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 | | The New York Times |
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 | | Outdoor dining at Casa La Femme in the West Village, in New York City.Clay Williams for The New York Times |
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Dining out during the latest wave |
Summer is on the horizon and the urge to spend lazy evenings dining with friends on a sunny terrace is getting stronger. At the same time, virus cases are ticking up in many areas of the U.S., complicating the restaurant experience. |
For an update and some much-needed advice, I turned to a couple of professional eaters: Tejal Rao, The Times's California food critic and host of "The Veggie" newsletter, and Nikita Richardson, an editor based in New York who writes the "Where to Eat" newsletter. |
What's the restaurant industry in California and New York? |
Tejal: This sounds counterintuitive, but it's been incredibly busy. We've had so many new restaurants open in the last few months, including independent places and big, splashy spots with major investment. But it's also been different for every restaurant. Some places I go are clearly understaffed or there are a lot of empty tables at peak dining times, and I'm reviewing a place in Hollywood right now that had an 1,800 person wait-list on Resy this past Thursday. |
Nikita: This is the year of a lot of restaurant openings. Maybe a handful of restaurants opened in 2021, but now we're getting a few new restaurants a week, which was how it was pre-pandemic. That said, there's still a big staffing issue. A lot of restaurants I follow are very regularly posting signs: "We're hiring. We're hiring. We're hiring." Part of that is gearing up for summer, but there's also still a very significant talent and labor shortage in restaurants. A lot of people decided they didn't want to do it anymore, and other people are reluctant to return unless they know that they're going to have better working conditions. |
How is the industry dealing with the latest virus wave? |
Tejal: If I didn't know that we were in a wave, I wouldn't know it from going to restaurants. Most restaurants I go to are not asking you to put on a mask, and they're not checking your vaccination cards at the host stand, although there are a couple of exceptions. I think people are just so exhausted, and restaurants are being treated as an escape. Inside them can feel like a little bit of a bubble, as if the rules don't apply there, and I think in some cases restaurants are aiming for that — they know customers are desperate for that feeling. |
Nikita: People are calling this the invisible Covid wave because it's almost like no one is acknowledging it. By March the vaccine mandate was lifted in New York and restaurants wrestled with whether they should continue to check vaccination cards for a few weeks, and then just kind of dropped it. There's a restaurant called Dame, in Greenwich Village, that had protesters outside every night for like a week because they were still taking vax cards. When it's the difference between getting customers and not, I don't think people want to die on that hill. |
What's it like dining out these days? |
Nikita: The hot topic in the last few months has been how it seems like it's impossible to get a reservation. I think going out to restaurants was one of the things that people in New York missed the most, and I think it's one of the biggest forms of entertainment at the moment. Especially when you add outdoor dining, which gave New York a European flavor that we did not have before. That said, it costs a lot to go out and eat because food costs and supply costs are going through the roof. |
Tejal: A dinner out now can feel a bit like time travel, like a night in 2019, with packed bars and tables pushed close together and menus getting fuller again. It's an illusion of business as usual. |
Any advice for people dining this summer? |
Nikita: Dine earlier — you're so much more likely to get a reservation. I've been encouraging people to look at the "hot" restaurants that opened in 2019 or 2018 that they forgot about. There are a lot of restaurants on those lists that are still open and have open reservations. Also, keep your reservations. Restaurants live and die by people keeping their reservations. And tip well — 20 or 25 percent. I had an old editor who said, "If you can't tip well, you can't afford to go out to eat." |
Tejal: I think you'll want to consider your boundaries ahead of time, whatever those are, knowing you probably won't be asked to follow much protocol. But my main piece of advice is to be really nice to the staff, and to try and be patient if things go sideways. Whether you're going to a food truck with plastic stools on the sidewalk or reserving a table in a nice dining room, the kitchen is likely understaffed and doing a lot with very little, so be nice and tip well! |
Your pandemic dining stories |
We asked readers for their best and worst dining experiences. Thanks to everyone who wrote in. |
"As a single mom, I was determined to enjoy a special night out for my 52nd birthday. I missed two years in a row due to the pandemic, and yet I navigated the awkward depths of Covid dating. Miraculously, I managed to snag a reservation at the always-booked Rich Table in San Francisco with a man I dated responsibly for months: vaxxed, masked and tested before every date. The meal was incredible! I felt like everyone around us celebrated with me. I rejoiced in being rewarded for good pandemic behavior! Until two days later, Mr. Right tested positive — from that ONE time we didn't order take out. His recovery dragged on for two months, which ultimately ended our relationship. Once again, I felt cheated by Covid, but damn, at least this time, I finally had the meal of my 2020 dreams!" — Keryn Francisco, Alameda, Calif. |
"We were recently in Victoria, B.C., and discovered a small Italian restaurant with live music named Pagliacci's. While we were waiting in the short line to enter, a couple walked up with a small boy in full Spider Man costume. He was doing what young boys do, jumping and climbing around as though he were the real thing. When he climbed up onto the exterior of the front window, someone in the band must have turned around or perhaps a diner pointed to him. As we were walking in to our table they called to get Spider Man in and started playing the theme song to the movie. The child was in awe as the music played and diners sang. For a few minutes there was no pandemic." — Hollace, Charleston, S.C. |
"My dearest friend, Bill, is in his 70s. He has survived a string of health crises. I just turned 65 and I'm diabetic. I stayed in through most of the pandemic having food and other necessities delivered. I wondered if Bill and I would ever see each other face to face again. When we finally had dinner at Gray Dog, a longtime favorite, my overwhelming emotion was relief. And a sense of vitality, being surrounded by the lively chatter of N.Y.U. students. Life for me and my pal has blessedly continued." — Hal Lanse, New York, N.Y. |
"I am in my 60s and high risk because of some medical conditions. A few days ago, my husband, a relative and I were having an early lunch on a patio of a restaurant in a hip, cool and liberal San Diego neighborhood. While we were eating, a huge crowd of co-workers came in and the patio filled up — too close for comfort. I hurriedly finished my food and whipped a mask on, and it was like a pall fell over the entire patio. Conversation lightened to a hush. I was the only person wearing a mask. Nobody confronted me or said anything about the mask but it was like the party fizzled." — F. Dunn, San Diego, Calif. |
"I went to dinner at a touristy Italian restaurant overlooking the water in Naples, Fla. When we arrived at the restaurant, I went in wearing a mask. This was at the peak of the Omicron surge in early 2022. The maitre d' greeted us, bluntly asking me, "Where are you from?" I responded with my home state, stunned at his abruptness, lack of warmth and disinterest in my party's reservation information. He responded, "Well, this is AMERICA and you don't need to wear a mask here." My dinner was ruined from that point forward." — Anya Gage, Minneapolis, Minn. |
"My friend Jane and I met for our first breakfast out at the iconic McMenamins in Tacoma's Elks Temple. Masked and nervous, we were seated adjacent and about 10 feet from a long table of perhaps 15, all in scrubs. They were rowdy, loud, laughing, up and dancing, drinking champagne, celebrating a colleague who was leaving their group. Did the explosion of sound and movement frighten us? No! It was so joyous, so open and fresh — we loved it! What a 'welcome back!' to dining out!" — Cecilia Hogan, Tacoma, Wash. |
What else we're following |
Let us know how you're dealing with the pandemic. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. |
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