Started to get some good feedback on my dining alone piece in the paper today. Here's one I thought was very thoughtful, from reader Ann Hipson:

What a great article!  As a single woman of mature years, I decided long ago that if I wanted to do something, I would do it—even if no one wanted to go with me.  Why deprive myself?  This has included eating alone.

I find that eating alone is most comfortable keeping certain things in mind—

·         Begin eating alone at lunch.  It’s a great transition into the world of solitary dining.

·         There are some restaurants that are inherently uncongenial to the woman eating alone.  These include most chain restaurants on Friday and Saturday nights.  You’ll be out of there in 30 minutes with food splashes on your clothes from dishes being slung at you.

·         There are some restaurants that are congenial to the solitary diner.  These include mom and pop restaurants and high end independent restaurants. 

·         To indicate that you do not wish to be hurried, order a glass of wine BEFORE ordering your food and decline to order until you have savored most of the glass.  High end independent restaurants especially respect that. 

·         Dress up.  Stand up straight.  Approach the hostess or maitre d’ with confidence. 

·         Ethnic restaurant can go either way.  Many years ago when I was young, I lived in West Tampa and because I didn’t like to cook, I ate out a lot on Boliche Boulevard.  Most of those restaurants treated me like one of the family and I could have spent the entire evening there and they wouldn’t care.  However, once a Chinese restaurant in Cardiff, Wales refused to seat me in a totally empty restaurant because they had “reservations”.  Other ethnic restaurants have been obviously uncomfortable with the idea that I was by myself. 

·         Be friendly but not overly familiar with your server.  The server wants to be respected and treated well, but he or she has enough friends and probably (unless the night is really slow) does not want to be your best friend for the evening.  Being friendly also sometimes brings little goodies from the kitchen. 

Thanks for the article.  Let’s hear it for the solitary diner!