Food versus music…which wins?

​Is this a question to ask Dear Abby, Miss Manners, Dan Savage, or the readers of Fat City? A friend of mine called today to say he walked out of a restaurant before the food arrived because he had been waiting for over 40 minutes for a simple lunch, the service was lousy, and the music played over the sound system stunk to high hell. “Worst than Muzak, worst than the worst rehearsal of the very worst garage band,” he groused. “I had to get the hell out of there.”

But, he asked, did he do something morally unethical? After all, we could assume that maybe his food was almost ready to be served before he took leave of the little restaurant.

I’ve always said that the aural component is as important as any of the sensual qualities one experiences in a restaurant. Frankly, I don’t care how fantastic the cuisine may be if the restaurant is too grimy, if the servers are too inattentive, and if the music doesn’t enhance the dining experience in some way. Have I walked out of an excessively noisy dining room? Hell yes!

(Image via Flickr:dimitridickinson)