Today we took a nice walk around Laumeier Sculpture Park in the morning and decided to go out for lunch for the first time in over three months.On such a nice day we thought we could probably brave the outdoor patio at Bandana's Bar-B-Q in Rock Hill which we knew had a large patio and tended to be pretty empty at lunch. We entered the main restaurant to be seated and noticed the dining area was pretty empty, but as we arrived wearing our face masks, another larger group of older people (perhaps in their 60's or 70's) arrived as well with none of them wearing masks.
We asked to be seated outside and our waiter, wearing a bandana over his face (of course!) escorted us to the patio where he opened up an umbrella over a table for us to use. Nobody else was sitting on the patio so we experienced the ultimate in social distancing! He took our drink orders and returned shortly with our drinks and took our orders. The menus were all on paper, but we already knew what we wanted (smoked pork, fries and garlic bread). We were just so excited to be eating out!
As usual it did not take long for our food to arrive. Unlike the curbside service fries which we have ordered before, the freshly made dine-in french fries are much more crisp and warm since they did not have to sit in the sealed containers and then be transported in a car. It was also nice to have the full bottles of sauce which our waiter brought in a little six-pack caddy which was very convenient. I used my left hand to squeeze out generous portions of sauce and then I could easily sanitize my left hands afterwards. I made a point to eat with my right hand and keep my left hand ready for more sauce, since I just love barbecue sauce!
For our whole meal nobody else joined us on the patio which was a shame since it was a beautiful day. Our waiter popped out a few times to check on us to make sure we did not need anything. As usual the service is pretty good there, and everything tasted fresh and delicious. It was just so nice to be dining out again! Bandana's seems to be following proper guidelines, although it was easy to do with such a small crowd at lunch and with us sitting outside. Our church just sent out a nice graphic that shows comparative risks of doing different activities. Eating outside at a restaurant is equivalent to going to the dentist or an office, so it is not terribly bad. Much safer than eating inside or attending church services!
All in all it was a very nice visit to Bandana's and we were pleased to see they were operating safely. I bet we go back again in the not too distant future!
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