Great food deserves great accessories

My husband and I went to dinner the other night.  Not a particularly fascinating anecdote I’ll admit, but it occurred to me that at this restaurant, not only was the food great, but there were also some great accessories.  By accessories I don’t mean my earrings, the flowers on the table or the cutlery and crockery.  When I talk about accessories to a meal, I mean the little things that make an evening memorable.  On particular evening, the accessories were twofold.  First we were seated in front of a large picture window that afforded us a great view of the comings and goings of the neighborhood.  Also, to my delight, we were seated quite close to a couple obviously on a first date.

I am a shameless aural voyeur.  In my opinion there is no better accessory to a great meal than being able to eavesdrop on conversations going on around me.  I justify this by imagining that if I were ever to have an interesting conversation over a meal, anyone around me would be well within their rights to listen in.  The fact is that I rarely do, but I digress. 

The couple on their first date were a little (read considerably) younger than my husband and I.  She had pulled out all the stops with her hair and makeup and he was hitting all the right notes with a great shirt and casual jacket.  The date was going well, with both parties working hard to convince the other that they were neither, crazy, high maintenance nor had any stalker potential.  As they finished dinner, he gallantly paid the tab and suggested they grab an after dinner drink.  To my dismay, they left before I heard the reply.  Had they looked up as they left the restaurant, they would have seen two faces peering down at them to see whether she had agreed or not.

Like all windows, the picture window at this restaurant, is a constant conversation starter.  I think we have seen it all from this window, as the progression of courses comes to the table and the wonderful food is accessorized with great conversation.  Parallel parking attempts command particular attention and my husband has been known to narrate with glee.  Those who don’t frequent the area much often won’t pay for parking for their five minute stop at the bank machine.  Those in the know will tell you that the parking officer seems to lie in wait for just such an occasion and the hapless individual is pretty much guaranteed a forty dollar ticket upon their return.  Dog owners who don’t poop and scoop have seen a friend of ours rush from the restaurant full of righteous indignation.  Fashion choices, both good and bad, can have my friends and I occupied for hours, prompting us to often order more dishes than is probably good for us.

So next time you go out to eat, give a thought to experiencing all that dinning out has to offer.  Don’t just enjoy your meal and the conversation at your table.  Let yourself enjoy all the conversations around you and certainly try to sit near a window.  Just be kind if the person trying to Parallel Park as you enjoy your dinner is me.

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