Order Up

Certainly one of the highpoints about summer vacation is having the time to go out to eat. Today was a good day, as I ate lunch and dinner at two different restaurants.

The great thing about eating out is it usually involves meeting up with friends. Today was no exception. I met up with some work friends for lunch and college friends for dinner. Both groups proved to be great fun and relaxing.

The other good thing about eating out is, of course, the food. The two restaurants I visited today offered a variety of food. However, if I had to vote for my favorite I'd have to go with the lunchtime establishment. My Cobb salad with chicken had just the right amount of dressing with nice little tomatoes all chopped up and a little blue cheese on top. It was all very yummy.

Dinner was just okay. I had a chicken Panini sandwich, which was fine, but the French fries were a little off. I don't know what I would do to make them better, maybe make them a little crispier.

Really, I think the big difference between the two dining experiences boils down to service. I never felt like I was missing something at lunch. The waitress was always there with drink refills and presented the check at the end of the meal with precision.

Dinner was a little different. Even though we were sitting at the bar, where it should be easy to get the attention of the wait staff, we seemed to always be waiting for their attention. It was the service that detracted from the dinner experience.

Service...I think that's the key.