last time you ate in a restaurant & other restaurant musings....

[Lady Florida.]

14 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

1. When was the last time you ate at a restaurant (defined as sitting down at a table whether inside or out)?

2. When was the last time you ate IN a restaurant (defined as being inside of a physical building)?

3. What restaurant do you most look forward to returning to?

4. Does getting take out bring the same amount of joy to you as eating in a restaurant?

5. Have you had restaurants close during this pandemic that you'd wished you made it to but didn't ever get to?

1. I can't remember but it has nothing to do with Covid. We/I usually don't eat outside because inside in the air conditioning is preferable. Probably a little over a year ago at one of the seafood restaurants in Port Canaveral. 

2. March 3rd. I know the exact date because it was a book club meeting - the last time we met in person. Dh and I were scheduled to go on our monthly date the following week but by then it was obvious we shouldn't go out to a restaurant. I don't think our governor had yet closed anything but a lot of people here are smarter than the governor.

3. A local Mediterranean restaurant. And seafood at a beachside or port restaurant.

4. In some ways it's better. I can wear what I want. 

5. I'm sure there were some but I just tried a search and only found a list from June and there weren't any there. 

 

[Lady Florida.]

14 hours ago, Amy Gen said:

 

I’m not really upset about not being able to eat in a restaurant, but I miss big parties with my friends. Pictures from one came up as a memory today and made me sad. 

So much this. My book club met monthly in a restaurant. Sometimes we'd try a new place but we had a few favorites as well. We're all friends outside of book club and haven't seen each other at all. I miss them so much. Zoom/facetime/Messenger are just not the same.

Edited November 17, 2020 by Lady Florida.

[elegantlion]

1. We ate Chinese at the mall (it's really good!) in maybe September. The food area was almost empty and social distancing was easy. 

2. July 3rd - I was not comfortable with how they seated people. Before that it was March. 

3. The Mexican restaurant that is about a block away. They have $2 margaritas on Wednesdays and we like to go and have our fair share, eat, linger, chat with the staff, then walk back home. 

4. Yes, we get takeout at least once a week. We rotate between our favorites. Except as noted above, I almost prefer take out. 

5. Two restaurants in our town recently closed. We did not frequent either. 

[Calm37]

nm

Edited November 17, 2020 by Calm37

[Kanin]

16 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

1. When was the last time you ate at a restaurant (defined as sitting down at a table whether inside or out)?

2. When was the last time you ate IN a restaurant (defined as being inside of a physical building)?

3. What restaurant do you most look forward to returning to?

4. Does getting take out bring the same amount of joy to you as eating in a restaurant?

5. Have you had restaurants close during this pandemic that you'd wished you made it to but didn't ever get to?

1. Mid-March 😞

2. Mid-March 😞

3. I can't wait to go to my local coffee place! 

4. Take out... no. I want to sit inside somewhere and be around people.

5. Not sure... I see some bars that are still closed, and I'm not sure if they'll return. I can't imagine they've been making any money all this time.

[Lady Florida.]

50 minutes ago, Calm37 said:

I have not been in a restaurant since March 8th when I visited a Panda Express. 

Oh, I forgot to mention dh and I went inside a Panda Express in late September or early October. We were clearing out the garage of our old house getting ready to close on Oct. 19th. There isn't much we miss from our old city but Panda Express is one. The one here is a bit farther than we want to go to be able to bring home our food still hot. 

Anyway, they were not allowing any seating indoors or out, and this was in a state (Florida) that was pretty much fully open at that time. They were limiting the number of people ordering inside, requiring masks, and all employees were masked. We felt comfortable ordering inside.

That was the first time we went inside a restaurant, even just to order takeout, since February and the first time I was inside since the March 3rd meeting I mentioned above. We either do curbside pickup or no contact delivery.

[SKL]

We resumed our weekly eating at restaurants some months ago ... maybe May, whenever they allowed them to re-open in our state.

So the last time we ate in a restaurant was Friday, November 13.

Take-out can be fun too, it's just different.  But we enjoy eating in.  Either way, we try to continue it in order to support restaurants through this mess.

I can't think of any restaurant we haven't been able to eat in that we like ... other than some Indian buffets I guess.

[rebcoola]

2 days ago at a patio.

1st Tuesday in March.  It was the last time I went to $5 Tuesday movie followed by half price wings at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Love getting takeout.

No restaurants have closed in my area to my knowledge.

[SKL]

6 hours ago, Calm37 said:

This is very judge-y of me, perhaps I shouldn't be so transparent? But it bugs me to see people post pics of themselves in restaurants when it's "too dangerous" to come to church where we have exhaust fans running, windows open, social distancing, and masks. There, I said it. Wow.
 

