Nostalgia for Eating out

The idea of eating out has fascinated me so much that there was a time I would randomly go out to eat by myself at a restaurant.

Ever since the Coronavirus Pandemic happened, the whole concept of eating out has become frightening. Since March 2020, when the nation underwent a complete lockdown, all the eateries were shut down and there was terror as well as doubt in the minds of people regarding the spread of the virus. A lot of people believed that the virus could also be spread through foodstuff as a result they stopped consuming food from the local restaurants.

The social experience of eating out with friends and family perhaps came to a halt and dining out became just a memory of the past.

One evening, I passed by the most famous eatery chain in Bhopal (Sagar Gaire) where you wouldn't find a spot to step on a normal day, but there were hardly two customers that evening.

Image1 - Veg Biryani from Sagar Gaire, a speciality of the place

Source - Self

A few days back during the months of November-December, the number of COVID cases saw a decline and one could see an increase in the number of people coming out to these restaurants and street food vendors. Although people started frequenting these spaces but only while keeping the safety measures.

But as we see a spike in the number of cases again and the restriction government has put on dining in, the future seems Tasteless.

So will we ever dine out with friends again? We can't say.

Image 2 - Conversations over Coffee

Source - Self

If one would ask me about my experience of eating out and the part I miss the most about eating out, I’d say there is no part of eating out with friends that I don’t miss. Eating out for me was never actually about the food, but it was about the conversations that sprang from it, about the past, about places and the happy and sad times. It is very interesting to recall how whenever my college friends from undergraduate would gather together, each one of one would order the same food that we used to and then talk about older times when we had the same dish or sometimes even criticize the taste of it comparing it to the last time we might have had it.

So the tons of recipes that can be cooked at home cannot replace the lived experience of eating them out with friends or family. There will always be a nostalgia for eating out until the times are favourable enough.