Busting out of my shell

Picture yourself going out to dinner. Are you alone or dining with someone? Most people would say you are going out to eat with someone else. That's half of the event of eating out: socialization.
I made a promise to myself I would go out to eat somewhere different every Friday night I'm on assignment. Dinner is very different from lunch or breakfast. Dinner is meant for couples and friends blowing off steam after a work week. Breakfast I could do alone without batting an eyelash, but when you go to a restaurant for dinner, the hostess just looks at you like, "Are you meeting someone here?"

Before I left on this adventure, dining out alone crossed my mind as a hurtle I may need to overcome. It isn't that I'm totally antisocial, but I'm not the type of extrovert who would strike up a conversation with a perfect stranger in a social setting such as a restaurant or bar. Until tonight.

I was about to back out on my promise to myself, but figured, no, you're gonna go! So, I picked the highest rated restaurant in Exeter: Blue Moon Evolution. It focuses on local, fresh, organic ingredients. I was blown away. The service and food was amazing! As a solo diner, I tend to veer toward eating at the bar instead of tying up an entire table. The bartender, Lanny, was hilarious. By the end of my meal he knew I was from Wisconsin, so he was calling me Lombardi. "Hey, Lombardi, how you doin?" (imagine it with a Boston accent).

The night included a film crew shooting a segment for a cable food show and discussions of the author Stephen King's visit tomorrow night for dinner. Misery, Green Mile, The Shining. Yeah, THAT Stephen King. Seated next to me at the bar were a couple who happened to be local restaurateurs. I struck up a conversation and after talking throughout both our meals, we became well acquainted, with the help of Lanny. They had travelled all across the U.S. and gave me plenty of tips for getting around, picking good restaurants, and where not to go. They gave me their card and offered to buy me dinner at their restaurant.

So, moving outside my comfort zone paid off in many ways tonight!