Solo Eating

Last week, I wrote about an article that talk about 8 Travel Goals for 2013. One of those goals was "travel more by yourself." As I stated in that post, I love traveling by myself. One of the benefits of traveling by yourself is to determine when, when and how you do things. 

On the other hand, one of the downsides of traveling by yourself is eating solo. Eating by yourself can be difficult. People are looking at you in the restaurant, "wondering why is he eating by himself" and time between courses seems like hours, not minutes. On my flight home from Chicago, I browsed the American Airlines in-flight magazine and they had a great article about eating solo, properly titled Dinner for One.

In the article, author Larry Olmsted, offers some great suggestions for eating by oneself. My favorite suggestions he offered was to eat at communal tables. "For those wanting a little more social interaction, communal tables, where parties of one or more are seated­ together at one large table are increasingly popular. These types of tables are also a way to garner valuable insight on your new surroundings if you happen to be traveling. Communal tables are great way of getting tips on where to eat, where to visit and most importantly where to drink. I try to sit at communal tables or chef bars any time I can. 

Another point Olmsted made is that by eating by yourself, you might get seated faster than a couple. I agree with Olmsted on this point. Many times I have gone to restaurants by myself and was seated within 10 minutes of arriving, even with hearing waits for two tops is close to 45 minutes. This is not to say that eating alone will always get you into the hottest restaurant faster than others. Your Mileage Will Vary.

If you are thinking of traveling by yourself, my tip for you is to try eating by yourself in your hometown. Try eating at a sit down restaurant. The first time is always the hardest after that each time afterwards get easier.

Happy Solo Traveling~~~