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When the host asks if you’d prefer a table or to sit at the bar, take the bar. You get to sit next to your date, watch the cocktails be made, make small talk with the bartender (if the vibes call for it), and depending on the location of the kitchen, maybe you see into the kitchen! It’s better than TV and often comes with little hooks to hang your bag and coat from.
Pictured is a snap from birthday dinner at a steakhouse last night. We chose the bar seats!
May 20, 2025
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It’s the perfect spot for a solo dinner, especially if you feel weird sitting alone at a table or you are trying to get used to doing things on your own. There’s usually more going on at/around the bar, so it’s less boring. Sometimes you get to chat a little bit with a kind bartender. It‘s fine to take up space, but you naturally take up a little less at the bar.
Feb 18, 2024
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is the absolute best (with a group of 2-3). I don’t understand why restaurant hosts are hesitant to seat anyone there, that’s where I want to be! I get to spy on the bartender and shoot the shit; it just feels like a more intimate dining experience to me. I don’t care if it’s less formal, bar seating will always be my favorite way to dine.
Dec 30, 2024
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For a sublime solo dining experience, sit at the bar —
Jan 6, 2024
Top Recs from @salad_valet
i’ve been trying to articulate why i enjoy this space so much. yes, the UX is reminiscent of Tumblr and the early days of the internet. and there’s genuine sincerity and vulnerability on here that makes it feel really cozy and real, which i haven’t felt online in at least a decade.
but i think what’s undergirding my love of this space is how anti-capitalist it feels. most of the recs everyone shares are vibe-checks, quality of life shifts, meditations and offers, music and movies, just plain good art. i don’t feel compelled to buy anything when i come here. i feel excited and pumped to be a cheerleader, find connection, find common ground. and FWIW the recs i’ve shared that have gotten the most traction are my suggestions for leading a less capitalistic / consumerist life (quitting Amazon, getting off of Spotify, building community to take care of you and your things).
all of this is to say, i love it here and i love you guys.
Feb 7, 2025
i canceled my Spotify account over the summer and have spent the last few months rebuilding my digital music library on a refurbished iPod Touch. reading critiques of the app (and it’s enshittification), i realized i wasn’t even sure of my own musical tastes and preferences. i had stopped picking for myself, stopped seeking out new music, ceasing to know how to choose what i wanted or articulate what i like.
breaking free from the algorithm has been such a joy! i’m borrowing gobs of music from the library, rebuilding my old playlists, and consuming more music than i have in years. and better yet, my data isn’t being tracked by Spotify and i own what’s in my personal library. further, my receptors are more open when i’m out in the world exposed to music, searching for recommendations in an organic way.
Jan 16, 2025
hear me out—this one might feel impossible, but i quit purchasing items on Amazon in 2018 and cancelled my GoodReads account shortly after.
i did some serious reflection and realized i’d become super reliant upon, and frankly, quite used to the instant gratification of purchasing something and knowing i’d have it within a day. that’s not normal. the labor practices, economics, and environmental impacts of getting what you want from the internet delivered quickly and right to your door are skewed. i was filling a void in myself with mindless purchases.
i’m aware that they service a huge swath of the internet (Amazon Web Services), own Whole Foods and Abe Books, and will likely take over more businesses we like and rely on. weaning off and avoiding entirely is very very hard, but it can also be a measured decision. that said, i know that it is a privilege to abstain from Amazon. i am able bodied, i don’t have kids, i have access to a car, i live in an urban environment with access to a lot of stuff at my fingertips. but making the choice to break out of the Amazon loop has ultimately been better for my pocketbook and better for my relationship to these mega-tech-companies that have their fingers in everything.
in contrast, i’m becoming more interested in alternate economies, like bartering and sharing. i love the idea of having commonly shared tools and items (tool libraries are very cool). we don’t need to own it all, we have each other.
interested in exploring more? the zine pictured below is a great start, and summarizes a much larger book by the same author on how to resist the leviathan that is Amazon.
Jan 22, 2025