Ninety-nine times out of a hundred I dine out with others - either with spouse or a group. Tonight?: solo. It's different. I note there is less attention given to the solo guest - greeting takes longer, drink offer takes longer, soliciting food order is delayed, food delivery time is glacial. Do others find this? Or, is my perception clouded by the fact that when dining with others, the wait time is ameliorated by the diversion of conversation and company of others?
Also, are there dishes you make at home that are never equaled at a restaurant? I occasionally make my own pasta, tomato sauce, and meatballs. Had a taste for those tonight and was disappointed at a local Italian place. Pasta is essentially two ingredients: eggs and flour. This restaurant's version, advertised as made in-house, must have used mostly water instead of eggs - definitely not up to my version and disappointing. The richness the eggs give the dish was not there. The tomato sauce: too salty and didn't seem fresh. The meatballs were not on par with mine. I also make a version of Chicken Piccata that outdoes any other version I've had locally. I'm a wannabe chef and mediocre home cook, but will put my version of several dishes up against any local restaurant versions.