Bar Seat for One?

Okay, so  being by oneself where you don’t speak the language can get oddly quiet.  Not quiet in the silent sense, just quiet in the “I need to hear and understand people talk when they aren’t talking details about work” sense.  On Thursday afternoon, having walked through much of the iPark Mall, and finally having found a map of said mall, it was time to sit, sip, and study.

Almost every place I passed seemed fine enough to pop in for a refreshing Cass Lite draft.  (I admitted Friday night, while enjoying a Miller Lite on Post during dinner, that I’m sure I would not know the difference between a Cass Lite and a Miller Lite, truth be told.)  But I was looking for something I had not seen:  and actual bar area in a restaurant.  Ah, but I’d just passed (kismet considering Jerry VH was at this very place at DFW earlier that day) a TGI Fridays.  And so back in that direction I went.

I approached the hostess, and she (eyeing my blond hair), said, trying as hard as she could, “Five minutes, please,” holding up a hand showing five stretched out fingers.  I peered past her to the restaurant; it was almost empty.   I inquired, “May I just go in and sit at the bar?”  She looked at me blankly.  Then she pulled her seating chart out and pointed to the solo seats surrounding the bar:  “You mean to sit at bar?”  I nodded, and she replied, “Five minutes, please.”

Alrighty.

Five or so minutes later, she motioned me toward her.  Thankfully, on the way to my seat, she also remembered to grab an English menu.  (I’ve successfully completed Lesson 3 on Rosetta, but oh my is it ever slow, and is my brain ever tired.)  Off to the bar we strolled.

A lone gentleman was present when we approached, and the hostess pointed me to my seat.  I sat. I peered over the menu.  And I waited.  And waited.  And waited.

In the meantime, I felt the curious stares of a few servers.  One even came behind the bar to mix a drink---from a written recipe she pulled from her pocket.  But otherwise, I might as well have been listening to crickets chirping.

Ah, finally, a server sees me.  He timidly approaches, and he says hello.

I point to the draft beer, order the small one, and he’s on his way.  My beer comes, and I pull out the map---time for a little studying.

Shortly thereafter, the lone gentleman sitting near me gets my attention.  What an interesting conversation followed.

He asked, of course, where I was from.  Upon learning the United States…

(rabbit:  my father taught me years ago on a trip outside of the US that I’m from the United States, not “America.”  After all, there’s North America, South America, etc.  I’m not sure Dad knew he was teaching me we shouldn’t be full of ourselves, but in hindsight, it may have been that first lesson in that.)

Ah – so upon learning I was from the States, he became quite interested.  ---in my consumer opinion.  ;-)

He works for the TGI Fridays corporate office, apparently in Korea.  And he was curious about this whole “bar” concept.  See, as I’d noticed, many (most?) places do not have solo seats at a bar area.  (The Outback is an exception; I’ve been there three times, so I’ve become a bit of an expert, ya know.)  He did not think it was important.  But his US colleagues had insisted that the Korean TGI Fridays needed such a thing.  Thus, they designed that location with a bar area.  And I was able to tell him that the very thing is what led me in.

Explaining this was interesting, of course.  I told him that as someone who has traveled alone quite a bit, sometimes you just want the opportunity to converse with others about not much at all.  (I explained the similar issue from having lived in a new town for only a year; I met a lot of people at Bosco’s, after all---folks away from work.  And sometimes, you need to know and chat with people away from work.)   Now this may seem odd if you know my aversion to small talk.  (Small talk, by the way, is even more painful when two do not speak the same language.)  But sometimes, I’d rather meet and chat with others than sit solo. (Sometimes, I just want to sit solo too; the beauty is that I can choose either at most places.)  But I’ve never seen bar chat as small talk.  It has a different purpose.  And if I’m disinterested, I just, after politely explaining an important nature of whatever I am reading, return to whatever I brought with me to pay attention to.

Don’t worry:  I told him that by no means did all Americans agree.  (true:  I’m not “from America” yet I am “American.” I cannot explain that one.)  Some folks never sit at a bar; and some, although they might with another, would never do so by themselves.  But for those of us who occasionally (or, for some I know, often) prefer that, it is an excellent option to have.

I also told him that pretty much any TGI Fridays (or Applebees, or Chilis, etc.) at 6:00 on a Thursday evening would have a crowd at the bar. And with that, he was sold.

He thanked me much for my insight and assistance in building his understanding.  And as he had then finished his meal, bid me farewell.  I finished my beer and headed back to the mega mall.

And so, my fellow Americans, I perhaps have helped build the restaurant bar in Korea.  You’re welcome.