed to look like, leading many guests to mistakenly equate recognition with a formal, white-tablecloth dining experience. The co-owners quickly clarified their identity to the public, stating that they have never operated that way and never will.
Like Taan, Lom Wong turned to social media to set clear expectations for their diners. They explicitly stated that the restaurant would not make substitutions simply to make a dish more familiar, and that certain characteristics—such as beef containing gristle or fish being served whole—are entirely intentional and aligned with authentic cultural context. Alex Martin credits Sunny Martin as their guiding light of cultural context, noting that she carefully evaluates whether altering any element of a dish would compromise its structural and culinary integrity. While Lom Wong permits minor adjustments, such as serving mango salad with shrimp on the side, they maintain a firm line against removing essential components like beef or shrimp paste from recipes that require them.
Taan employs a similar operational philosophy. To accommodate diners with genuine dietary needs without compromising the integrity of the core menu, Chayaluk ensures there is always a dedicated vegan, gluten-free option available—currently a substantial fried rice dish. She describes this offering as a catchall for guests who cannot consume other items on the menu, emphasizing that the dish is designed to be exceptionally flavorful and filling rather than treated as a mere afterthought or appetizer.
Behind these policies is a shared commitment to protecting kitchen staff. Both Chayaluk and Martin emphasize that establishing these boundaries is just as crucial for preserving their employees’ peace and mental well-being as it is for maintaining quality control for guests. Although setting firm rules has occasionally generated mild pushback, the proactive communication via social media and hospitality-driven explanations at the table have been largely well-received.
As Alex Martin explains, the approach involves kindly reminding guests that while the restaurant fully respects their personal preferences, those preferences ultimately belong to the individual, after which staff can steer them toward menu options that naturally align with their needs.
