el gaucho

last night my girlfriends and I went to el gaucho for dessert. we weren't planning it. initially we wanted to go to black bottle tavern. after more than half an hour of looking for parking, we found out that there was an hour wait for a table. thus, we decided to head over to umi's for dinner. afterwards, we tried black bottle tavern again for dessert. but this time around the bar was full and it looked like there were more people waiting for a table. so, el gaucho it was for dessert.

fine dining indeed. quite cool ambiance. nice jazzy live piano and keyboards music. the place is dark, except for really dim lights and candles on our tables. for dessert, we were recommended the cherries jubilee and chocolate ganache. I liked the latter more. the cherries were done flambe style, just like banana foster. so that was fun. but the alcohol was too much for me.

now, the reason I'm writing this is not so much as talking about the food but the guy that was sitting next to us. he was sitting alone. first, enjoying a glass of cocktail with some kind of appetizer. next, he had salad, which was made in front of him as well. I think it was just simple caesar's salad though. but, I'm sure it was more sophisticated than that. then he continued on to the next course, which was the main course, a piece of steak. not a big piece. probably fillet mignon. he had that with a glass of red wine. I don't know if he had any dessert. I left when he was finishing up his steak.

I guess it's odd for me to notice him and what he's eating. what stood out and made me notice him was he was sitting right next to us, on our right. and at times I was talking to my friend, who's sitting on my right. so I could see his table clearly. and he was sitting alone. it's the first time I've seen someone eating alone, in a fine dining place. maybe he was giving himself a treat. it's quite nice, I suppose, to enjoy good food by yourself. personally, I prefer having someone to accompany me.