hopscotch,

It might have been taken as a "constructive comment" if you had only eliminated that third paragraph....really hurtful.

djkbooks, thanks for the restaurant suggestions! I've eaten at Le P'Tit Troquet.

hopscotch, let me clarify: What I wear during the evening is different than during the day. This photo represents what I usually wear in the evenings: http://www.luvtotravel.homestead.com/home.html - mostly dark clothing and a nice leather purse. Oops, just re-read your comments and saw you also posted this photo. Day clothing is usually comfortable khakis and tops; easy spirit walking shoes, and (sometimes) a Magellan CitySafe purse. And yes, I do wear make up every day but not a ton to look like a prostitute.

Monica

Monica,

If you wear something like this, you get the whole restaurant to yourself. http://www.pbase.com/tpatricco/image/43720063

Happy Thanksgiving!

LOL!! Well budman, I'll only wear that in Hawaii and when you come to my house!

Monica

PS Budman, Tony just saw the photo and said, "I'll leave if he comes over to our house dressed like that!"

Monica

LOL!! Where's the love? :'(

Monica, You are a very good sport who would never be turned away by any restaurant that read this thread: Happy Thanksgiving!

It sounds like an unlucky evening. My experience isn't vast. Though I travel alone, I sometimes eat with friends, or sometimes I simply skip meals when I find that I don't have time to eat (!). Or otherwise I've made reservations at nice restaurants -- and to my surprise, they have always proven to be very accommodating to solo diners.

I remember one occasion distinctly when I was turned away in Paris. It was at L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon. Along with three other American tourists (who came in separately). That's partly why I've been lukewarm about going to the NYC establishment even though it's won a 3* review from NYT.

Also since I eat out solo all the time, I'm pretty sensitive to the restaurant's concerns about turning over their tables, etc. So usually I'll accept what they give me -- unless the table is really completely unacceptable. As I said, what I find surprising is how the more expensive establishments don't seem to be concerned about booking a solo diner. Granted, they don't worry about turning tables, but they can make more money by booking a table for two instead. But maybe they are afraid that I could turn out to be a reviewer who could bad mouth the restaurant.

Budman, Tony said if you bring bottle of your wine he'll stick around. Give us a call this weekend if you're available.

Thanks LJ and a Happy Thanksgiving to you and everyone!

111op, fortunately in all my years of traveling, this happened to me the one night in Bologna. The one restaurant that really threw me off was the one with the waiter that told me they had no tortellini! That was just strange. If he really didn't want me to dine there he could have just turned me away at the door. And it was the one restaurant was 100% empty.

It does sound from most peoples comments that Paris is receptive to solo travelers. I'll make sure I reserve in advance (better brush up on my French) and book for 1 person as Suze stated.

Monica

Did it occur to you that the waiter might have told you they didn't have tortellini because they really didn't have tortellini? Pasta in Italy comes in a myriad of shapes, colours and sizes, so you cannot assume that every restaurant in Bologna would have the same pasta dish. If you ordered from a printed menu, then that was probably printed months ago and should be taken as a rough guide to what might be available. It is very common in Italy to order a pasta dish and then to be told that it's not available, but that something similar is available. Rather than having a preconceived idea of what a restaurant should cook for you, you should be willing to discover what they have to offer. Italy would be very boring if all restaurants served the same standard dishes every day.

He told me they had NO tortellini, which I found it very hard to believe since I was in Bologna. I love good food and try everything. Every market and shop I visited had tortellini - all fresh made, so yes, I don't think he was honest with me. In any case, I had a wonderful meal that evening.

Monica

Al contrario, Geoff. In Bologna, virtually every restaurant in the city serves their signature dish: i tortellini alla bolognese-can't even conceive of a restaurant there that would not have it, served in some fashion.

I have eaten several times in Bologna and cannot remember which pasta dishes I had, but I find it hard to understand the attitude of someone who accuses a waiter of lying when he says a dish is not available.

I don't know. Maybe it was the tone of voice in which it was conveyed?

I just tried to book a restaurant in Istanbul on Saturday called Refik. It's supposed to be a popular establishment to get a sense of the local flavor, etc. But when I called, they said they have nothing on Saturday -- and the restaurant is open until midnight.... I do find that hard to believe.

