cooking is not a hassle, its fun if you & your significant other share the experience--its going to be a really long time before we set foot in any restaurant

And, why the rush to go out to get mostly microwaved & deep fried , prepackaged food, that is the norm in TV's restaurants

Do you really think places like Gator's actually cook?

I ate Monday at The Chop House. No wait. Full menu. I ate Tuesday at Havana. Limited menu, but no wait.

Wife & I went to Havana last night. Tables spaced as should be, inside bar had seating for singles and doubles spaced 6 ft apart no moving of seats period. Nothing on the bar. Drinks served in throwaway cups. New cup for every drink. Staff wore masks and gloves. Very happy to see people and thanked us for coming.

Restaurant Dining Today while still having Covid-19 outbreaks
 

Monday evening I went to Giovanni's, my fiancé and I were the only ones in the restaurant. A few people came in to pick up orders. They are doing everything they can to follow and comply with the CDC.

Last evening we went to Naldos, busier outside than inside. There were three booths separating us from other diners. They are also following the guidelines. Our favorite server, Tammy, who used to work at Giovanni's was serving us. She and other servers everywhere still haven't gotten their first unemployment check or stimulus check.

When you feel it is safe enough for you to dine out again, please remember to tip at least 20%, providing you had a good experience. They have families too and bills to pay and have had no income. Retirees still got their Social Security despite the quarantine.

Just remember, because things are starting to open up slowly, please be sure you maintain your distance and FOLLOW THE ARROWS and STAND BEHIND THE LINES TAPED ON THE FLOORS. I can't believe how many people are clueless.

Re Opening of Restaurants,
 

Going to a Restaurant?
Something to consider.
Doctors are limiting their practices to see patients. What are they telling us?
Perhaps it is nice to go out to eat as we had done this past Wednesday.
Not all of the wait staff wore masks and or gloves. Not too healthy for patrons or themselves.
Were surprised the Manager did not pull these people aside to reaffirm the requirements.
We will wait again for another few weeks to see what happens in new cases.

I'm sure their boneless wings come in frozen, and they deep-fry them and splash some buffalo sauce over them. I'm also sure their salad greens come already washed and cut.

But the ability to get out of the house, have someone else do the deep frying, food prep, serving, table-clearing, and dishwashing is attractive and something we like to experience sometimes. It was our wedding anniversary and I'll be damned if either of us has to cook and clean on our wedding anniversary.

The guideline fromTV is employees wear mask, and gloves. Please share where you were that they didn’t.

Why would they wear gloves. Is that more safe?

Eating Out
 

Two experiences to share from this past week, one in TV and one outside. Very different experiences. Ate at Red Sauce on the patio one evening. Good social distancing, staff was masked and wore gloves, bottle of sanitizer on every table, service excellent. Ate at Oakwood BBQ. Not a single worker wore a mask or gloves. Good job adhering to the 25% capacity guideline. We took extra precautions due to others not. We would have left but it was late and several other restaurants had already closed. I will admit we were a bit uneasy but we were no closer than 15 feet to anyone else and avoided contact with waiter.

I've had take out from Blue Fin (nothing deep fried), burgers from Lopez pool bar (yes, fries are deep fried... but Lopez pool bar burgers are excellent), pizza from Piesano's, and I've done take out from Pho Saigon a few times (not sure they even own a deep fryer). I've had take out from some of my favorite places. I want to support the local restaurants.

Michael Burry MD who was the subject of the movie "THE BIG SHORT" had an opinion on that very subject. He said.........

“Universal stay-at-home is the most devastating economic force in modern history,” Burry wrote in an email to Bloomberg News. “And it is man-made. It very suddenly reverses the gains of underprivileged groups, kills and creates drug addicts, beats and terrorizes women and children in violent now-jobless households, and more. It bleeds deep anguish and suicide.”

“I would lift stay-at-home orders except for known risk groups. We already know certain conditions that are predictive of severe disease. Especially since young healthy lungs tend to be resistant, I would let the virus circulate in the population that is not likely to get severe disease from it. This is the only path that comes close to balancing the needs of all groups. Vaccines are not coming anytime soon, so natural immunity is the only way out for now. Every day, every week in the current situation is ruining innumerable lives in a criminally unjust manner.”

