Sneakeater

I think you should feel entitled, not awkward. Let 'em wait for their own table. ← Ditto. You got there first.

That actually makes perfect sense (I kind of feel that way, too). But you often see people asking the "suitable for solo" question about places that OBVIOUSLY aren't trendy "scene" places but rather are OBVIOUSLY food/customer-oriented.

Whichever way THAT cuts.

You can imagine how much sympathy those of us who are nearing fifty have for you for being a 19-year-old college student.

The best things about problems like that is that if you wait a while they take care of themselves. (How underage are you, though? If you look old enough to be seated at the bar, you must look old enough to order a glass of wine with dinner. I can't imagine most restaurant bars card people.) (Not that I'm encouraging you to do anything illegal, you understand.)

I, too, wouldn't make a scene about something like that. I only posted it here because I thought it was amusing.

There have been several recent instances on the New York board of prospective visitors asking whether certain restaurants are "suitable for solo dining." This has struck me (and several other New York posters) as odd. At least in New York, almost every restaurant is suitable for solo dining. Most have bars (and some have communal tables) where you can eat alone, and virtually none will discriminate in any way against solo diners in terms of seating and serving them at a table for two. The only exceptions I can think of are what I'd call the very-highest-priced blowout restaurants with limited seatings (I'm thinking of places like ADNY or Per Se), or perhaps some of the few remaining oldline fancy places. So we New Yorkers don't really understand the visitors' concerns. As far as we're concerned, you can eat just about anywhere alone. Maybe this is limited to major urban centers, which tend to have large populations of single people. Or maybe it's just that big cities tend to be more impersonal, or more tolerant. I recently travelled alone to Mexico City (obviously about as big a city as there is). It didn't even occur to me to worry about whether the places I chose to eat in would be suitable for solo dining. I just made a bunch of reservations -- including at most of the very top-of-the-line restaurants there -- and went. I never felt out of place. So I guess I'm asking about others' experiences. What is the basis for the misgivings that some people have about dining solo? Has anyone had any bad experiences? Are there types of places that people feel should be avoided? Why? Or are the misgivings some people have mainly misplaced?

I don't even wonder. I think places like that are inimical to urbanity.

Although what was weird is, I didn't ask. I mean, if asked, "what's skate?", I could see being told it's a member of the ray family. But if I just ordered it (or a veloute) without asking, maybe the assumption ought to be that I know.

I know people have said this before, but except for the major limited-seating blowout places like ADNY and Per Se (and maybe some of the fancy old-line places that still exist), I can't think of anywhere in New York I don't think is suitable for solo dining. I would say that, at the very least, suitability ought to be your default assumption. General discussion of dining solo in restaurants: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=87532

This is what I meant, too.

The thing is, though -- and I'm not talking just about Ditch Plains, haven't been there yet, this is just a general point -- that a seller's fixed costs aren't particularly relevant to the buyer's value analysis. I love pizza. I even love average by-the-slice pizza. But I wouldn't pay, say, $5 for an average pizzeria slice. No matter what the seller's fixed costs are. Your point is more an argument for eating in Brooklyn than a justification of Manhattan prices.

I had an excellent meal here last night. Almost superb, really. But what was notable was some strangeness with the waiter, who seemed to find it necessary to explain to me what each dish I ordered was, after I ordered it. ME: I'll start with the artichoke veloute. WAITER: That's a soup. ME: Yeah. Veloute. Of Artichoke. ME: Then I'll have the skate schnitzel. WAITER: Skate. A member of the ray family. ************** Do they get a lot of people complaining about what they get or something?

Interestingly, that mirrors my feelings about Dirty Bird -- another case of credentialed chef/restauranteurs charging premium prices for simple vernacular cookery.

I was really in the mood for roast beef, and figured Keen's would be a good bet. I wasn't disappointed. I ate at the bar and had the pub-sized "English cut" (as opposed to the larger cut on the regular menu, also available at the bar). All you can say about a prime rib is whether it was good or not; this was excellent. There was a very credible Margaux by the glass to go with it. (And, of course, a scotch.) Frank Bruni has many faults as a restaurant reviewer, but I think he did us all a service by installing this excellent spot back into our concious minds. This was the first time I've ever not ordered the "mutton" chop at Keen's. It was rewarding. Next time, the mixed grill.

For that matter, as I've said elsewhere, I far prefer a place like Ici, which tries and often succeeds at doing something unslick but individualistic, to Saul, which strikes me as a rather provincial attempt to create an undemanding but mellifluous version of haute cuisine. (I guess that's why I prefer the Clash to the Eagles, or Neil Young to James Taylor.)

Exactly...I think Lonnie's point was that some Americans have a tendency to demonize the French for this very reason, turning a love and appreciation for things culinary into decadence and gluttony on par with the late Roman Empire. Ironic, really, considering we're the country with the weight problem. ← Not to mention the current (or at least recent) retarded anti-French sentiment on account of differences over invading Muslim countries. Don't you remember the Bordeaux boycott, Larry?

Cocktails at Little Branch are less than $12? Shit, I have to start going back there more.

I'm not even gonna tell you how much of that cheese I had along with the wurstsalat, jager schnitzel, and dessert. I disgust myself.

I really want to know where all you guys are going in the West Village that you're shocked by $12 cocktails at non-dive-type places. I'm obviously living my life wrong.

I agree with this completely.

I probably should have sent this by Private Message, but I really love your reviews, FatTony.

Maybe they were leftovers.

Ooops. Sorry. Onikoroshi. (Hope I spelled that right.)

My personal favorite sake is Wakatake. I go out of my way to say this because it's such a refreshing change for me to have a personal favorite anything that's in the mid-price range rather than being ridiculously expensive.