I love tasting menus, much the same way that I'm a proponent of communal tables and hanging my butt at the bar, which is where I prefer to eat. And if I can get a tasting menu at the bar, even better. Yes, I like extended, evening-long meals, and, frankly, prefer them, especially when I'm not working.

I realize that many people disagree with that sentiment, and feel as though tasting menus are nothing more than ego-driven romps from chefs who care more about their own artistry and craftsmanship than they do about the desires of diners, but I admire chefs with confidence, chefs who advocate a sense of adventure - chefs, for instance, such as Kyle Wnuk, who creates a different tasting menu every Wednesday night at Marrow Kitchen and Bar.

For $25, you could taste the future as Wnuk's Wednesday night playground often results in permanent placement on a season's menu. Last Wednesday's three-course menu produced, I believe, three winners: Spanish whitefish ceviche with red peppers topped with fish roe on toasted that didn't cut my mouth and popped with flavor, Moroccan lamb meatballs with yellow tomato chutney on a bed of quinoa was moist and spicy and the blue cheese and fig cheesecake with vanilla wafer crust was out of this world good.

The price tag is a deal, compared to ordering three courses off the regular menu. And more fun, too.

WEDNESDAY TASTING MENU, 4 p.m. opening, Marrow Kitchen + Bar, 2717 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, three courses for $25, 253.267.5299