Breaking the Mold

Not your ordinary restaurant, Sarah's Smash Shack serves up empty dishware with a side of catharsis.

Go ahead - throw it. It's ok. Hurl that glass across the room. Channel your frustrations, and throw it hard, so that it shatters into tiny little pieces. That's it - good job. Feel better? Here, try a plate.

The menu at Sarah's Smash Shack (www.smashshack.com) in San Diego consists of items like the "Smash Shack House Special" (10 plates for $35) and "Th e Bender" (10 shot glasses for $12), and diners are served a therapeutic way to release energy in a fun environment. Founders Sarah Lavely and Ed King provide the "Break Room," the safety gear and the breakables, and you can bring an iPod to give your destruction a personalized soundtrack. (We recommend putting The Off spring's "Smash it Up" and Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff " on the mix.)