Sometimes there is nothing more luxurious than enjoying a delicious meal alone. Recently, I enjoyed such a meal at a lovely French restaurant in Houston’s new(ish) River Oaks District, Toulouse. I was out shopping, and luckily for me, the desired items on my list led me to ROD. If you’re not from here, it’s the newest and most prestigious multi-use outdoor shopping and dining area in town. It really is beautiful and has a lot of eye candy as you walk around. In your immediate eye-line, there’s everything from beautiful Baccarat crystal and sparkling Cartier and Harry Winston jewelry to the coveted fashion ensembles of Dior or the cleverly spunky Alice & Olivia. I mean, where do you look first?? 

To the food. That’s where. As amazing as everything else is, the food might be even better. Houston’s River Oaks District is home to some fantabulous culinary establishments and I had the most glorious solo brunch whilst out for my aforementioned shopping errand. I wandered into Toulouse, where I had shared a beautiful dinner with a sweet friend a year or so before. This was my first experience with their brunch and I was not sorry. Not sorry at all.

I will say that it never ceases to amaze me how it tends to go at the hostess stand when you’re by yourself. “How many more will be joining you? Oh. Just you? Alone? OK. Hmmm.” Never is it, “Table for one? Good for you. Right this way.” It always seems like it’s such a riddle figuring out where to seat a party of one. The hostess was sweet, though, and took me to a high top table in the bar area. The bustling ambiance was great, the music was on point and the people watching (my favorite pastime) was even better. Here is where we get into one of the main perks of dining alone. First, it seems like it always takes your server a little bit longer to get to you initially because I often think they assume you’re waiting for someone, but once they do come to you and find out you are, in fact, dining alone, they become extra attentive. Isn’t this what we always want from our servers? More please.

I’ve always really enjoyed dining alone, whether it’s at home or at a restaurant, and I don’t only mean take-out restaurants. I especially enjoy dining solo in a beautiful, fine dining establishment. Somehow, it makes everything feel even more special, like it’s all there just for you, and I’m not sure if it’s because the staff feels sorry for you or respects you for being brave, but they seem to be especially nice to you when you’re by yourself. I’ve been out at restaurants so many times with other people when they happen to notice someone dining alone and immediately say, “Awwww… I feel sorry for them.” I have even had people admit to me that if they ever need to eat alone, they get their food to go and eat in their cars. Why is that? If I see someone anywhere looking peaceful and content, especially with a gorgeous meal in front of them, I congratulate them silently in my head and give them an unspoken nod. I love a lunch or dinner with a friend or loved one as much as the next gal, but sometimes, it’s just as enjoyable, if not more, to go it alone. 

This particular meal was about as enjoyable an experience as you could hope for. The staff was friendly and quick and on their game. I ordered a glass of the Sancerre they carry by the glass that I really like, Domaine Cherrier from the Loire Valley. Sancerre is always one of my favorite options and when I see it on the menu, it’s hard for me to pass up. I will say, though, that they have a nice wine list all around. I went back not long after this for dinner and found that they had a Cabernet Sauvignon that I adore called Juggernaut that went perfectly with the beef bourguignon that we ordered (I was not alone this time).

Back to brunch, though. If you’re a bread eater, their bread and butter is worth the gluten. I started my meal with the Salade Maison, which is just their green house salad. It’s clean and light and I love that they use Bibb lettuce. It is the perfect starter. For my pièce de résistance, I opted for the Eggs Florentine at the suggestion of my server and it was absolutely delicious. I’m a sucker for a perfectly poached egg and when you get to have one with jumbo lump crab meat and a light and fluffy béarnaise sauce, it’s even better. Add spinach, tomatoes and asparagus and you get the masterpiece I got to enjoy on that beautiful day. I was completely happy and satisfied and could have ended there, but then my server brought out a crème brûlée that I had not ordered (see… I think they feel sorry for you and then you get all the perks!), and while not usually a huge crème brûlée fan, this one was about as perfect as it could get. That’s never my choice on a dessert menu, but I would absolutely order it there again.

I’m not sure what the reason is for people in our culture to feel like being by yourself is some kind of punishment rather than a form of self care or even something to be celebrated. I have an idea, though. At my daughter’s school, they use “Lonely Lunch” as a form of discipline. Whether it’s for bad behavior or unfinished work or whatever else, they give the kids “Lonely Lunch”. I’m repeating the name “Lonely Lunch” again for those of you in the cheap seats just to be sure it sinks in… what a terrible message they’re giving these children about what it means to eat by yourself. How can children grow up with that language and not have some deep seated underlying feeling that they’re doing something wrong or should be embarrassed to eat by themselves when they become adults? The school knows my feelings on this and I hope other parents have shared the same thoughts with them and we can do better by our next generation.

We spend so much of our time caring for others, especially as parents. Being a mother at mealtime often means you don’t eat until after everyone else and that usually means that your food is not as warm and you’re distracted by telling everyone to eat their food and not get up from the table and to use their napkin and to please eat over their plate and to drink their water and and and… If that sounds anything like your life, take yourself out for a nice brunch for one. Soak up every glorious second of alone-time and drink it in slowly like the delicious wine you’re going to order. Give yourself the gift of silence and warm food and of being waited on by someone who is there to make sure you are happy. You deserve it.