I'm thinking they prefer to give their tables to Turkish speakers. Maybe I've my hotel book it for me. We'll see.

Anyway I do think that restaurants try to be accommodating, but once in a while there will be the one or two which is not. And I'm sure sometimes it's a misunderstanding -- language issues, etc. And we all have the choice of going somewhere else.

It is perfectly reasonable that a restaurant is out of a certain menu item. That part seems a bit of over-dramatic on the poster's part imo. Seems silly to take it so personally, like they did it on purpose to spoil her day.

Tortellini, particularly in Bologna, is not "a certain menu item" it is a staple-and as far as waiters lying, they do it all the time, not just in Italy, (where it is prevalent) but everywhere, when it is less complicated, or reflects less badly on the restaurant, than telling the truth.

There is a local column in a newspaper that I read where readers complaints about "things they have been told" by servers are published, and upon investigation, have turned out NOT to be true, and the owner/managers have had to rectify the situation. I wouldn't believe for a second that a restaurant in Bologna "had run out of" tortellini-that just doesn't ring true.

Girlspy:

Could you provide the name of, or the link to, that newspaper as I would be curious to read the column?

We will never know if they had or did not have tortellini that night..maybe the cook hadn't finished it yet, maybe the order from Tamburini or Atti was not delivered that day, maybe they had it and were just being mean.....who knows...Personally, I doubt if it is on every single menu in the city, bar none.

Main thing is that Monica will not have problems in Paris if she calls ahead to reserve a table. Don't worry, Monica and have lots of fun.....and happy eating!

Let's be fair here. You weren't actually "turned away from 3 different restaurants".
The first, according to you, didn't meet your time preference. You said he offered you a table and you refused it. It wasn't the table you wanted. You have a right to sit where you want, there's no dispute there but you weren't turned away.

Second restaurant, you were not given a table outside. You walked away. You were not, again according to your journal, "turned away."

Third restaurant, they didn't have tortellini with gorgonzola. Again you walked away because YOU believed the guy was lying to you. Why would he lie? Restaurants are in the business of making money. He seated you and offered you a menu. It's obvious he wasn't going to turn you away, in fact, he had been trying to make you comfortable. You walked away for the third time.
. It had nothing to do with how you were dressed, if anyone had any thoughts about your profession. You were offered 3 different dining experiences and turned them down because you didn't like the choices offered.

Will you be treated thus in Paris? My guess is a resounding yes. Unless you change your behavior not your clothes.

Let's be fair here. You weren't actually "turned away from 3 different restaurants".
The first, according to you, didn't meet your time preference. You said he offered you a table and you refused it. It wasn't the table you wanted. You have a right to sit where you want, there's no dispute there but you weren't turned away.

Second restaurant, you were not given a table outside. You walked away. You were not, again according to your journal, "turned away."

Third restaurant, they didn't have tortellini with gorgonzola. Again you walked away. Why in the world would the waiter lie about what was on the menu? Restaurants are in the business of making money. And they make more money when the give you what you want. He seated you and offered you a menu. It's obvious he wasn't going to turn you away, in fact, he had been trying to make you comfortable. You walked away for the third time.

It had nothing to do with how you w
were dressed or a single woman.

You, by your own account, were offered 3 different dining experiences and turned them down because you didn't like the choices offered.

Will you be treated thus in Paris? My guess is yes, unless you change your behavior not your clothes.

Yes, Monica, next time, bust out the Flava Flav bling-bling and you will be ready for a night out on the town!

>


OK I'm sure it's easy to misinterpret things in cyberspace, esp if you don't know Monica. I can vouch--as someone who has wandered the streets with her looking for a suitable dinner place--that she's well dressed, well groomed, doesn't smell, and isn't rude. The restaurants we stopped to look at were all hoping to get our business. Or maybe people were trying to get us to eat in their restaurants NOT because of Monica, but because they thought *I* was so darned cute. I do tend to wear low-cut blouses.


I should warn you, Monica, that (now that I think about it) I did get lied to in a couple of restaurants in Paris. However, that was my first trip so I was still kind of a bumpkin. Outside of that first time, I've had only positive experiences.

So. In keeping with the Thanksgiving theme, are you having Pumpkin wine with your meal this evening?