Dining Alone

Wow! I expected one or two replies. Thank you so much for all the great suggestions. I had completely forgotten Criolla's had a bar. I've never been to Borago but it gets so much good press here I'll make it a point to try it soon.

Now, I must weigh in on the tangent. Being a solo dining veteran around here, I can attest that going in without a book is not advisable. I'm a chatty person and would definitely prefer to strike up a conversation with the bartender, sushi chef, or fellow diners...but the opportunity does not always present itself. I went to the Old Florida Fish House without a book recently, sat at the sushi bar, and because the sushi bar was so busy I waited 35 minutes for my food and the sushi chef was way to busy to make small talk. Uncomfortable in your skin is sitting in a crowded restaurant with a group of teenagers on one side and a support beam on the other, a busy staff, trying to read Bill O'Reilly's lips. Perhaps those lists are referring to people who try to read while they are actually eating. I never do that, because the whole point of eating in a good restaurant is to pay attention to the food.

Thanks for all the great ideas. If anyone else is interested -- I have found that Hurricane's Oyster Bar and Blue Buddha are both good places to go alone.

And I'd rather talk than read. 😀

You don't have to call the kettle black...

And SJ, not all sorority girls (or wannabees) are pathetic.

I travel a lot for my job, and thus the choice for me is to eat alone at a good place or feel like I shouldn't belong and eat in my room. I'm an academic, but I also love people--so like some of you--I bring a good book, order some wonderful wine, and a meal I wouldn't cook for the family at home. I've found oyster bars great places to eat alone (sometimes I read, sometimes someone interesting will sit down near me and we'll talk.) People watching can be fun too. But some of these so-called "rules" are actually ones meant to keep singles from eating alone, particularly women (who not too long ago were never supposed to be unaccompained in public spaces like bars or restaurants.)
So, rapunzel be "transgressive"--bring a good book, order a great glass of wine and whatever you want to eat. Sowal has wonderful places to eat--have at it!

Sounds like the classic divide between introverts (those who are energized by time alone) and extroverts (those who are energized by interacting with others) bubbling over into the discussion.

Mr. Mouse and I are both fairly strong introverts, and will often go out for Sunday brunch and read the paper while waiting for the food to show up, Kind of like we're having fun together yet at the same time giving each other some space.

If anyone wants to go off on a Myers-Briggs tangent, we're both INTJs.

I'm alone A LOT (my husband is a 3-million miler). So when I have an opportunity to be with people, I'd much rather strike up a conversation with the bartender or the person at the next barstool than dive into a book. I can read a book HOME ALONE.

If you can't understand that, I dunno what to say. I guess my supposed tangent was politically incorrect. But if the topic of the thread is "Dining Alone," my many personal experiences in dining alone, combined with recommendations for doing such in the popular media, can hardly be construed as tangential.

For me, the bars at Borago, Bud & Alley's, and Shades are great places to dine alone. There's always someone to strike up an interesting conversation with. Most bartenders seem to be flattered that their customers are interested in talking to them as human beings, rather than as automatons behind a bar. I always learn something interesting while talking to them.

As SJ says, we all don't think alike. Like I've said before, I know more people who agree with me on this issue than disagree. I can't tell you how many times we've dined out, seen someone alone reading, and one of my tablemates has made a comment about how sad it is to read while dining alone. So I'm outta here on this issue. As I've said before, slam me all you want. Whatever. I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

Don't get me wrong- I have had many wonderful conversations with strangers, bartenders, and strange bartenders. I bartended a couple years in college ( had to supplement the party income!) so I can yak'em up with the best. But sometimes you don't get very lucky in available conversationalists, so the book is necessary.

Sounds like the classic divide between introverts (those who are energized by time alone) and extroverts (those who are energized by interacting with others) bubbling over into the discussion.

Mr. Mouse and I are both fairly strong introverts, and will often go out for Sunday brunch and read the paper while waiting for the food to show up, Kind of like we're having fun together yet at the same time giving each other some space.

If anyone wants to go off on a Myers-Briggs tangent, we're both INTJs.

Myers was my prof at UF in grad school until I realized that an Ed.D. in math ed was worthless if I wanted to teach at the university level, so I got Ph.D. in math and then computer science. I was an ISTJ, but have become more ESTJ as time as passed and I have had to overcompensate for my extremely introverted husband.

Are you UF alums?

...
Poor rapunzel...she just asked a simple question!!! ...

Careful SS! Do we know rapunzel is a SHE? Could be one of River Otter's long-haired Hippies! :lol:

:welcome: Rapunzel!

Just this week I've read enough to teach myself XML, SMIL, SVG, MathML, XHTML, WAP, and WML.

Now Phay :roll: , I doubt that would make any lists for being pathetic. :funn:

Mr. Mouse and I went to undergrad together at Albion College. (small liberal arts college in Michigan, only Paula here has probably heard of it) then I got my MPP from University of Michigan, and he got his MFA from Michigan State.

Yeah, I know what they say about mixed marriages, but we have a shared love for Da Red Wings, so it actually works out pretty well.

Now Phay :roll: , I doubt that would make any lists for being pathetic. :funn:

Honey, I know boatloads of sh*t. People are amazed by this since I am a (subliminal message) blonde; pathetic is definitely not how people who know me describe me, fo' shizzle, my nizzle. :floor:

BTW I'm all about staying current and keeping my job (and, more important, group health insurance).

Since my husband travels a lot and both my daughters no longer live at home, eating alone presents a quandry. I do not like to watch tv and eat, so I often read. It is no fun to look at a plate of food in your home. Sometimes I eat outsdie and prefer to at restaurant where that is an option. In some restaurants, I enjoy people watching. Not staring, but observing interactions. Quite a variety of people out there.

For the record, Beach Runner, I don't mind people who want to talk versus reading a book. My problem is with you saying that people (you) think that I am pathetic if I am reading while alone at a restaurant.

Give me a break.

While on the subject, if you see a guy reading a book while dining at a table by himself in SoWal, please keep the talking to a minimum. My Mom says that I don't listen well when reading.

So I'm outta here on this issue. As I've said before, slam me all you want. Whatever. I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

BR, no one minds the different opinions. That's not the point. It was simply the way you stated with such finality that books + restaurants = pathetic. Perhaps you ought to have clarified with a "...to me." After all, one person's "pathetic" is another person's "perfect," as this thread so amply illustrates.

Different strokes for different folks.