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Welcome to Table Talk, The Daily Memphian’s weekly food and dining newsletter for subscribers only.
Have you ever gone out to eat and it seemed like the entire restaurant was in on a secret? A chance outing to The Majestic Grille recently had me feeling like I’d missed the memo or forgotten to mark my calendar with an important date.
The dining room was packed, from the windows overlooking Main Street to the back booths and tables near the kitchen. Even the bar and mezzanine were full of patrons deep in discussion, laughing or just quietly enjoying each other’s company. Gentlemen were smartly dressed and (some) ladies were wrapped in furs — faux or otherwise — to protect themselves from the winter weather that’s finally made its appearance.
As I observed the dining room and its cozy two-tops, larger tables for bigger parties, booths and bar seats, I asked myself a couple of questions:
- How could I have forgotten to secure tickets to “The Outsiders” opening night at The Orpheum Theatre?
- What does where we choose to sit in a restaurant say about us and the kind of dining experience we hope to have?
 Food and restaurant reporter Ellen Chamberlain selected a booth for breakfast dining at Barksdale’s Diner with her best friend Alexis Douglas. (Submitted)
I managed to snag one of those cozy two-tops near the front door, but that wouldn’t have necessarily been my first choice. My dinner companion and I are bona fide barflies; we love making friends with bartenders and other patrons. Since Majestic’s bar was loaded to the hilt, us snagging a prime spot just before another wave of diners entered was pure luck that gave me an even better view for people watching.
I talked to Leo Fargotstein and Samantha Baltondano, two restaurant guests who didn’t join the mass exodus to the Orpheum around 7 o’clock. Instead, Fargotstein was celebrating his birthday at one of his favorite restaurants.
“I love this place,” he said. “You can’t go wrong with going to The Majestic Grille.”
Fargotstein and Baltondano were waiting for another pair to join them, so I asked if they typically sat at booths when they dined out.
“Typically, if I’m with a party of four, I like a booth. If it’s more than four, a round table,” Fargotstein said. “Especially when you’re with people you don’t know, it’s nice to have a round table because you can communicate with everybody. You can look at everybody, where, if you’re at a rectangular table, it’s hard to look at everybody.”
 The Majestic Grille is located at 145 S. Main St. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian file)
When dining solo, Fargotstein is like me and takes a bar seat, but Baltondano admitted that she’s a bit more introverted and isn’t always a big fan of those large tables.
“I’m a booth person,” she said. “Round tables are a little crowded, and I’m a little shy.”
My pseudoscience study of dining didn’t stop there. Over at Belle Tavern, three guests had braved the cold in order to dine, separately and alone, at the bar.
“I like to sit at the bar because you get to meet people,” said Leigh Jackson. “You get to talk to your bartenders, get to know them, so you become more of a regular. They treat you with a little bit of extra love whenever you come back in. I’ve met a lot of wonderful people here at Belle Tavern.”
So, where do you sit when you go out? Are you a solo diner who likes to make friends at the bar or someone who prefers the comfort of a booth?
And, most importantly, do you remember to buy your theater tickets in time to get good seats — or do you, like me, only realize what you’ve missed once the house lights dim?
This week on the Memphis food scene
 Jimmy Gentry began bussing tables at Country Squire in Germantown as a teenager, learning early that success in restaurants depends as much on discipline and awareness as creativity. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
Christin Yates explored the background that helped a Downtown chef add a James Beard semifinalist nod to his list of achievements, including a Michelin Guide recommendation.
The new food pyramid is stirring up debate nationwide, and Yates also spoke to Memphis nutrition experts about the changes and how the city may react.
In Orange Mound, a Memphis restaurant owner discussed his commitment to creating a safe space for both himself and his community.
Jennifer Chandler has step-by-step instructions for recreating the cheddar and pepper jelly crumble bars from Perre Magness in the latest Recipe Exchange.
In “Sound Bites,” Holly Whitfield sat down with Kelly English to dispel the rumors about the futures of Swamp Bar and Second Line.
 After less than a year of The Crazy Coop calling Downtown home, owner Darius Buckner has closed that location. (The Daily Memphian file)
Restauranteur Darius Buckner explained the reasoning for closing one restaurant and abandoning another before it could get off the ground.
Erica Horton shared her deep love for the food at Uncle Red’s Turkey Legs and the variety of bowls available there in her latest $15 Deal.
And in this week’s Food Files, Sophia Surrett chronicled the opening of a new cat cafe in Southaven, the return of Gibson’s Donuts on Mount Moriah Road and the reopening of a Collierville coffeehouse.
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