Dinner For One

I finally got out of my funk and went out a bit this weekend.

I went to one of my favorite hotel bars - The St. Regis Hotel for a night cap. I treated myself first to dinner at One Midtown Kitchen, but trust me that was not memorable. I was blessed with one of those non-personable bartenders  that but for the food I would have sworn off coming back there. It's the type of place you go to and invite everyone you know, I mean everyone, your neighbor that you hardly talk to, your co-worker that you sorta despise, come one come all, just call everyone together because it's time to go to One Midtown Kitchen. I don't think they've experienced any single diners at their restaurant in years. There was too much shock and awe registered on their faces as I sat and chewed on my food by myself, this was even more evident in the perception of the other diners. So after a very unsatisfactory dining experience, I went over to the St. Regis for a drink. 

Don't get me wrong the food was great. They had one of the most imaginative Calamari dishes I've had in a long time. It surpassed the one I had at Bottega in Yountville, Napa. And the wine list was very ambitious. They had Gewurtzraminer, very sweet delicate wine that you hardly get on any menu. The ambiance was also very inviting; it will make you want to spend quite a bit of time drinking and eating and taking it all in. However, that was it. There needed to be something more and that something more was sorta lacking for me so I moved to another location, determined not to let this deter me from enjoying my evening out. 

Aaah, the St. Regis, how I love thee. The hotel is so pretty, so close to home and yet I hardly go there. I don't know why. It's so gorgeous, the top notch interior design is excellent from the breathtaking grand lobby, to the exquisitely designed bathrooms. Like the lady beside me said, she always feels like she's been transported to another place whenever she comes there, like she's gone on a mini-holiday somewhere else. It just made me think, that's it, that's what I like so much about this place, the escapism factor. Everything else is also very exquisite, from the valet who greets you like you're their only customer to the bar staff who patiently explain the wine to you. Such a sharp contrast to the first restaurant I had visited that evening. After the funk I found myself in upon returning from vacation, when I thought nothing else could quite compare to California, not the service, not the weather, nothing could compare. After falling into that slump for about a month, the St. Regis was just the best place to roll me out of that funk. 

I guess for me what I take away from this experience is that you always have to go to that happy place, where the people treat you like they see you, even though you're by yourself, they see you, they greet you with a smile and there are people that just might be there on their own, you're not sticking out like a sore thumb. And with that place you instantly erase the bitter aftertaste of all the places that occurred before it because you've been seen as an individual who enjoys the good things of life even though they would like to enjoy them solo.