People of Old Town rejoice!

The Trader Joe's on St. Asaph is expanding, and not a moment too soon. I've walked right out of that place because it was just too crowded and the lines were too long (which they are most of the weekend). Maybe you've known this for a while, but I just found out from a friend I ran into in town--who was going to stop at the TJ's in Springfield because she couldn't deal with the crowds at the local one (she's going to be out there anyway, but still.

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On this beautiful day in Old Town, I had a lovely lunch with some friends at Vermillion. We occupied our table for quite a while, and as the restaurant became crowded, a waiter very politely offered us a round of drinks at the bar... if we moved to the bar. The drinks were amazing (I got the apple pie... mmm), and the handling of the situation was very professional. A year ago, friends and I were having dinner at 701 in Penn Quarter-- and we weren't there for unreasonable time-- when we were flat-out, rudely asked to leave because another party was there for our table. I, personally, will never return there.

Restaurant etiquette goes both ways, and Tom Sietsema, the Post's food critic, started a lively discussion on the topic. This will shock you as much as it shocked me, but the main themes are people on cell phones and rowdy children.

Some excerpts:

...loud or otherwise unruly children (those who kick chairs, get underfoot of waiters, etc.), & of course cell phones.

What irks me the most are parents who allow their children to run wild in a restaurant, or in any public place. I have seen this happen to often to wonder, "What are these parents thinking of?" Are they not aware that their children are bothering other people? Perhaps not.

I was going to stay away from the breastfeeding-at-the-table discussion, until someone tried to justify it as such:

It seems to me that diners in a restaurant can look the other way for a few seconds while Mom positions baby for nursing. Babies have the right to eat, too, when they are hungry! And if you're tempted to say that babies don't belong in restaurants for dinner, please give Mom a break. We give up so many of our own personal freedoms when we choose to become nursing mothers. Happily, in most cases, but still. It's nice to know you can enjoy a night out at a nice restaurant and keep baby contented with a little nursing.

To which I say, aw, hell no! You give up your personal freedoms? First of all, who the hell begged you to have a child? If you're going to do it, don't whine about the sacrifices. More importantly, let's talk about personal freedoms. Please consult the constitution. I don't think it endows entitlement to a night out on the town, with a clause that specifically allows you to breastfeed in public (although I personally feel that if you can do that discreetly, it's not an issue). I'm just so sick of many parents' sense of entitlement.

This guy sums it up brilliantly:

Absolutely, the most irritating thing for me is obnoxious parents who feel completely justified in bringing their ill-behaved young children into a nice restaurant... Babies screaming and throwing food around. Kids climbing over everything and making a mess...I took my 16-year-old daughter out to Jaleo recently and ahead of us was a family with four young boys, aged from toddler to early elementary school and they were climbing on the fixtures before they even got to the hostess stand. After they were seated at a big table in the center of the dining room, the hostess moved to seat us right next to them and I asked her to find a table at the other end of the room. Sure enough, even from across the room, you could see these brats acting like they were at Chuckie Cheese's.
Note to parents: now matter how adorable your little Josh or Ashley is in your eyes, it's rude and inconsiderate to subject the patrons and staff of an adult restaurant with their presence. If the place doesn't have crayons and paper place mats with games and a "kids" menu, and if you're kids don't know how to act in a grown-up place, then leave at home--or go to TGI Fridays.

And these:

...disruptive children (actually should be inattentive parents) - by this i don't mean fussy children or loud children but ones that are either running through the restaurant or truly shrieking at the top of their lungs with no attempt by their parents to deal with it.

and

While I admit I don't like being subjected to other people's screaming children, I know it can't always be helped but one time was beyond the pale... Two of the children in this family were allowed to run around as they pleased and the baby was just letting loose with bloodcurdling screams (you would have thought it was the Spanish Inquisition)Why? Clueless dad was tickling the baby and thinking it was quit amusing when the baby shrieked! So since he was so amused he just kept doing it and doing it. Everyone in the restaurant just looked at each other in disbelief. We weren't sure whether to get up and leave or go over and give clueless dad a piece of our mind. When they left everyone was so relieved.

Of course, the woman changing a diaper on the table takes the cake, but I've seen people change diapers where they just shouldn't... it's the cluelessness. Their heads are so far up their own asses that they can't comprehend why others wouldn't want to later be in contact with a surface that had been in contact with their child's poop.

And then these jerks get all sanctimoniouswhen we express a preference for child-free dining.


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These babies are really cute.