Adventures in Dining Out

So as more time goes by, I find myself eating out in restaurants more and more; pre-surgery, I was really worried about missing out on celebrations, get togethers and such. However, just like everthing else, I've done my research, read a lot of other people's experiences, and I've been able to adapt pretty well.

For examples, this morning after church with friends, we headed to a lovely little bistro for brunch, Cafe Europa. Now, in the past, "brunch" has meant a two hour baccanalia buffet with everything from biscuits and gravy to fried chicken. Oh, and bloody marys.

Today, I ordered a spinach and goat cheese frittata, made with egg whites, and got some fruit instead of potatoes. It was delicious, and full of protein, and very satisfying. And, I took more than half home for dinner. Best of all, the meal wasn't about the food; it was about three friends, sitting around a table and enjoying each others' company.

Here's what was left over:

Now, it hasn't all been puppies and rainbows in terms of navigating restaurants. Here are a few things I've noticed:

1. Waiters FREAK OUT if you don't want anything to drink. Usually, they will still fill my water glass when I'm not looking. Drinking with meals tends to fill up the pouch with water, so there's not enough room for protein foods so we're encouraged not to drink anything 30 minutes before, during or after a meal. Today at brunch, the waitress got all discombobulated when I asked the hostess to take my water glass when she seated us.

2. Pretty much without fail, every waiter or waitress has asked me a least once during ameal if there was anything wrong with my food. When you only consume about a third of your food, people assume you don't like it, no matter HOW MUCH YOU TELL THAT YOU DO. At a Japanese restaurant last week, after the waitress asked me three times if my chicken teriyaki was okay and I told her it was delicious but I was full, she went back into the kitchen and brought out the chef to aske me what the problem was. I think that they got a little pissed at me.

3. If you forget your boxed up leftovers on the table, as I frequently do, the waitresses will chase you to the car with it. Especially after you've told them repeatedly that the food was delicious.

4. Eggs don't reheat well.

That's about it for now. I'm sure I'll have plenty of other observations along the way.

Oh, and just for fun, here's a picture from Friday night at First Fridays in the Crossroads. It's a great art crawl that happens every first Friday of the month in the gallery district here. A group of us met for a cocktail (or a water, in my case) at Hamburger Mary's; unfortunately, one drink turned into a lot of drinks and we didn't make it out to see any art. But, we did have a GREAT time. http://www.crossroadskc.com/