Younger diners are changing the restaurant glass, not just the plate. According to a recent report, operators across the country are pouring real creativity into beverages, because Gen Z and millennials now decide where to eat partly based on what's in the glass next to the food.

I find this fascinating, and a little funny. In Italy, where I grew up, the beverage menu was simple. Water, wine, maybe an orange soda for the kids, and coffee to finish. My grandmother would look at a menu of bubble teas and adaptogenic spritzes and quietly ask if something was wrong with the tap water. But American food culture has always moved fast, and drinks are where the momentum is right now.

Partly it's the camera driving this. A drink with dramatic color, layered texture, or a garnish you didn't expect travels on social media in a way a plate of braised cabbage never will, and I say that as a man who has written lovingly about cabbage. Operators know that a striking beverage earns free marketing with every post. Starbucks testing sparkling drinks, the rise of matcha in places you'd never expect it, the 'swicy' hot honey movement creeping into drinks, it's all part of the same river.

And then there is the alcohol question. Younger drinkers are consuming less, or differently, and restaurants need nonalcoholic options that don't feel like a punishment. A zero-proof drink built with thought, with real acidity and bitterness and balance, takes actual skill. It's the same principle as a good ragu: care and patience, not expensive ingredients. The best mocktails I've had this year were more interesting than the cocktails sitting next to them.

Function matters too. Drinks that promise energy, calm, or gut health are showing up everywhere, and some of it is nonsense, sure. But some of it reflects a genuine shift: the drink is no longer a supporting actor. It's a destination.

I'll be watching which of these beverages survive contact with actual customers. Trends that live only on the phone die quickly. Trends that taste good, that someone in the kitchen actually cares about, they stay. They always stay.