In Defense of Dining Alone

For some reason, I am in the minority when it comes to solo dining. Most find it awkward and avoid it like the plague, walking blocks in adverse weather carrying take out or eating spoonfuls of peanut butter instead of sitting alone in a restaurant.

And while I do believe many a meal, even the worst, can come out smelling like roses with the right company, sometimes I find that company to be only an empty chair. And since I've started working the regular 9-5 and the last person I really related to on a social level left, I've taken the occasional lunch out even more frequently. Because there's only so many work lunches I can take (Though I am definitely not one of those 'just learn how to cook' zealots, who has that kind of time?).

Granted, I should put this up front before I start getting into the zen of eating. I am not, nor have I ever really been, a very socially outgoing person. I am a common mix of being an introvert and shy. I can get lost in my thoughts. I was one of those people who sat by the windows between classes, pretending to study but just watched the people go by. It's actually one of my favorite hobbies (voyeuristic stereotypes be damned). I'm also closely guarded about certain things. And, in all honesty, I'm kind of an asshole. Which helps keep people a certain distance. It's also why I'm kind of a 'shitty friend,' at least to those who 'know' me.

So all that being said, I still think everyone should, at least occasionally, eat out by themselves. It's a specific experience that you cannot otherwise get. For one, while no one ever really calls me on it, I hate the fact that I am a slow eater. One of the slowest, if not the, in my group friends. So I awkwardly sometimes concentrate on chewing and swallowing, just so everyone else isn't just sitting there staring at my half eaten burger while they're flagging for the check. And the converse is true too, I've heard fast eaters feel quite self-conscious about it, when eating speeds are just completely out of sync. So there's a point for dining alone.

Related, I think it's easier to enjoy or explore the food without either the aforementioned worry of social conventions in eating rate, but also just sometimes savoring flavors. It's sometimes seen as awkward for groups of people to eat in silence. It's seen as perfectly normal for one guy to eat in silence (in fact, if he were talking, that'd probably be the most awkward situation, at least for the waitstaff).

But there is a certain tranquility in being able to enjoy a meal completely in your control and power. And that can be calming in an otherwise hectic and entropic life.

I usually also get to indulge in my people watching, and if not, I usually get a few good chapters read in my latest book.

Although it never really affects me, some people change their orders from what they truly want when in the company of others.

You may absolutely hate it, some say they just feel self-conscious. But if you can get through that, it may just bring a peace of mind.
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I've got my eye on you

I've always been a fan of off menu ordering; it makes you feel...special, like you're part of a secret society that only those in the know get to enjoy. And this website is sharing with its audience the chance to join those ranks. While meager offerings now, I hope it grows with time. And that cap'n crunch frappachino sounds kinda awesome. Read More......

I love the internet

I used to complain that I wish more food came in edible containers.

My wishes have come true: http://www.crispycones.com/index.htm (warning super annoying music ahead).

It's like making a disgusting hot pocket with whatever crap you wanna throw in it! Read More......

Just What are We Buying Into?

I am not nutritionist. This is not a blog about health, dieting, or nutrition. I often eat like I am still in college. Or may never see food again. Yes, sometimes I just get hungry looking at This is Why You're Fat.

But this article has sparked numerous responses from the world at large.

And then I found this.


So after fads of monitoring fats, meats, carbs, anything in our diet, are just being cognizant of calories helping? I'll throw my hat in the ring and say that yes, we are moving toward a more responsible dietary standard.

I don't know this from personal experience, because in my youthful hedonism I completely ignore those listings.

Let me rephrase. That's not, technically, true. Since even before they were printed right on that fast food menu staring you down, there were stacks of cards, usually by the bathroom or some out of the way place and I would scan them. I once tried, in junior high, to construct the most unhealthy possible single meal at a Carl's Junior.

But times have changed. We are entering an age of ever increasing understanding of how food affects us, and especially an age of information, traveling faster and further than ever before. And the ever present reminder of the obesity epidemic.

The combination of these things will, naturally result in a cultural shift in eating habits. Of this I am sure. How it will play out, I am not.
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And speak of the devil...

this may put some of you off of burgers for a while.

I told you it can be hard to go on after constantly reading about our flawed foodways.
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In Defense of Food?

Let's be honest, I am a bad foodie. As I mentioned before, I am an indiscriminate eater. I like food. Good food, bad food, whatever. And in this day and age of Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman, it's hard to make the right decisions.


I was never one of those vegans who felt the need to fight for the plight of the abused animal, but it is really getting harder and harder to eat the foods that I loved with a clean conscious. The reporting about the conditions of cattle and feed lots should be challenging the status quo more than Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. The argument to move from seed to leaf eating is convincing. And the industrialization of food should be cause for alarm to anyone with a sense of taste.

But civilization arose, developed, and modernized, through specialization. We no longer spend all of our resources simply trying to survive. And one of the prices we pay is to let others specialize in a food supply.

I don't smoke, I drink in moderation (well, I suppose that's debatable), I exercise, I take leisure time. But I don't eat well. Food will be the death of me. Yes, I'll have the bacon cheeseburger and fries. Yes I'll follow that with a red velvet cupcake. And what the hell, you convinced me to buy three donuts for a dollar (though I really don't need it).

Except what did I eat? Corn. It's cheap, it's everywhere, and it's rotting us inside and out. And yet I stand idly by as it continues to dominate my entire life. Because...damn if corn dogs aren't delicious, from the golden crispy corn bread coating to the corn fed meat dog on the stick (though, thinking of that visual, i'll admit, is a little offputting).

It's hard to be into food. The more I read and learn about any aspect of it, the less I should, on a conscious level, want to eat. What is a foodie supposed to do?

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons"
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