'Me and My' Space in Restaurants. You have a Favourite?

           

           How do you like your chutneys? 

Pungent? Spicy? Bland? Coconut-y?!

I am at this restaurant at Hotel Maris. I order for a plain dosa. I am served three chutneys with the dosa. The red chutney tastes different and I know it has not been a common serving at this place. 

The steward tells me it is onion and red chillies ground with some garlic and tamarind. I polish it off and ask for a little more. It is served.

You don’t serve it often, I query the steward.

Depends on the cook’s plans, he tells me.

This restaurant, in recent times, become my go-to place when I need a snack in the evening or suggest a meet-up with a friend.

On most evenings, the space is free and you get a table of your choice and you can make this space your own.

The stewards who known you as a regular will not bug you.

I prefer some such spaces where you can, not only snack on some good food but also have time for yourself or meet a friend in the quiet.

We lost such space on the Marina; I was getting used to it.

The cafe below the lawns close to the Gandhi statue. There were two cafes, and the one which offered good coffee and sundal and vadai was my go-to place. 

You could order, take a table and watch the life on the Marina go by as the sun sank in the west. They are no more. The massive work on Chennai Metro led to the demolition of all these spots.

I am sure you too have a place you want to go to when you need some time for yourself. Perhaps just do nothing for 20 minutes while you sip a hot cup of coffee or enjoy bajji!

Yes, there are many new-age cafes that let you be to yourself or gang up with friends. But have you found comfortable spaces even among the restaurants that are often abuzz with diners?

In our neighbourhoods, it is good to have these spaces where you enjoy some ‘me’ time the way you want to. There are times when a home does not create such zones. There are places which do not allow people to linger.

Parks, playgrounds, places of prayer; perhaps these are places you go to and find some comfort. If you also have cafes on your list, that must be fun.