Yikes, what was I thinking?

I had a rep get into an accident two years ago while taking my order. Of course,the rep, was using their laptop + talking to me on their cellphone + driving.

Not to soapbox, but the current capitalist climate puts so much pressure on the working individual to maximize output while minimizing the time investment,that I can almost understand the rationality that makes the kind of decision that combines a laptop, a cellphone, and driving. Our "you can have it all" culture forces us to cram too much stuff into too little time so that we can "have it all."

That is why I love cooking. Gumbo takes no less than 6 hours to cook, I can't speed that up for you, so if you want it right, it will take some time.

If you think you hate being subjected to secondhand cell phone conversations now, just wait until they start allowing them on planes. Trapped in the middle seat between two fat, sweaty VIPs of commerce. Kill me now.

If you think you hate being subjected to secondhand cell phone conversations now, just wait until they start allowing them on planes. Trapped in the middle seat between two fat, sweaty VIPs of commerce. Kill me now.

Jeffrey ... thanks for my morning laugh and snort!

I remember the first time a server squatted at my table/booth was at Sharkeys (Chi Chi's failed concept where BBC St. Mat is now located). I believe they were all told to do that. The other night at another microbrewery, the server sat next to me a couple of times. We are regulars but not in his area so much. Noticed he did the same thing later with the females in the next booth. It's a fun casual place. Didn't bother me. Another time at the same place, a young man/server sat down next to me at the booth and discussed the state of street fests and the environment. I think he had time to kill. Actually prefer casual dining experiences over the expensive ones, which we seldom partake in anyway.

We did have a wonderful birthday meal Sat. late in the afternoon at a chain restaurant - Bravo's. My older daughter selected it. (We like Italian restaurants for family gatherings and our fav closed last month.) They hadn't been in there awhile and we had never been. Very very good service. Attentive, thoughtful, and pleasant. Had 2 appetizers, 5 people had 4 entrees and everyone ordered salads. We had glasses of wine with the meal. For dessert they brought her a house birthday dessert with a candle - they had asked when they saw the gifts. Had 3 dessert martinis that we passed around the table. The espresso was good. (We took the gifts to the restaurant because my son-in-law was having a surprise party for her later. We were out of the way and they weren't busy. I think we were there 2 hours.)
So the three households did go to one chain this weekend, but we also went to NABC, BBC, Queen of Sheba, Kaelins, Kings.

Our reasons for dining out are not always necessarily to eat. We will eat a few bites then take the rest with us. We love sitting at bars and talking to the people around us and the bartendars - if they want to talk. We like watching people, looking at the bar set up, checking out the menu. Meet friends at restaurants/bars instead of entertaining at home. Many times the location is more important - especially in nice weather when you like to be by the river or on an outside patio. We're lucky that in Louisville, you usually don't have to worry about the quality of the food.

We are partial to old buildings that contain restaurants or bars. Before the dining scene expanded in Louisville, we would drive away from the city and find the old inns and celebrate our anniversary there. One year we headed to Frankfort and the only thing open was Cliff Hagans steak house. We're UofL fans who dined on steak probably with way too much blue decor.