dinner out

Last night my husband and I went to a restaurant that we can't afford very often. It is an environment where we always feel special, and the tone of the restaurant has always been pleasant and cultured. Last night the food was fabulous as always, but at the next table were five very loud uncultured men. One especially annoying man kept boasting about business deals and from the way they were ordering drinks and multiple appetizers, he was planning on spending quite a lot that night. He also admired a woman he could see sitting at the bar. He asked the waiter to find out what the woman was drinking, order another drink, and tell her it was waiting for her...at his table! After several messages sent via the waiter, it seemed the woman was a sensible intelligent person who was going to stay far away from the raucous individuals at the next table, but eventually she walked past on her way to the restroom, then came back and sat at their table! Four of the men suddenly had to go have a smoke, leaving the boasting millionaire alone with the woman who I was no longer considering an intelligent sensible person.

My husband and I tried to consider the next table as a vaguely amusing glimpse of an unfamiliar culture, but it was annoying to have this going on during what we'd thought would be a quiet dinner. We did overhear a waiter asking them to tone it down a little for the sake of the other patrons. We didn't complain, it didn't seem very couth to pick up our plates and move across the restaurant in the middle of dinner, so we stayed put.

But when our bill arrived... it was brought by the manager rather than the waiter, and he said, "we're going to take care of your check tonight. We apologize for the next table--they get a little out of hand sometimes, and it may have detracted from your dining experience." The bill folder was empty. He also gave us his business card and asked us to call if we had any concerns.

Wow. If we hadn't already been very loyal fans of this restaurant, we would be now!