Thoughts

FANCY RESTAURANTS
When I was in high school, we took a family vacation to New York. While we were there, we met up with one my dad's old friends and his daughter. They had lived in Manhattan for many years and truly lived the NYC lifestyle.
So, when we ended up having dinner at a fancy restaurant, the daugher (who was roughly my age) knew exactly how to act, what to order, and felt very comfortable.

But for Raymond, Sandra, and me, we all felt a little out of place. We didn't know what kind of drink to order or even understand what some of the food was.

Afterwards, I remember my mom saying that she felt she had let us down by not taking us to fancy restaurants every once in a while so we could experience fine dining. She felt it was important for us to at least know how to order and what to do there, just in case the opportunity ever presented itself like it did in New York.

So, maybe she still had that in mind more than 10 years later when she suggested she treat me, Karena, Karena's mom, and sister to a fancy lunch at downtown's Water Grill. We dined on some amazing halibut and bass, but we were too shy to order the $50 salmon. I just felt wrong ordering a $50 entree for lunch. After eating the entrees and having some yummy dessert, we paid the valet guys and headed home.

I decided that I usually don't think expensive restaurants are worth it. I would have had a much better time at Lucille's BBQ (in Long Beach) or Redwood Bar and Grill (in Las Vegas) or even Noodle Planet or Souplantation, with tons of money to spare.

Still, I agree with my mom. It was a good experience.