Table for one, please!

Photo: @nkeiruspeaks

After a day a long day in the office, it is refreshing to go into a restaurant ready to eat an appetizer or small entree. It is an extra bonus for me to add a cocktail. Okay, so after sweeping up my briefcase and handbag off the metro I walk into a restaurant, and the hostess politely asks if I would like to sit at the bar. Without hesitation at all, I quickly respond, motioning my eyes at her, table for one and a Ginger Mojito, please! She smiles and says, I see you already know what you want.

Next brings me to the point.

•    Ask for what you want.
•    Be comfortable within your skin.
•    Horn your intuition.

Restaurant service procedures are put in place for the customer to have the best, welcomed dining experience possible. In this case, I arrived at the restaurant one hour before closing, which was 80% empty. The hostess initial assumption was to sit me at the bar since I dined alone. However, with several bags in tow, I felt it would be an inconvenience both to me and the restaurant. Even though I was ushered to the far end of the restaurant its dim lighting and the opportunity to whine down and enjoy a meal and catch up on a few notes were a plus. 

Tip: Enjoy and savor one bite at a time. Don't hurry to get up from the table. Dining alone affords you the opportunity to write notes to yourself or read the paper between bites. Also, drink plenty of water between bites. Moreover, yes, if you are in the mood for a cocktail, try the Ginger Mojito.

Location: P.F. Chang's, Chevy Chase, MD

Selection: Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps (pictured); Almond & Cashew Chicken (not pictured)

Quote: Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.  ― Dale Carnegie