Tasting Menu vs. Prix Fixe: Just Semantics?

Last week, Craig LaBan filed a one-bell review of Restaurant Cerise, a prix fixe-only BYOB in Bryn Mawr. One of his issues was that his meals lacked the necessary excitement for the multi-course format. (Other issues, which may have carried even more weight, included multiple technical missteps and a general dearth of baguettes.)

Last night, Cerise owners Ben and Elena Thomas released a response to the lackluster review on their website and Facebook page. While they graciously accepted critiques about details like service and noise, they took some issue with LaBan's categorizing theirs as a "tasting menu," when their vision for the restaurant is more of a cozy neighborhood bistro in the European style, serving a set menu of delicious but largely classic dishes.

Eater shared the response from Cerise earlier today, leading to this thought from LaBan on Twitter:

.@CeriseBYOB can debate semantics but misses major point: food needs 2 be cooked better to be worth multi-course commitment @EaterPhilly

— Craig LaBan (@CraigLaBan) February 5, 2014

Now, without wanting to blow anything out of proportion (clearly there were other problems with his meals at Cerise beyond the menu format; meanwhile, the review wasn't even particularly bad taken as a whole), Eater still finds the Cerise-penned response interesting and wants to know what you think about the review and these particular "semantics." (As always, consider the comments section below to be your "other" box.)