Cruella de Ville at the door?

The other night Mei and I finally picked a date to meet up and have dinner. Since most of my friends work in the restaurant industry its tough to meet up like regular 9to5ers. First of all, who the heck wants to eat dinner at midnight or eat at the select few restaurant that cater to the night walkers, Ambien deprived and finally the cook, server or chef who just wants to sit down after a long night of dinner service.

We decided on this Italian joint in the lower east side on a recommendation, the food akin to home style cooking and good, apparently its also one of the most romantic restaurants in the city. Upon arriving at the door, we were greeted by such ungracefulness by the host/maitre d'. Cold. Cold. Boss lady. Ok. I'll wait the hour and a half. It was a Friday and you'd think the atmosphere would be lively and buzzing? mmm... more like somber. We decided to leave. Had we been greeted with warmth I would have considered staying and bared the long wait in anticipation of the Italian cooking. Ultimately, its you who dictates how your evening will proceed, I wasn't in the mood to put up with nonsense. (Money well spent is where it's appreciated.) This restaurant will remain nameless out of respect - until strike 3 occurs.

Down the street was this "dive" bar. It was more of a neighborhood joint filled with the usual kitchy stuff- disco ball, piano in the corner, patio furniture, plastic objects hanging on the wall. It was good, drinks cheap, young white collar types with a few locals in between. As we sat and drank our first cocktail of the evening we were trying to decide where to have dinner. Mei was discussing the finer points of hospitality and how to improve it. Dude. Seriously. Can't we just go out to dinner like normal people and not pay attention to all the damn details it takes to run a restaurant?! LOL. It's just a habit, I guess.

We ended up at Indochine. A great standard. A restaurant that runs so well after all these years of being in operation. The room was packed and buzzing, everyone was smiling and the food was good, I love sharing a meal family style. It was a Friday night and it felt like one, not to mention it was also Fashion Week in Nyc and that JT sexy back sat two booths away from us.

In the end, its all about sharing a good time, enjoying the food and company that matters most. I learned that Miss Mei who loves hamachi dislikes tuna! while I loath uni and am allergic to soy beans. Next dinner out, i'll talk about the food.