I am staying out of church because most of the people there are elderly, and it's more important for them to be there (safely) than for me.

I am not avoiding catching Covid, I'm avoiding spreading it to people with high risk factors.

I'm not sure why you should judge where I eat.  I posted one photo the first time we ate at a restaurant that had been closed down in a building we own.  I was happy for the owner, who had just opened prior to the pandemic, to have some business.  Imagine what folks like him go through every time a shutdown occurs.  Many don't have deep pockets.  The restaurant in my photo is a minority-owned business in a low-income community.  I want the business, the owners, the employees, and the community to do well.  So ... judge away if that offends you.

[AmandaVT]

22 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

1. When was the last time you ate at a restaurant (defined as sitting down at a table whether inside or out)?

2. When was the last time you ate IN a restaurant (defined as being inside of a physical building)?

3. What restaurant do you most look forward to returning to?

4. Does getting take out bring the same amount of joy to you as eating in a restaurant?

5. Have you had restaurants close during this pandemic that you'd wished you made it to but didn't ever get to?

1. July - ate on the patio of one of my favorite restaurants in town. 

2. February? Maybe end of January? 

3. There's a Thai place we love that I miss eating at. 

4. Yep - I don't have to cook either way. 

5. No - the only one I can think of that closed, closed their satellite location and kept their main location open.

[Calm37]

58 minutes ago, SKL said:

I am staying out of church because most of the people there are elderly, and it's more important for them to be there (safely) than for me.

I am not avoiding catching Covid, I'm avoiding spreading it to people with high risk factors.

I'm not sure why you should judge where I eat.  I posted one photo the first time we ate at a restaurant that had been closed down in a building we own.  I was happy for the owner, who had just opened prior to the pandemic, to have some business.  Imagine what folks like him go through every time a shutdown occurs.  Many don't have deep pockets.  The restaurant in my photo is a minority-owned business in a low-income community.  I want the business, the owners, the employees, and the community to do well.  So ... judge away if that offends you.

Nice, thanks. You just retaught me a lesson I've learned here before.

[prairiewindmomma]

23 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

1. When was the last time you ate at a restaurant (defined as sitting down at a table whether inside or out)?

late February

2. When was the last time you ate IN a restaurant (defined as being inside of a physical building)?

late February--haven't gone to outdoor seating either

3. What restaurant do you most look forward to returning to?

a beachside restaurant ---dh dreams about clam chowder in hot bread bowls and I think about eating local salmon--while sitting at a table watching the waves come in

4. Does getting take out bring the same amount of joy to you as eating in a restaurant?

Not really, but I'm super grateful for restaurants that offer curbside pickup. We didn't do takeout for the first few months of the pandemic, and hated not being able to support our local restaurants, but once the data showed it was safe, we began doing take out again.

5. Have you had restaurants close during this pandemic that you'd wished you made it to but didn't ever get to?

Yes, several.  We're back into lockdown, and I'm a bit worried several restaurants aren't going to make it.  We're trying to throw dollars at the local businesses we want to still be around post-pandemic in the hopes that they can stay open.

 

[Elfknitter.#]

On 11/16/2020 at 4:24 PM, prairiewindmomma said:

1. When was the last time you ate at a restaurant (defined as sitting down at a table whether inside or out)?

2. When was the last time you ate IN a restaurant (defined as being inside of a physical building)?

3. What restaurant do you most look forward to returning to?

4. Does getting take out bring the same amount of joy to you as eating in a restaurant?

5. Have you had restaurants close during this pandemic that you'd wished you made it to but didn't ever get to?

1.) I took the teens for some Ramen from a local joint a few weeks ago just to have the ability to eat outside and get out of the house for a bit.

2.) Not quite sure, but it would have been in March just before lockdowns.

3.) There's a creole restaurant that dh and I were only able to visit once. We had planned to go back and then lockdowns happened. If it survives, I'd love to go again for a date night/ outing.

4.) I'm not sure how to answer this. We did a lot of take out before the pandemic. Usually, no one wants to cook and sometimes were all too lazy to want to actually go out, so take out/ delivery solves those problems. 😜

5.) Not that I'm aware of, but there have been some local mom and pop businesses that I would visit for lunch with coworkers that have closed. 😔

[drjuliadc]

Last Wednesday, inside. I don’t eat out much because 4 small kids, but I would like to support the industry. I would not hesitate to go, but I don’t seem to get colds or viruses at all. My parents didn’t either. I had the flu once, when I was 7.  Only time I ever got it. I am 55. 

[Lady Marmalade]

I work in a restaurant six days a week, so we won't count MY restaurant for these questions.  😉

1. The last time I ate AT a restaurant was at a Chili's at the end of September when I wanted to take my college DD grocery shopping and out for lunch.  It was pouring rain and the options for dine-in were extremely limited.   We regretted that experience for sure.  

