That’s exactly it. I don’t see why they couldn’t put two separate checks on the table for servers to check off items served from the carts to the two groups.
2 Likes
The problem for many restaurants is that many people afterwards leave bad reviews for their take out food on Yelp, Tripadvisor, Google etc. There are so many pics/reviews complaining about lousy take out food and it often shows food which doesn’t travel well. People on this board might shrug as few use Yelp etc to find restaurants but the large majority of the public uses these apps/reviews to select their next lunch/dinner.
1 Like
"The problem for many restaurants is that many people afterwards leave bad reviews for their take out food on Yelp, Tripadvisor, Google etc. "
Hence the Yelp 3.5 score as a mark of excellence for traditional Chinese cafes. Real Szechuan or Cantonese just does not seem to appeal to the average Yelp diner, so they give low scores to outstanding Chinese cafes due to a lack of appreciation for the real deal.
I see both sides on the “to allow take out or not” issue but I tend to come down on, who is paying the bills? Warn the take out folks that the food will not be at its best and go from there.
1 Like
I happen to love leftover dim sum.
1 Like
Agree.
1 Like
I guess we were extremely lucky to live but a 5 min bike ride from a fantastic hand-pulled noodle place we ordered for delivery several times this summer. My guess is they also would survive a longer trip, but I don’t know for sure where the temporal cut-off would be for top quality 
1 Like
Yeah, I always thought that was part of the fun.
I can totally see how that happens. Maybe the better places should have the “if you want General Tso’s chicken, plz hit the buffet down the street, we ain’t got none” disclaimer. I can see a buffet nut eating the little hot dried chiles in Szechuan and crying real tears, then further snivelling on Yelp. “there were these little overly hot chile pods in my food.”
1 Like
3 Likes
I saw that and was going to post it. Now, I don’t have to. 
1 Like
Further to the topic, NYT this week:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/dining/solo-dining-restaurants.html/
2 Likes
I read that sort of stunned. Is this actually THAT big a problem for people??
1 Like
No, perhaps just an explication of the author’s own bias:
Priya Krishna is one of those people who has intense anxiety about dining alone.
4 Likes
@SuzieCK Did you ever venture out on your own?
Just joining this long thread and haven’t digested all of it, but I’ll share my support for those suggesting dining at the bar is a very good option. In Europe some fine dining establishments set the bar with white table cloths and silver. L’Écailler du Palais Royal In Brussels comes to mind. Haven’t seen that in the US though. One advantage of the bar is that you usually have the watchful attention of the bar tender.
A dear family friend was dining alone in Paris one Christmas Eve, her husband attending to business responsibilities. The foursome at an adjoining table realized she was alone and pulled her table to join theirs. They told her “Madame, no one dines alone in Paris on Christmas Eve”.
Might have been New Years Eve. My memory is a bit foggy.
9 Likes
(post deleted by author)
There’s already a separate thread for that (from yesterday) 
