Use This Pro Tip the Next Time You Go Out to Eat

There's nothing in the world that can ruin an appetite more than a packed restaurant with a two-hour waitlist.

This happened to me more times than I can count, and it always seems to occur when my stomach is growling the most. Just the other night, I went down to the South End of New Bedford to see what all the fuss was about with this new Cisco Brewing place. As soon as I stepped in line to see the hostess, there were two couples in front of me.

The first couple was told an hour, the second an hour and 20 minutes and finally an hour 25 minutes for me once I reached the front of the line. Totally understandable – it's a new place with a lot of buzz and some rave reviews, so of course it's going to be busy, and that's a great sign for a new spot. One by one, though, I watched the people in front of me disperse back to the parking lot in disappointment – but I had a different plan in mind.

"Is there any room at the bar?" I asked the hostess who then replied with, "Of course, help yourself."

As I opened the door to the inside of the newly-remodeled establishment, a few spots were available at the bar and I was home free. The point of all this is to always remember that you can eat at a bar and if you don't have a preference of where they'll seat you to begin with, you might as well take advantage of it.

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A majority of restaurants with bars have food service available for the most part, and I was right in this case. As soon as I sat down, ordered, ate, and relaxed, it would have been the same wait time as I was originally given. Let that sink in for just a moment.

The next time you want to go out to eat and you're not fussy when it comes to your seating, then eat at the bar. Especially if it's just you and a special someone; it's a casual scenario for good conversation. Go ahead, try it out, but don't say I didn't tell you so.