Last week, RQS came up for a mid-week visit, as she had a weekend memorial that she had to attend. Because of this, she came up on Tuesday to spend the middle of the week with me.
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Like most couples, RQS and I have several go-to restaurants near each others' residences. The reasons a restaurant becomes a "go-to" place vary. For example, the diner in Croton is my go-to place when I'm presenting as Mario. The food is good, servings are plentiful, the staff is friendly, and the experience is predictable. It's not a great place to eat, but it is not a bad place to eat. It's simply a pleasant experience each time we go there. And I've eaten there often enough as Mario, that I avoid eating there as Marian.
The go-to places I have when presenting as Mario are different than those I have when presenting as Marian. For example, I will go to one Italian restaurant in Croton over most of the others in town, as they have only seen me in Marian mode. This makes it much easier for me, as I don't have to worry as much as being misgendered.
And then, there are the places I can go to in either presentation. I do not visit these places often enough to be a fixture there, and I am likely to be seen as a very occasional visitor. One of those places is the Eveready Diner in Brewster. Given the distance from Croton, NY to Brewster, NY, we are not likely to visit there often enough to become a fixture there. So, I feel safe visiting in either gender presentation.
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As you can guess, I am a low key foodie who can enjoy both haute cuisine and junk food. For the most part, I find good places to eat almost anywhere. But I have also found some bad places as well. Those bad places are few and far between, and are often found in acts of desperation. For example, RQS and I visited Bar Harbor, ME on a cruise after tourist season ended and couldn't find a good place to eat because my go-to places were already closed for the winter. Unfortunately, we ended up stumbling into a place with bad service, mediocre food, and forgettable atmosphere. That's one place we will never again visit.
Yet, we stumble into more good places than bad ones. On the same cruise where we visited Bar Harbor, we also visited Portland, ME and found a great seafood joint off the beaten path. The restaurant was associated with another business which processes seafood destined for other other restaurants. Yum! Needless to say, we will visit this place again the next time we are in Portland.
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In the past, I'd try to go to as many meetups as possible, so that I could eat out with other people. Now that RQS is in my life, it is just as well that I do not go to many meetups anymore. Dining out has gotten way too expensive these days. I still recoil a little when I see post-pandemic restaurant prices. So, I've become extra careful to patronize my go-to places as often as I can, as I want them to stay in business.
