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Dining solo

chefmd

By chefmd
in Food Traditions & Culture

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chefmd

chefmd

Posted
Posted

I am very jealous of @Kerry Beal and @Anna N friendship, mutual interest in food, and Ladies Who Linch adventures.  I am not a lady LOL!  If I eat out, it is usually with my husband or son.  So not too many opportunities for ladies lunches for me.

 

Lately I was offered by my managing partner to take every other Wednesday off.  And Wednesdays off come with solo lunches.  I am sure that other people on eGullet eat alone as well.  Let’s share our adventures.

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chefmd

chefmd

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Lunch at Michelin starred Sushi Taro in DC is way cheaper than dinner.  Ten pieces of sublime nigiri, fatty tuna roll, miso soup, two small side dishes for 49 dollars.

763661BA-247A-4761-BA68-3E6D5DC64923.thumb.jpeg.916b1c71c77ce1dc8d6c472641c95ab0.jpeg

 

Crunchy cereal milk shake from Milk Bar of Momofuku fame, calories be damned.  Politically correct paper straw.

4E11C03D-468F-48AB-958E-2F11D832EF02.jpeg.b215a3c6bc910bcd8087a8473a92e4c8.jpeg

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kayb

kayb

Posted
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One of my favorite lunches alone wound up not being alone. I was on the road, headed to my daughter's, and stopped for lunch at a very popular spot that had a short wait. When they were ready to seat me, I told the guy behind me, who was also alone, that I'd be happy to share my table. He took me up on it, and we had a delightful lunch conversation. Turned out he had worked until retirement with a guy I'd gone to high school with. I love small-world stories, and I'm convinced there's one every time two strangers meet in the South.

 

A lot of people, I guess particularly women, don't like to dine out alone. It's never bothered me. I generally have my Kindle with me, if the people-watching proves insufficient.

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Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

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Kim Shook

Kim Shook

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I adore dining out alone!  I am almost never without a book and sitting enjoying a meal and reading is my idea of heaven.  Since I quit smoking 9 weeks ago, I am missing the end of meal light up as soon as I leave the restaurant, but I'm getting used to it.  Most of my lunches out are guilty pleasures (buffets, meat and 3 joints, etc.), but I'll be happy to play!

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Kim

Kim's Cookbook

What Fresh Hell is This?

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ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
35 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

I adore dining out alone!  I am almost never without a book and sitting enjoying a meal and reading is my idea of heaven.  Since I quit smoking 9 weeks ago, I am missing the end of meal light up as soon as I leave the restaurant, but I'm getting used to it.  Most of my lunches out are guilty pleasures (buffets, meat and 3 joints, etc.), but I'll be happy to play!

 

Joints?  Maybe it's not what I'm thinking?

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pastrygirl

pastrygirl

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1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

I adore dining out alone!  I am almost never without a book and sitting enjoying a meal and reading is my idea of heaven.  Since I quit smoking 9 weeks ago, I am missing the end of meal light up as soon as I leave the restaurant, but I'm getting used to it.  Most of my lunches out are guilty pleasures (buffets, meat and 3 joints, etc.), but I'll be happy to play!

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

 

Joints?  Maybe it's not what I'm thinking?

 

I can't do more than 2 joints at lunch or I'm useless 😂

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heidih

heidih

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I enjoy it. There are days when people  become annoying. My best, as mentioned above.  was alone but in a tight seating arrangement. I ended up sharng with the tipsy couple adjacent. They were wine brokers and had been to a baker's dozen tasting. In quite a good mood. They ordered a ton of food and shared as did I. At Cochon in New Orleans.  https://cochonrestaurant.com/

Edited by heidih (log)
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Kim Shook

Kim Shook

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My first post in this topic.  I planned to go to Popeye's for a chicken sandwich (rumour has it that they are back again in our area), but so did every construction worker in the county.  So, I decided to try out a place that I've been wanting to go to for a long time.  It is called Skrimp Shack.  It is a semi-local family owned chain.  It started in Newport News VA (about 75 miles away from us) and the chain is mostly in VA and NC.  I ordered the lunch shrimp (am boycotting the whole "skrimp" pronunciation) and haddock with a drink and mac n cheese.  It was just over $10.  

fish.jpg.c12f29cb0e2ff0fc60e21ad23bfe87c5.jpg  

I was really pleased.  The shrimp were very big and I couldn't finish the fish, the serving was so large.  Same with the really, really good mac n cheese.  The tartar sauce and cocktail sauces were their brand and in sealed pouches and very, very good.  I was happy about that.  I'm always surprised and disappointed in FISH restaurants that serve rubbish sauces.  I had a good book and a topic I started in FB was blowing up with friends/family on opposite sides having at each other.  😁🤣😊

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Kim

Kim's Cookbook

What Fresh Hell is This?

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Tri2Cook

Tri2Cook

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Posted

I have zero problem with dining solo but there are also pretty much zero restaurants locally I find enticing enough to want to bother very often. So I doubt I'll have much to contribute but I'll follow along and be jealous of what others have available in their area. :D

One of my favorite movie scenes on the subject.

