I am not a Restaurant Person

Growing up, restaurants were reserved for special occasions. In a given year, my family would maybe go once or twice for a birthday. Almost always Red Lobster. The idea of an appetizer and a main course was a foreign concept. Everyone got one dish, and sometimes that main dish would just be an appetizer. Not in a “I’m not too hungry, I’ll just get an app” way, but in a “I have no idea how a menu works” kind of way. Once the food arrived, everyone ate, and then we would leave. Taking your time to enjoy the ambiance or letting the food settle once you’re done was not something we ever did.

My (semi-ironically) favourite restaurant in Edmonton is Cactus Club. After hearing about it several times, my mom decided to try it for her birthday. I was out of town, but my sister went with my mom and dad. Thanks to her presence, they ordered drinks, appetizers, and a main course. Yet somehow they were able to finish everything, pay, and drive home in under 90 minutes!

This isn’t a financial or a we don’t want to spend time together issue. I’m pretty sure it’s caused by the closest thing to a restaurant for my parents growing up was a cafeteria (столовая). You go, grab your food, eat, and get out. No conversation or sitting around.

Since I started working, I’ve been blessed with enough money to try any restaurant I want. Whenever I’m in a new city, I’ll go to a couple top rated spots, usually at least one upscale restaurant. However, no matter how hard I try, I cannot take my time. I will try to eat slowly, talk, and look around, but nothing helps. If I’m with another person who didn’t grow up going to restaurants, we’re out of there 20 minutes after our food arrived. Doesn’t matter how good the food is, at that pace I’m not savouring it. And “the atmosphere” is wasted if I’m not going to sit around for a while.

For years, I’ve been trying to become someone who goes to restaurants “properly”, but now I’ve realized it’s just not for me. The childhood experience is engraved too deeply. Out of the over 30 Micheline restaurants I’ve visited, there are only two I really want to go back to. Phú Hồng and Bún chả cá 109. These two, like most restaurants in Vietnam, primarily serve one type of dish. You walk in, sit on a stool, order within a couple of minutes of sitting down, eat your food, walk up to pay, and leave. My ideal restaurant experience.