Photo taken by the author

RESTAURANT REVIEW/ESSAY

Buffets Are Better with a Friend

The first few times I went out to eat at a restaurant by myself, I felt embarrassed when the host or hostess would ask, “Table for one?” because I would have to mumble, “Yes.” When I was a kid, it was cool and exciting for me to do things alone because it showed that I was *growing up*. But when I became an actual grown-up, I found it neither cool nor exciting to do…