The era of white tablecloths, free bread baskets and the ritual crumb sweep between courses has largely faded from American restaurants. Once shorthand for fine dining, starched linen gave way to wipeable tabletops and the efficiencies of modern service. Pandemic sanitizing protocols seemed to deliver the final blow.
But as diners seek more experiential dining — weighing service, hospitality and the feel of a room as heavily as the food — the formality of white tablecloths may be inching back.
At Santa Rosa’s Ca’Bianca Italian Ristorante, it never left. And if co-owner Karin Hoehne Diana has it her way, it never will…