But it's a good barrier to hurdle if you travel alone (for business, for fun) or just need to bust out of social norms for the kick of it. I was freaking out the very first time a couple of weeks back when I decided to take a break from work and eat at the fanciest place in town (which has been very hit or miss since I've been there twice now; more on that another time). It turns out that I had a nice relaxing and unawkward dinner, with my only complaint (besides the food) being perhaps a bit of boredom.
1. It's ok to sit at a table; you don't have to slink off to the bar where it's more "acceptable" to be a solo diner there, unless you prefer sitting at the bar to have some company.
2. Unless you have a good view / there's a TV (which there probably isn't if you're in a nicer place), if the atmosphere permits, consider reading material for parts of the experience that are not as interesting e.g. when you're waiting for the dish to arrive or between courses or waiting for the check. It did get a little dry for me personally even though I was in a museum-ish restaurant with interesting pieces displayed. Fiddling with your phone just feels a little sad.
3. Servers / restaurant employees are TOTALLY used to working with solo diners so they don't bat an eyelid. In fact, they're probably going to be more sensitive and attentive to your needs. And who cares what other people think? They're probably wishing they could be as self-assured and secure as you are. Especially when you're a young, Asian lady in a Southern town.
I've done it twice more since that first experience and while I would never choose to dine alone at a restaurant if I had D by my side, I might actually say that in some specific situations, I might actually pick dining with myself over dining with others. (These situations mostly relate to my introverted personality where big groups of acquaintences wear me out.) (By the way, it's getting really cool to be an introvert nowadays, and I love it.)
Give it a shot! You might hate it, but at least you tried it.
Bad iPhone pictures from my first experience at The Hive--a new, fancier, hip restaurant in downtown Bentonville that serves up "refined" Southern food. I've been there twice and there were okay dishes and big misses. I don't think I would return and I would probably not recommend it. Their value prop is promising but they don't deliver. I really want to like them ... there aren't many "refined" places here. Alas.
Crispy chicken livers. I didn't mind this, but had to peel off the breading at the end because it was pretty heavy. Good counterpoint to the slightly bitter greens though.
Scallops: inedible at best. I suffered through maybe one and a half out of politeness and cut the remainder up into pieces to pretend that I had worked on all of them. They were gooey rubbery and tasted weirdly metallic. I've never tasted scallops, or anything for that matter, like that before. The bed of eggplant puree underneath it was really bitter so I think they should have peeled their eggplant first. I'm not big on beans so I didn't like their vegetable medly either.
Cool atmosphere though. It's right by a little gallery so some of the quirks made its way into the restaurant, including large green penguins which I almost wanted to drag to my table so that I would have a friendly green companion.