2. Since we ate inside, my answers is the same.  Prior to that, it was inside a Panera mid-August.

3.  I'm most looking forward to Panera reopening its dining room here.   I use Panera as an "office" when I'm mentoring the kids at work and I really miss it being a place we can go spend an hour visiting and eating/drinking with varied tastes.  They were open for much of the summer and their social distancing was fabulous- we could sit and eat and feel completely safe doing so.  I miss my office! 

4. Take out does not bring me the same joy as enjoying a nice meal out, BUT these days I'm so exhausted from work, that it is a great relief at the end of the day to be able to pick up a meal from someplace that is not my work place, and that I didn't have to go home and put effort in preparing. 

5.  Restaurants in my area have definitely closed due to covid that we wished we'd gotten to experience.  Conversely, because I know the industry is struggling, we've also spread our take-out orders around and ordered from several new-to-us places.   

[gardenmom5]

On 11/16/2020 at 4:24 PM, prairiewindmomma said:

1. When was the last time you ate at a restaurant (defined as sitting down at a table whether inside or out)?

2. When was the last time you ate IN a restaurant (defined as being inside of a physical building)?

3. What restaurant do you most look forward to returning to?

4. Does getting take out bring the same amount of joy to you as eating in a restaurant?

5. Have you had restaurants close during this pandemic that you'd wished you made it to but didn't ever get to?

1 & 2 . . . I remember!   October - Copper Creek Inn.  Dh and I stopped there on our way back from an afternoon at Mt. Rainier.  We ate inside.

3   Tropea?  Maximillian's?  - both are local restaurants.  We did take-out from Tropea in May.  Maximillian's is only doing a set menu, with multiple pick-up locations, which we have not done.

4   no 

5 idk

Edited November 18, 2020 by gardenmom5

[ieta_cassiopeia]

1. When was the last time you ate at a restaurant (defined as sitting down at a table whether inside or out)? mid-July. A vegetarian restaurant decided early July was a great time to open a new venture and I stumbled upon it en route to the supermarket on its opening evening. Due to a combination of zero marketing, pandemic panic, and the fact the pub three doors down was having its first Friday of re-opening (following a "let's take advantage of the lockdown to remodel" closure) I was the only person in the restaurant for the entire hour-and-a-half I was there. You will not be surprised to hear they decided to switch to a takeaway and collection model for the rest of the pandemic...

2. When was the last time you ate IN a restaurant (defined as being inside of a physical building)? Also mid-July (see above)

3. What restaurant do you most look forward to returning to? The one two doors down from my house

4. Does getting take out bring the same amount of joy to you as eating in a restaurant? It's a different sort of joy; getting to try food from places I wouldn't be able to visit (as well as some interesting takes on in-house meals from places that have never previously done takeaways). Also, takeaway is the reason that all the restaurants I know have survived so far, and why the only one that might not is one whose owners who have suffered a lot health-wise from catching COVID despite taking more precautions than any of the others.

5. Have you had restaurants close during this pandemic that you'd wished you made it to but didn't ever get to? No; I'd recently visited all the ones I wanted to visit at the time of the first lockdown. (On the other hand, I miss the milkshakes that got made while I was in board games club. It was in a church, but the church is closed - for any purpose - for the foreseeable future and it is not yet clear whether it will re-open).

Edited November 18, 2020 by ieta_cassiopeia

[strawberries]

1. When was the last time you ate at a restaurant? March 3, and it was a freaking Taco Bell. I know because it was the day of my yearly physical, where they have to do a fasting blood draw. I don't do especially well with skipping meals or having blood drawn, and I was so hungry/dizzy when I walked out that I just crossed the parking lot to the nearest fast food place.  

2. When was the last time you ate IN a restaurant? Same. 

3. What restaurant do you most look forward to returning to? Honestly, just the Starbucks on the college campus where my son goes for math circle. I like to sit with my coffee and book amongst a bunch of other people who have coffee and books.

4. Does getting take out bring the same amount of joy to you as eating in a restaurant? No. Takeout still causes a mess in my house, and we've learned that some of our favorite restaurant foods don't travel well. Sauces leak, stuff gets soggy, no opportunity for refills, etc.

5. Have you had restaurants close during this pandemic that you'd wished you made it to but didn't ever get to? No, but my favorite BBQ place closed. 

[ieta_cassiopeia]

Update: One Indian takeaway in my area (that I only visited on opening day) has permanently closed this week. Not due to COVID-19 or recession... ...but because a large haul of drugs was found on the premises and inspectors weren't satisfied with the answers the owners gave regarding how it was possible for them to be there... Permission to facepalm?

Edited November 23, 2020 by ieta_cassiopeia