THE CASE FOR RESTAURANTS....

I have a lot of friends and even family members who like to get food “to go”. I NEVER get food “to go”..not even pizza…for me, eating “out” is all about (being) out…

It’s a way of putting oneself into a different space…a space unlike your own house, which may be nice and familiar but extremely common and static. Being in a space with other people, some you don’t know and some you might….the unknown quality of a visit to a restaurant..what might you see and hear when you are at the restaurant…who might you meet, or see. It is full of many possibilities. What conversations might you witness…just the watching of people as they interact with one another is worth the drive…

You are stepping into a milieu..one with people and music and energy…sometimes quiet with very low energy and other times loud and raucous….who would deny that Nobu has it’s own special atmosphere and signature chemistry? I have only been one time but I definitely know the difference between Nobu and Spruzzos…

I often go to restaurants as an escape…or sometimes because I want to get some isolation yet I like being a “fly on the wall”.

Think about it…you sit down in a seat…maybe you watch some of the Masters Golf Tournament on the TV above the bar....someone comes up and asks you what you want and a minute or two later you have a drink in front of you and in another 10 you have a full meal…

That is a luxury that I never fail to appreciate…..if it was just about the food…then bringing it home and taking it out of the plastic cartons and “to go” bags would be fine…but it’s not!

Clearly, when I go to a restaurant I am craving something different…I want to feel like part of the human experiment yet I almost always eat alone…that is my preferred way of dining (by far)..I see so much when I am sitting by myself in a group of others…with my very own table…I have little else to do but observe….it is even entertainment to watch as waiters and hostesses and bus boys do their duties to make the experience for others….

I love how you can have one type of restaurant experience…..like going to Le Bernadin in Midtown Manhattan …an elite 3 star Michelin experience…and then you can go to Neptune’s Net at County Line and have greasy fish and chips and see a cross section of bikers, beachgoers, and all around tourists in flip flops…

What would the “Seinfeld” show have been like if Jerry and the others got all their food from Monk’s Diner “to go” instead of eating it there in those booths…? In fact, many scenes in “Seinfeld” take place in a restaurant….”Seinfeld, Party of 4”.

Even when I go to a restaurant that doesn’t have servers and that doesn’t even have indoor seating I still soak up the experience. I occasionally go to Italia Deli in Agoura Hills on Kanan and I take a number and wait my turn…and watch the people, the energy, and the sound of wax paper being torn, numbers being called out. I watch as the Pastrami’s and Turkey's with cheese are assembled and I learn a little about people as they say…”Swiss cheese, extra mayonaisse, heavy on the pepperoncinis, no lettuce”---Now that is some personal info…

I think that when I go to Subway and I watch others as they have their sandwich “assembled”. In a few short minutes I know that the man standing next time me who I will likely never see again likes whole wheat bread, spinach, onions, oil and vinegar, avocado, and mustard on his philly cheese steak sandwich….

I have been going to Dodger games with my father since I was a small child..I’m talking hundreds of games over the years in our family season tickets (that we no longer have)…I still associate Dodger games with hot dogs and peanuts…Dodgers Stadium is as much a restaurant as anything else. I wouldn’t even go anymore if they didn’t serve food. People are constantly eating at stadiums. One of the most poignant facts I know about my father..a man who I very rarely have had any deep conversations with…is the fact that he likes mustard and relish on his hot dogs…I will never think of mustard and relish without thinking of my dad…

When I do go to a restaurant with a group, my family or friends...I love it because I know that sitting at a table is that rare chance at keeping everyone in the same place for an extended period of time...it's kind of like we are all sitting around a campfire...there is real human connection going on...

Sitting at a booth in a restaurant and taking relaxing sips of my coke or dr. pepper as I patiently wait for my order…is one of those experiences that defines my life…it always has….It is my (slow) cup of coffee….I don’t drink coffee but I have always liked how it slows down a person’s day. It’s like a “time out”.

p.s. Lately I have been going to the Park Room restaurant at the Park Lane Hotel, formerly the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York. The restaurant has a fantastic view of Central park. I seem to get the same waiter every time who has a habit of bringing me my coke in a bottle (they don’t have it on tap) and he pours the first half of the coke in the glass….then he comes back and pours the second half of the coke…

Priceless!