SoloDiner Tip WINNERS 2000

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To read the winning tips for 2004, click: 2004 To read the winning tips for 2003, click: 2003 To read the winning tips for 2002, click: 2002 To read the winning tips for 2001, click: 2001 To read the winning tips for 2000, click: 2000 Sooner or later, EVERYONE — business and pleasure travelers, singles, those divorced or widowed, very-marrieds whose spouses are on the road, harried moms and dads, etc. — faces the challenge of eating out alone! THE How-to Booklet of Solo Dining Tips & Strategies: The Art and Satisfaction of Dining Alone — REVEALED! is now available for purchase in PDF format! Looking for restaurants featuring counter/bar dining? Click: eating at the bar Interested in restaurants featuring communal table dining? Click: eating with others December 2000 Develop some self-confidence. If you deserve good service when dining with a group, why not alone? Try dining during slower periods. You get more attention and you can enjoy it even more. Use the opportunity to try new restaurants or menu items and save the news of what you discover to impress others later. Name withheld by request. November 2000 Visitors sent so many great solo dining tips this month, we put the top 10 in a hat and drew the following: "I would like to dine here this evening and I will be alone. Is this a problem for you?" Practice saying this in every language! It is a key to opening the dining-alone pandora's box Try to go by the restaurant after the lunch crowd has thinned out. Find the manager and ask the magic question. He will assure you that it is no problem and nine times out of ten will remember you that evening — often he will seat you at a special table and bounce back and forth between greeting customers and filling you in on local gossip. I have traveled extensively in Europe and had wonderful adventures dining alone — just remember the phrase. Dede Evans — Sacramento, CA October 2000 Teah Callaghan e-mailed us: " 'Solo dining' was just something that struck a chord when I saw it on my home page — I usually ignore these things — and having just come back to Sydney from Melbourne and then Brisbane, I thought of my solo dinners in these two cities. Quite hard dining alone." Here's her tip: Observe the other diners. Assign tags to them: "First date"; "Don't want to be here"; "Happily married," etc. Focus on the miserable couples — you know, the ones that say nothing to each other. DO NOT look at the "first date couple"! You'll be happy to be in your own company." September 2000 Here's an analogy between fashion and dining solo: It's not that only beautiful models can wear extravagant, flashy or sophisticated clothing — it's that they FEEL like they can pull it off! ATTITUDE — that's what it is! Anyone can have fun dining solo; just act and try to feel like you're comfortable and you'll pull it off! Name withheld by request. August 2000 "I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my tip had been chosen for September. Thanks for doing us solo diners a good turn." Kay Scharf — West Monroe, NY Here's her tip: I find that becoming friendly with the servers as a group leads to a more social experience. I usually visit one particular restaurant, where I feel safe and I am among friends. In their spare moments, there is always at least one who will sit and share a short conversation. When I re-visit, there is always a friend, and I never feel alone. Return to Top Planning a trip? Visit our sister website. Click here: SoloTravelPortal.com If you have questions or comments about this Web page or site, e-mail: webmaster@SoloDining.com. © 2010 SoloDining.com Return to Top