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It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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acookinthecreuse

acookinthecreuse

Posted
Posted

I've often had to dine alone when travelling. On the one hand, I enjoy the experience because I love eating out in new cities or countries. On the other hand, I find that the stares of other diners and sometimes the attitude of restaurant staff can be a bit off putting. I think this is something I've only really experienced when dining alone in Europe. 

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Kim Shook

Kim Shook

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1 hour ago, acookinthecreuse said:

I've often had to dine alone when travelling. On the one hand, I enjoy the experience because I love eating out in new cities or countries. On the other hand, I find that the stares of other diners and sometimes the attitude of restaurant staff can be a bit off putting. I think this is something I've only really experienced when dining alone in Europe. 

I can honestly say that I've never felt "funny" dining anywhere alone in the US.  Of course that only includes DC, VA, MD, NC, SC, NYC, FL, IN, and Chicago.  I've also never dined alone at a truly upscale restaurant.  

Kim

Kim's Cookbook

What Fresh Hell is This?

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chefmd

chefmd

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12 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:

I have zero problem with dining solo but there are also pretty much zero restaurants locally I find enticing enough to want to bother very often. So I doubt I'll have much to contribute but I'll follow along and be jealous of what others have available in their area. :D

One of my favorite movie scenes on the subject.

Love that movie scene!

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Allura

Allura

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I've been traveling more for work lately (no place exciting, alas), so I've gotten used to eating solo. I'll admit that I have started picking hotels with a restaurant because sometimes I don't want to deal with going out, and hotel restaurants understand solo diners better. But I bring something to read on my tablet and I don't really care what it looks like. I'm a generous tipper, and while I don't drink, I usually have an app or dessert. I did have one place where the hostess was kind of rude, but someone senior to her realized it and corrected. I've never had an issue with waitstaff. Then again, all my trips are in the US. 

(Edit) Here's some German food from Hildegard's in Huntsville, AL. The photography is lousy (cell phone and I was sitting outside), but the food was tasty. 

 

9723.thumb.jpeg.662ca01252bc82a89eed194ab9a4b409.jpeg

Edited by Allura (log)
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Joanna G. Hurley

"Civilization means food and literature all round." -Aldous Huxley

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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have no problems with eating solo. I do much of my travelling alone and have eaten solo in many countries. It's when I'm home in China that I have problems.

 

Chinese food is usually served family style and the better restaurants are only equipped with tables sitting large groups. This means that I often feel restricted to smaller, more simple places, not that I mind them, but sometimes I want something a bit more elevated. Fortunately my friends are hungry people so I get to go to better places sometimes.

 

A couple of days ago,  I posted a lunch served in a restaurant I had wanted to visit for a long time, but no one else wanted to go with me to that particular restaurant. It made no sense for me to go by myself as the smallest dish they do is for four people.  Luckily this week, I finally found some companions  who were happy to eat there.

I have found southeast Asian countries better for solo eating. Especially Vietnam.

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

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  • 1 month later...
chefmd

chefmd

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Hotel breakfast.  Eggs Benedict and potatoes that were good.  Grilled asparagus and fruit cup that appear to be from yesterday’s buffet offerings.  And why does one need ketchup with this?

39E9BD27-FA82-45FC-849A-9D0422B4E2DD.thumb.jpeg.2796c92b2b1620d8c56803fac0357f90.jpeg

 

 

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blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

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27 minutes ago, chefmd said:

Hotel breakfast.  Eggs Benedict and potatoes that were good.  Grilled asparagus and fruit cup that appear to be from yesterday’s buffet offerings.  And why does one need ketchup with this?

 

I am not among them but there is a certain percentage of the US population who expect ketchup with any fried potato.  Same goes for eggs - any eggs.  

Don't send them to Father's Office.  Sang Yoon is opening his third location.  Still no ketchup 🙃

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haresfur

haresfur

Posted
Posted
On 11/21/2019 at 1:41 PM, Kim Shook said:

I adore dining out alone!  I am almost never without a book and sitting enjoying a meal and reading is my idea of heaven.  Since I quit smoking 9 weeks ago, I am missing the end of meal light up as soon as I leave the restaurant, but I'm getting used to it.  Most of my lunches out are guilty pleasures (buffets, meat and 3 joints, etc.), but I'll be happy to play!

 

A book is useful for dining alone so that the people at the next table don't notice that you are listening in on their conversation

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It's almost never bad to feed someone.

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gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted

Dining alone at breakfast is a requirement.  When I'm away at a meeting I look for a place to hide. Nothing worse than some annoying extrovert sitting down and being friendly before I've had several coffees.

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blbst36

blbst36

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Posted

Late to the party, but I almost always dine alone!  I'll have to start posting here.  Does take out count?  I don't sit in restaurants right now.  If so, I have some meals I can share already :) 

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