Every two weeks or so Tom and I meet up in Petaluma for dinner. We have tried several times to go to Mi Pueblo for Mexican food but the place is mobbed, no matter when we get there and we have no patience for waiting outside to hear our name called for a table. Too old for that.
So we go somewhere else. Often we end up at Dempsey's which is a fine choice because we don't care to sit outside at 6:15 in the evening when it is hot and crowded and the beautiful people with their tank tops and tans are taking the tented tables, we are happy with a large booth inside. The menu has enough choices and the prices are good and they leave us alone and we are happy. The food at Dempsey's is above mediocre, it is always good to better than good, but a person (or two persons) needs a change now and then.
Tonight was Mediocre Thai Food. Nothing bad. My pad thai was OK enough to bring home, although tomorrow I will saute some onions, sliced snow peas, mushrooms and add some heat and then toss the noodles into the pan and have it for dinner. But here's the thing: Tom and I LOVE really good food. We have, in the past, taken the ferry into SF and spent buckets of bucks at Boulevard (still one of my SF faves) and we never batted an eye over the money. We had tickets to the SF Symphony and we would eat at Jardiniere before the music and spend tons of money and be happy about it. It's not like we won't spend money on excellent food.
But now, for some odd reason, neither of us cares to do that. (Don't let me fool you on this, if someone said "hey, how about I take you to Boulevard for dinner?" I would be saying YES before that last syllable left that person's mouth!) But we don't seem to care to spend that much at this moment. Tonight Tom put it succinctly: "I will spend the money in a foreign country on a dinner. But not here, not right now."
We work 6 (or 7 in Tom's case) days a week and we are simply tired. Put food in front of us. As long as it's decent, we will eat it and it's fine. As long as we did not cook it, as long as we do not have to clean up, it's fine. We are already tired and there are three more long, long months to slog through before the lodging business slows down. By then we will be ready for a really good meal, when we have the time and energy to actually enjoy the process.
Mediocre food is OK. It's not great. But it is expedient and usually pretty cheap. And the main reason we meet for dinner is to talk and catch up, so the food becomes secondary. Would I change clothes and go to a really good restaurant? Sure, if someone else was paying. Or I would even pay, gladly, if I was motivated to get motivated. But after being so "hospitable" and nice and kind and all that other crap that comes with the industry, the motivating factors are things like can I show up in my jeans? Do I have to wear shoes with heels or are flip-flops OK? Do I need to drive more than 30 minutes away? Will I be tired when I get home?
So, yes, I agree with Tom on this. Show me a great restaurant in December when I am not working, when I have a few weeks off, when I don't need to worry about getting up at 6:00 am the next morning, and I will pony up the money for an outstanding meal. If it is a foreign country, even better. Until then, ordinary is fine most of the time.
With the exception of a home cooked meal, that is. Those are always much more than ordinary. I am having dinner this Saturday at Steve's, he is cooking steak, I will make my incredible creamed corn and that meal will be much, much more than ordinary. Friends, steak, laughter and wine. For that I don't need to worry about what I wear. I just need to show up and be happy. That's fine dining.
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