Date night fail

I'd taken it upon myself to come up with a Sunday date activity for Puppy and me and I came up woefully short. My big idea was to get outside in the sun and learn a bit of SF history by following a stairway walk, but that idea was vetoed by Puppy, who was already basking in the sunshine at the park and had already done his exercises for the day.

So, my idea was simply to go to dinner at a restaurant recommended by 7x7 magazine and a host of other folks online and in the real world. We ended up in the foggy Sunset neighborhood, circling around for parking and finally finding a spot right across from the no-frills Chinese food restaurant we aimed for.

Even though it was early, it was absolutly packed with people, loud, busy people inhaling their food. There were dozens of people waiting for tables as well, but we were lucky enough to snag one of the handful of seats available for waiting patrons.

One couple entered the restaurant, a heavyset lady and her male friend with one good eye and one eye gone horribly wrong. Perhaps this busted eye is what led him to wear the acid-wash, pegged jeans from circa 1985. That, however, is neither here nor there. The lady asked one of the others waiting for a table what the difference was between the restaurant where we found ourselves and the Chinese restaurant across the street. The one with no one occupying any of the tables. "Is the food any different?" she posited. And even though I'd never been to either restaurant, I was willing to wager that the food at one restaurant is considerably better than the food at the other, simply based upon the fact that one was packed and the other empty. But what do I know.

We ended up having an above-average meal, featuring tasty dumplings, pot stickers and some interesting and delicious chicken wings. But it was clear that Puppy had hoped for a restaurant of a different, more refined, atmosphere. And I'll be sure to keep this in mind when I next choose a restaurant for date night.