I love eating alone in restaurants. It's just me, a good book, and no pressure to make idle chit-chat. But on my recent excursion to Iowa City for a workshop, I made a point of putting down my book at least during the main course.
I've been trying to pay more attention to what I eat while I'm eating it, aware that if I'm nose deep in a good book while I chomp away, I'm missing out on the pleasure of what I'm eating. Plus, it's been shown that people who don't pay attention while they eat snarf down waaay more than people who are paying attention. (For more on the fascinating psychology behind how much we eat and why, read Mindless Eating by Cornell University food researcher Brian Wansink. Great book. For more on why taking pleasure in what you eat matters, see "Eating With Pleasure," an new EL interview with nutritional psychologist Marc David).
The second reason I'm trying to give up reading during the main course is because restaurant plates are usually so big I can't see over them to my book while I eat -- and its not okay to sit on my knees in a restaurant just to get the height I need to see the printed page!
Turned out for the best, though: being fully present for the funnel cake I ate after the salmon was worth the literary absence.
(And if you find yourself in Iowa City, stop by the Motley Cow for brunch, lunch and dinner; they use fresh, local, organic ingredients and the atmosphere is charming and homey. Plus, their funnel cake is the only fried food I've ever eaten and not immediately felt like I would get type-2 diabetes.)
I've been trying to pay more attention to what I eat while I'm eating it, aware that if I'm nose deep in a good book while I chomp away, I'm missing out on the pleasure of what I'm eating. Plus, it's been shown that people who don't pay attention while they eat snarf down waaay more than people who are paying attention. (For more on the fascinating psychology behind how much we eat and why, read Mindless Eating by Cornell University food researcher Brian Wansink. Great book. For more on why taking pleasure in what you eat matters, see "Eating With Pleasure," an new EL interview with nutritional psychologist Marc David).
The second reason I'm trying to give up reading during the main course is because restaurant plates are usually so big I can't see over them to my book while I eat -- and its not okay to sit on my knees in a restaurant just to get the height I need to see the printed page!
Turned out for the best, though: being fully present for the funnel cake I ate after the salmon was worth the literary absence.
(And if you find yourself in Iowa City, stop by the Motley Cow for brunch, lunch and dinner; they use fresh, local, organic ingredients and the atmosphere is charming and homey. Plus, their funnel cake is the only fried food I've ever eaten and not immediately felt like I would get type-2 diabetes.)
I love Iowa City eateries, also.