Why is it that when I’m eating alone, I end up near first dates? On the plus side, the Asian woman was going out with an Asian dude. Good on you dude. On the minus side, she was facing me and now I know she’s a 29YO first year resident, graduate of Cornell Medical School, minutae about residency that I already know, what she thinks of chocolate, and what she thinks about certain hipster bands. That took over an hour. I think he said he’s 23 and bum rushed the stage at some hipster show. He didn’t talk much (or couldn’t get a word in edgewise) and he was facing away from me so I couldn’t hear him very well.

OK, let me tell you the real plus side, the food at Olympic Provisions is spectacular. I don’t think my sister would have liked the steak because it was fatty and the salsa verde was filled with onions. They cooked the steak very rare for me and salted to perfection. The salsa verde was surprisingly spicy and tasty and went with the aged meat quite well. The Blood and Sand cocktail wasn’t the Manhattan I was imagining but was a nice sweet start to dinner.

The dessert, a rhubarb tart, was similarly well done. Crispy and fresh.

So, it wasn’t for everyone, but it was another big win for me. So what if I eat dinner alone if it’s going to be this tasty?