Last night I dreamt I was in a restaurant with a group of family and acquaintances which I’ll list shortly. The focus here is on the restaurant which is reoccurring but only once every couple of years. The restaurant is very high end, but somewhat gloomy and sober. I’m not afraid of the bill as I can pay it but it will put a small dent in the finances. There is an indication it is in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio but exists more in my subconscious than as an actual place.
When I try to come up with examples in Columbus the closest I can come is “Baby Doe’s Matchless Mine” which I only knew was Baby Doe’s and closed around 1999 or 2001 or Barcelona. My best childhood friend got a job as a chef at Baby Doe’s as one of his first jobs which gave me quite a surprise as I didn’t realize he was that good. He remains a chef to this day. I also recall eating there only once and getting a match book as we rarely ate at restaurants, and almost never at the very expensive ones. So that matchbook was a special souvenir for me. The memory is hazy though and am wondering if it is false.
As for Barcelona I remember going there on a date or two as it was very fashionable when it opened around 1998 or so. It was a big deal because I didn’t have much money but wanted to impress and yearned to be associated with that elite group of people who could afford such expensive restaurants. I also really liked Spain so it meant more to me than just being a trendy place.
Another restaurant that comes to mind was in a fancy hotel a block or two from where my dad worked. I believe it used to be a Hyatt but searching for it only see Renaissance which is owned by Marriott. I spent a summer working at an investment company nearby where being a young college student my daily responsibility was to organize thousands of manilla files by number. Sometimes for lunch my dad would take me to the restaurant at the fancy hotel. I remember one of his acquaintances, I believe his name was Mike, eating there alone once. My dad greeted him but the only thing I could think to say was “I’ve heard a lot about you.” I think it may have come off wrong because he gave me a hard stare as we were having lunch. I had meant to express that I’ve heard his name mentioned quite a bit by my dad so knew they were friendly, not whatever negative things may have crossed his mind.
However, the restaurant in my dreams seems like a lonely place where I’m one of the few patrons. The staff know me and ask if I’ll be having the usual which I eat alone and in silence. I wonder if me eating alone is the impression Mike eating alone, dressed like a wealthy businessman in such a fancy restaurant impressed upon me.
Therefore, perhaps my dream is my experiences in these three aforementioned restaurants lurking somewhere in my subconscious? I cannot think of any other reason in my current life where I’d be eating alone in such a fancy place. We don’t eat in fancy places now and when we do order food it is either from Goodfellas Pizza, Kenny Cafe (Chinese) or Go Sushi which are all modestly priced and is eaten at home while watching a movie.
Pondering more deeply into the fantastical, perhaps it is me in an alternate universe where I decided not to study overseas, never received the spark of international travel and so after graduation found a job in Ohio and ended up like Mike? That’s a bit wild so let’s stick with my subconscious reminding me of my experiences as a young man in the few fancy restaurants I went to.
As for the details about the dream here is a list of attendees and a few other specifics.
Those in attendance:
My parents and sister
My Spanish host mother and her boyfriend
An old acquaintance from Ohio State who also studied in Spain.
Javier and his wife – Buddy from Spain
I also remember there was a piano surrounded by candle light and the musician all suspended above the stage by what appeared to be fishing string. He was playing beautiful music but had to be careful not to upset the balance and fall.
The amount of attendees seemed to grow throughout the dream and although just like when I was a young man, I could pay the bill but having so many people there I knew it would put a dent in my finances of around $1000 – $3,000. My father offered to help but it was I who organized the dinner so I had to think about how much I would accept versus paying it all by myself.
As the dinner came to a close I woke up as I usually do at 5:00 AM. I haven’t been recording many dreams recently but decided to do so when remembering I’ve had dreams about an expensive, lonely restaurant before and that this one was a little different.
