No Phone with Food

The other day I went to dinner with a friend.  My phone was low on power--drained from listening to the Mets take 20 innings to lose a game.  I plugged in before we went out.

When we were ready to go, I instinctively reached for my phone, because I never really walk out the door without it.  We weren't going far, but that wasn't the point.  It has become an appendage--a tether to the rest of the world, preventing me from straying too far from the other billions.  

For some reason, I stopped.  I realized that all I was doing was heading out to eat at a new place I was excited to go to for the first time and to catch up with a good friend.  Neither of these tasks--eating, listening, talking, required an internet connection, let alone a phone.  I decided to leave it.  

"No phone with food," I said.  

We ate at Bar Corvo.  The food was terrific.  Get the chicken--it's incredibly tasty.  I focused on my friend across from me.  An interesting byproduct of not having the phone on me was that there was a little extra incentive to maintain a good conversation.  I couldn't supplement it with a wikipedia search for the official definition of "gratin" or a private viewing of the day's Instagram photos.  I had to be fresh, original, and thoughtful.  It was Humans Unplugged and it was really nice.

I think that's going to be the rule from now on--no phone with food--and I think I'm going to like it.  

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