Table for One

I caught a little bit of "Sex in the City" last night. I don't watch it often in syndication. Cute girls, yeah it has that going for it. But I can't relate much to single life in NYC. But I did catch one episode last night, in which Carrie truimphed at the end by pulling off this nearly impossible feat, apparently, for her:

eating dinner at a restaurant alone - no book, no friends.

Wow. Amazing. Personally, I haven't pulled off this feat more than a few hundred times - given all my nights on the road on business and such. I'll probably do it again tonight.

Okay, I'm being snarky.

Ladies, I know this is an nonstarter for you. Many of you wouldn't even consider it. I've had discussions with some of you about it, and it always bears out. The thought of going and sitting in a restaurant by yourself is deeply unpleasant and it's just not going to happen.

Mrs. SCM, for example. Several nights I've offered to send her out for the evening while I watch the kids and work on the house. "Go have a nice dinner and see a movie", I tell her. Then she starts frantically calling around for a friend to go with her. If she can't find one, it's off. Done. Not going. You give me that same deal and five seconds later you're going to hear a banging door.

For me, and probably for most men, it's not at a big deal. I go in. I sit down. I order. I watch people, well half of them anyway. I think about some things. I eat. I leave. No big deal. I even enjoy it. Imagine that.

So, ladies. Why is eating alone in a restaurant such a big deal for you? What is the cultural dynamic at play here?