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I will gladly dine out alone. What I won't do, however, is go to a busy, formal restaurant and try to dine alone as I'd feel bad for taking a table and under-utilizing it.
Yep. I'm one of the people who loves to eat out alone. I do it less lately because there are fewer places that I consider relaxing in my immediate area, but I typically take a book or a notebook and spend the time reading or writing.
I remember one particularly glorious night in winter before I moved to Colorado. It was clear and you could see all the stars. I had a cocoa at my favorite coffee shop along the Delaware River and wandered through the historical town I frequented, then went into the bookstore and bought a really cool book (The Magicians). Friday nights were always quiet there, and I went into a restaurant I'd never been in before. I was the only patron in the dining room, and the waiter was delighted to have someone to wait on and, you know, actually make some money. I chatted with him, ate beef tips with mushrooms in a wine sauce with mashed potatoes and read my book. I had a beer and then read some more. Oh yeah, I also had dessert.
Then I strolled back to my car and went home. It was a lovely evening - good food, good service, pleasant interactions with the staff in the establishments I visited, and a good book.
Did some people think it was odd that a 30-something woman was wandering a little river town on a cold January night all by herself? Who cares? They don't signify.
Would I have preferred a night out with my buddies at our favorite pub? Nope. Love 'em to death, but that wasn't the kind of mood I was in.
I do not mind eating alone, but I most often eat at the bar. I do not like to take a table in a busy eatery, but the real reason I prefer the bar is convenience. No waiting, seat yourself, and if I want conversation there is always the bartender.
I just love eating out alone, along with a book to keep me company, far more enjoyable than having a human being across the table from me.
When I look around at a restaurant, with me and my book, and seeing others eating with someone else, I actually feel sorry for any number of them! Some look bored, antsy, hoping the agony is over soon enough!
Dining alone (in nice, sit-down restaurants) was my self-improvement project in 2013 or so. It felt really weird the first few times, and I felt conspicuous. But I got over that and learned to enjoy it.
I don't like dining out period but I'd rather not dine alone unless I have to. Dining alone doesn't really bother me much but it's just boring and of course I don't like going to restaurants in general these days. Not sure why, maybe as I get older I've become more of a homebody and don't like to be around crowds.
I don't mind it, but whenever I've done it in the north or even the midwest (even when I'm driving across the country alone and just stopping for a quick bite at Applebee's), the waitresses make it very unpleasant for me. They either make me feel rushed, even if not many people are there, or they bring the food (and check) out extremely slowly, "forget" to bring extra napkins if I order something messy like wings, etc. Sometimes they'll take 10 minutes to bring out a glass of water! And if I happen to mention to a friend that I ate out somewhere, the first reaction is usually "who'd you go with?," not "how was it?" or "okay."
But if I eat out down south alone, they're very friendly, no one seems to care about you being alone, etc. The difference is night and day. The exception is Denny's I guess. No one cares if you're alone regardless of region of the country. But if you're on the road for 3-7+ days, you don't want to be eating Denny's at every meal.
There's a place I go to sometimes up north. When I go with family or friends, they'll bring out appetizers within 5 minutes of ordering. If I go alone (occasionally), it takes 20-25 minutes for appetizers to come out. If I come in alone and order to go, it takes 25-30 minutes, they try to pressure me into sitting around spending a bunch of money on drinks, and give me a hostile look when I don't tip for takeout. Yes, I have enough data points to support this disappointment. It hasn't just happened once.
I eat to live. I don't live to eat. If I'm hungry and it's time to eat, I really don't care if I'm by myself or not. I'll get sick if I don't eat.
On the other hand, if I'm home I can gladly make do with a bowl of cereal rather than driving out for a meal.
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