Is a loud, noisy environ the new norm?

Hey - it's not just dining out!

I live on the Prospect border, and last night my wife and I opened the window and listened to the Kid Rock concert from the Watertower 7 miles away!

[Robin Garr]

We'll be, instead, at Mayan Cafe ...

Susan, not to be argumentative - I love Mayan Cafe! - but I've experienced some mighty noisy meals there. Did I just show up at the wrong time?

We'll be, instead, at Mayan Cafe ...

Susan, not to be argumentative - I love Mayan Cafe! - but I've experienced some mighty noisy meals there. Did I just show up at the wrong time?

I have been to the Mayan Cafe numerous times for both lunch and dinner and have never found it very noisy. If it was, I would not return. Hate really loud places for dinner. For a bar it is different and to be expected.

Weighing in: we had dinner at El Camino last night and the noise level is officially prohibitive for me. I would sit outside at the delightful patio bar for a drink, but I'm not coming back for dinner inside.

I appreciate restaurant owners attempting to keep the design aspects of their restaurant current, hip and aesthetically pleasing to their patrons. On a deeper level I think diners want a non threatening , safe place to enjoy their meal. (Shrugs) I don't know, is it a place to really dine or just see and be seen? If I can't relax and focus on the food and my friends is it really a dining experience or just some elaborate social display of where we go and what we do? Perhaps it's because of my age but I don't even like live entertainment when I'm dining out. My friends as well as their company are my entertainment. Sharing a meal with them on some basic level shows trust. For me anything else is just showboating, not dining. But that's just me. I pass no judgement on what others enjoy.

Purely anecdotal, but it seems to me people are just louder these days regardless of environment or the presence of other people.

Purely anecdotal, but it seems to me people are just louder these days regardless of environment or the presence of other people.

Maybe all those Dead concerts from 40 years ago catching up with us?