"If COVID-19 testing were universal, the fatality rate would be less than 0.2%. This is no justification for sweeping government policies, lacking any and all nuance, that destroy the lives, jobs, and businesses of the other 99.8%."

This week was Legends, Chop House and Havana.. Made early reservations for all three .. No waiting .. There certainly werent any lines of people aching to get in .. Everyone was in good spirits and obviously thankful for the patronage. Food and service were very good at all three. Anxious for the masks to come off, but all in good time ..

About Gloves
 

Gloves carry germs just like our bare hands carry germs. Unless servers are constantly changing gloves in between serving customers, there is no advantage to wearing gloves. After removing gloves, the person should always wash their hands because there is a very high possibility, the person has no idea how to safely remove gloves without contaminating their hands. So.....why wear gloves when you must wash your hands every time the gloves are removed? No reason at all.

Why? Because they create the illusion of safety.

Actually, wearing gloves can be more detrimental because people take them off thinking their hands are clean but inadvertently contaminate their hands. Then, they do not wash their hands because they think their hands are clean when they are not.

Back on topic...we went to Sams St John in Summerfield at 5pm yesterday - were the 3rd couple there. Approx half of the usual tables had been removed and the existing were ell spaced apart. Guests were sitting in every other booth to maintain distance, serving staff all masked and menus wiped before/after provided to guests. Condiments served in single-serve containers; salt and pepper served in paper packets. Saw table and chairs being wiped down as we went to pay the bill on the way out. Food was as expected - no change from previously. It's not gourmet but it is adequate and servings are good for the price...served really hot, too! The lack of a full dining room enabled the air conditioning to be at an acceptable level, too! Did not need my usual sweater! lol

We're taking the same approach

We enjoy cooking....okay there's clean up involved, but working together it's no big deal...

and it's not like we're rushing to get down to the square

Went out 1st time yesterday. chilis they were fine. Every other table x off so spacing good. all staff wore masks and hand sanitizers in front to use upon entering and exiting.

I find that social distancing is not consistent and I'm trying to understand the CDC guidelines. Restaurants must keep tables separated by 6 feet yet parties of 8 or 10 are allowed to sit without masks, shoulder to shoulder and directly across from each other at the table. Those same people who were sitting without masks shoulder to shoulder in a restaurant must social distance in a grocery store and stay 6 feet apart, masks requested or in Costco, required.

Where is the consistency in these guidelines? I can understand why people are confused as to what is expected of them. The CDC has mandated no gatherings larger than 10 people but aren't those 10 people still supposed to distance themselves by 6 feet unless they live in the same household?

Why are the guidelines different for restaurants vs retail, grocery stores and pharmacies?

Lake sumpter the other night... one of the restaurants on a side street had people seated outside. The tables may have been 6 feet apart, but once the chairs were around it and people were sitting at different distances from the table, they appeared to be very close to one another. It was packed. I’ll save my dining out for somewhere where the food is excellent... not many around here that are good enough for me to take the risks.

Here is an email I received from the Rose Plantation.

"As most of you are aware, the Governor has expanded the opening of restaurants to 50% of capacity. We are working on opening as soon as we are able, after we complete some remodeling items and increased safety protocals. Based on our various contractor projections, we think we can reopen in around 7 - 8 weeks. We will keep you informed and start taking reservations a week out from our actual reopening date.

Several items we are waiting for are portable hand washing sinks so everyone can wash their hands before entering the restaurant, as hand washing seems to be the best health care practice against COVID-19. In addition, we have ordered hospital type air purifiers for our HVAC equipment to filter air flow.

We appreciate your support through all of this and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you,
The Rose Plantation"

Apparently, there is a huge difference of opinion among restaurants as to what precautions they need to take to make their businesses safe.

Color us confused as well

For me it's a situational risk tolerance question. Do I believe ten people at the table have been taking personal responsibility and appropriate precautions thus reducing the risk. Especially since the infection rate around us is currently very low. If there is a localized spike, I'll not take this risk.

In a situation where the people are unknowns, such as groceries or the next table, the risk is higher.

People need to do what is comfortable for their situation.