I am not sure that this is something that others give much thought to, but there have been many friendly arguments amongst my dining compadres about the choice between a booth versus a table. If you have been reading the blog, you know that there are a few of us guys that go out to lunch on a daily basis and I try to write about our experiences. My buddies are all from my office, so we end up going to restaurants somewhat near our office. We haven't really hit any new places recently, so I don't have anything new to report in the area of actual restaurant dining experiences. So I thought it would be good to give you my thoughts on the challenge of making a seating choice once you are asked the question, "Would you like a booth or a table?"
My buddy Nick likes the booth. I am not really sure what John likes as he will do whatever we choose, but I suspect he is with me and likes the table option better. Now I am not totally against sitting in a booth, but it totally depends on the size of the group and the sex of the diners at that particular time. In my book, females as part of the group make a booth choice as fine, but all males should sit at a table if there are more than four guys. It is just a matter of spacing.
One of the main things I hate to see is a guy and a girl in a booth both sitting on the same side. C'mon dude, we know you love your woman, but sit on the other side of the booth and face her. This provides for the perfect opportunity to speak to her and look her in the eyes. I don't even mind if you hold her hands across the table, but sitting beside her in a booth with nobody on the othee side makes you look needy and controlling. I doubt she likes the option of you sitting right beside her versus sitting across from her. You see this move most often at Denny's late at night after a night of drinking and can be sure that there is action going on underneath the table. It's a cheap move at best.
When there are a number of us going for lunch, we are often taken to a booth and I am the first one to say, "Can we get a table?" Six big guys in a booth is not a good thing. There is no room for the guys to manuver and get their elbows going to eat their food. Additionally, if you ever see six guys in a booth, take a good look at the guys located in the middle of the seating pattern. The guys in the middle all look like little bitches. Whats more, take a look at the poor guys on the far inside. You know what they look like? They look like the bitch's bitch. It is embarassing. Nobody should be put in that situation. If six guys come in for a meal, the server should automatically know that they are going to want to sit at a table. Everyone has enough room to manuver and eat their food without being crowded.
These seating options are particularly important depending upon the type of restaurant you are visiting. If you go to Pizzeria Uno and have the pizza and soup combo, it is a pain in the ass to have to ask people to move to let you out to go get more soup. I feel it is incumbent upon the person seating their guests to be cognizant of these seating dynamics. A group of three should also be given the opportunity to sit at a table over a booth as well. Taking them to a booth makes one guy have to choose who he is going to sit beside and who gets that inside "bitch" seat. It's just not fair.
I know this is trivial stuff to many, but this is the kind of stuff that gets me all jammed-up and can ruin my meal even before I even know what I am going to have that day. I told you earlier in this blog that I am very particular and have some real strange ideas about dining, so don't act like you haven't been warned.
Keep this in mind the next time you go out to eat with our boys and take a look around the restaurant. You can see the people that are probably enjoying their meals more than others.
Eat, drink and be merry!
Harry
My buddy Nick likes the booth. I am not really sure what John likes as he will do whatever we choose, but I suspect he is with me and likes the table option better. Now I am not totally against sitting in a booth, but it totally depends on the size of the group and the sex of the diners at that particular time. In my book, females as part of the group make a booth choice as fine, but all males should sit at a table if there are more than four guys. It is just a matter of spacing.
One of the main things I hate to see is a guy and a girl in a booth both sitting on the same side. C'mon dude, we know you love your woman, but sit on the other side of the booth and face her. This provides for the perfect opportunity to speak to her and look her in the eyes. I don't even mind if you hold her hands across the table, but sitting beside her in a booth with nobody on the othee side makes you look needy and controlling. I doubt she likes the option of you sitting right beside her versus sitting across from her. You see this move most often at Denny's late at night after a night of drinking and can be sure that there is action going on underneath the table. It's a cheap move at best.
When there are a number of us going for lunch, we are often taken to a booth and I am the first one to say, "Can we get a table?" Six big guys in a booth is not a good thing. There is no room for the guys to manuver and get their elbows going to eat their food. Additionally, if you ever see six guys in a booth, take a good look at the guys located in the middle of the seating pattern. The guys in the middle all look like little bitches. Whats more, take a look at the poor guys on the far inside. You know what they look like? They look like the bitch's bitch. It is embarassing. Nobody should be put in that situation. If six guys come in for a meal, the server should automatically know that they are going to want to sit at a table. Everyone has enough room to manuver and eat their food without being crowded.
These seating options are particularly important depending upon the type of restaurant you are visiting. If you go to Pizzeria Uno and have the pizza and soup combo, it is a pain in the ass to have to ask people to move to let you out to go get more soup. I feel it is incumbent upon the person seating their guests to be cognizant of these seating dynamics. A group of three should also be given the opportunity to sit at a table over a booth as well. Taking them to a booth makes one guy have to choose who he is going to sit beside and who gets that inside "bitch" seat. It's just not fair.
I know this is trivial stuff to many, but this is the kind of stuff that gets me all jammed-up and can ruin my meal even before I even know what I am going to have that day. I told you earlier in this blog that I am very particular and have some real strange ideas about dining, so don't act like you haven't been warned.
Keep this in mind the next time you go out to eat with our boys and take a look around the restaurant. You can see the people that are probably enjoying their meals more than others.
Eat, drink and be merry!
Harry
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1 comment:
The booth comes more naturally to me, but Harry has conditioned me to go table during the lunch hour. We know this gets him really jammed-up, so we only accept a booth if our goal is to jam him up. And as Harry eluded - John will do whatever we want, which ultimately makes him the bitch's bitch in most cases.
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