Enjoyment of Eating Out

I’ve been out to eat a handful of times since 2020 when COVID started. Part of the reason is not wanting to spend a lot of money on restaurants, but also, most of the time I enjoy cooking for myself. And as a single person, I don’t have a lot of special days to celebrate by going out to eat.

But this weekend, I have a friend and her two kids (ages 15 and 12) visiting from out of state, and while I’m decent at cooking for myself, I’m not as good at cooking for teens and near-teens. So, we decided to go out to eat for one of our meals.

Deciding on a restaurant 

Deciding where to go wasn’t the simplest, though, particularly since we wanted to go out for brunch or lunch. My friend has celiac, which means the restaurant had to not only offer gluten-free food but be good about avoiding cross-contamination.

And I don’t do well with egg-based dishes or lots of dairy. These days, not eating eggs isn’t a bad thing, considering the cost, but it does make brunch a little trickier.

Then I remembered The Sinful Kitchen, which has some good gluten-free options, some more kid-friendly options, and is only about five minutes from my house. The restaurant also has brown paper spread over the tables so you can color while waiting for your food, making it rather fun. All in all, it was a winner.

Benefits of dining out

Since I rarely go out to eat, I sometimes forget about the benefits that can come with it, but I got reminded of them this weekend.

One good thing, particularly with four (or more) people in the party, is everyone can get what they want. That meant I could get the tofu scramble with a gluten-free English muffin. I know that wouldn’t be everyone’s top choice, but I enjoyed it. It was also nice getting something that I wouldn’t typically make at home – these days, when I have tofu, I use the air fryer to cook and crisp it up.

Meanwhile, others got things like French toast, bacon, and homefries, all of which they enjoyed.

Also, it was rather nice not having to chop the vegetables in my scramble or clean up any dishes, either from baking or eating. And we didn’t have to worry about my cat Fezzik trying to get some of the food, which wasn’t the case for dinner. (I’d made chicken soup for dinner – Fezzik loves chicken and begs shamelessly for it.)

It did feel a bit strange to be around so many people, given that I spend most of my days at home, but it was also nice for a short time. I enjoyed getting a bit of different scenery and not having to worry about anything other than savoring my meal and spending time with my guests.

Oh, and I also got to bring some leftovers home, so I can enjoy the food yet again.

An enjoyable treat

I can’t say that I plan to go out to eat a lot, but it’s good to do occasionally. It reminds me of other food options out there, as well as the fact that other people may make very different food choices than I do – and that’s okay.

And having a break from chopping vegetables now and again really is a plus.