Saturday, March 23, 2013

Dining... With Reservations

I was going to start this by saying "Maybe I'm just getting old..." but, frankly, I think I felt the same way in my 20s. Basically, I've never been a "stand in line for an hour because you might like the meal" kind of person.

There are, certainly, things I'll stand in line for an hour for. Many rides in Disney parks fall into this category (although I *do* love a Fastpass).

I'll stand in line for an hour - or multiple hours, actually - to do things like get autographs from John and Carole Barrowman.

And, yes, the amount of time I'm willing to stand in line is directly connected to whom I will be standing with. And where. If I'm with great friends and I know that we can talk about nothing and everything for at least twice the time that we're in line? No problem. If we're in an intricately designed, climate-controlled holding area before, say, Muppets 3-D? No problem.

But if we're going to be shoved into the back of a restaurant where there isn't even an actual bar to belly up to, and we won't be able to hear each speak? Not good. If there's actually nowhere indoors to stand, so we'll be either outside in frigid temps or outside in scorching temps? Not happy.

All of which is my way of saying that I really like going to restaurants where I can make reservations and be treated like a "guest" when I show up. When I walk up to the "host" stand, I kinda like to feel like I'm being hosted, not hoisted.

Twice in the past month, Christopher and I have changed our dining plans because we showed up at restaurants which didn't take reservations, only to be told that it would be at least a 45-minute wait. The first time was at about 5:50 on a Wednesday night. The second was at 5:30 this evening - at a restaurant which actually says on their website that they feel it's more "fun" without reservations.

I dunno. I'm thinking that, unless places like those start adding fireworks or character dining, I'm going to have to say that their idea of fun and my idea of fun are very different.

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