Dining Out

By Charles Tolleson
November 15, 2010

I have had many wonderful dining out experiences. Some of the best have been in small elegant restaurants that were quiet.

In the past few years I have avoided dining out, unless social duties require so, because I no longer have a lady to frequent those quiet romantic restaurants with.

Last night social duties required I dine out with some friends. As I expected the food was good but the restaurant patrons were loud. Americans just seem to think loud boisterous behavior symbolizes happiness. I could barely hear my friends across the table talking because of the noise. There was a group close by of 14 people, half of them children, dressed as if they just came from lounging on their sofa or playing in their back yard.

The noise was so irritating that I wanted to stand up and say, “Attention please. We will now have five minutes of silence. Patrons will not be allowed to speak to each other, only to their servers.”

I also wanted to ask anyone who was dressed inappropriately to leave. Americans seem to think their sloven attire and boisterous behavior is something the public needs. I doubt if a restaurant with a dress code could stay in business today. Does anyone remember going to a restaurant that required a man to wear a tie? I do.