Laurel moving to tasting menus only

Laurel - Top Chef Nicholas Elmi's Franco-American salon on East Passyunk Avenue - is joining the move into tasting menus only, Tuesday through Saturday, effective in May.

The snug, 22-seat BYOB has been offering an a la carte menu during the week with the option of the tasting menu, while featuring the tasting menu only on Fridays and Saturdays.

But he reaches out to say that he has noticed that the demand for the tasting menu during the week has increased to about 70 percent of his customers.

"It really doesn't make sense for a small space like ours to carry a full menu," he said. "Hence the transition."

He said he and his team had planned to go the tasting menu route after three years, but decided to speed it up.

The structure and pricing will remain the same - seven set courses at a fixed price of $85 a head.

The May reservation book will open at noon Tuesday, March 3.

Bibou is making a similar move as chef-owner Pierre Calmels returns to the kitchen.