How many of you are comfortable eating in a restaurant

[Poiuyt]

If you're vaccinated and boosted of course.

[Liberal In Texas]

1. Not me.

Only doing take-out.

[DinahMoeHum]

2. If it's outdoors and warm weather, I have no issue.

. . .but I'm still a little skittish about being in a totally enclosed area indoors.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. I've done so several times, but less often than I did in the beforetimes.

[Kali]

88. same

plus: depends on the restaurant

[Tickle]

4. I'm good with restaurant

and eating inside

[Johnny2X2X]

5. I am totally fine with it now

Boosted and have had Covid twice. Normal is returning, for most people it already has returned.

[lagomorph777]

11. Yeah, the part about having had COVID twice...

...seems consistent with your comfort with risky activities and life being "normal."

[Johnny2X2X]

14. Not true at all

I got Covid twice likely from grocery store trips while being masked. But at some point, you can't just never go out to eat again.

[liberal_mama]

57. What kind of mask were you wearing that you caught Covid 2x while grocery shopping?

Just curious, I want to make sure that doesn't happen to me! I wear KF94 and KN95 masks, but I'm considering upgrading.

[Ocelot II]

6. Not yet.

[lagomorph777]

7. Not me.

I can't unmask in any place with other people. I also wear a visor.

[LizBeth]

8. Son came to town and went to three restaurants last week.

Hadn't been in one since the last son visited in Aug and same. But we were outdoors then. All three restaurants there were so few people we were basically by ourselves. I didn't once think about covid, so ya, comfortable. Now I will probably not go to a restaurant for a while.

[Siwsan]

9. Not indoors

I can't remember the last time I ate anything that wasn't made by a family member or by me. I know it's been over 2 years.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

10. Not yet.

Especially where I live.

[redstatebluegirl]

12. We go on off nights, not the weekends.

We don't go often but once in a while, and we try to go to the outdoor patio of our favorite places.

[Tree-Hugger]

13. Not me

We have eaten outdoors and we do take out. We haven't eaten indoors at a restaurant since March 2020.

[cally]

63. Same

I have not taken off my mask indoors since then except for a couple of doctor's appointments and dentist

I don't really miss the indoor eating but I do miss not being worried. I live with someone severely imunnocompromised

[Tree-Hugger]

77. Masks here, too

We have continued wearing masks this entire time and gave not taken them off. Vaxxed and boostered, but I believe masks are a huge step in keeping the virus at bay.

My dad was immunocompromised - he passed in August - and both myself and my husband have mild heart disease. It's been tough to not worry these past two years.

[alphafemale]

15. It is cringe for reasons beyond COVID

Walked into a place to pick up take out and this woman had her bare feet on the booth seat.

And her sandals on the table.

Nasty.

[634-5789]

16. Nope. Not yet.

I'm giving myself more time, regardless of what the wife thinks.

[whathehell]

17. Nope

.Not yet.

[peacefreak2.0]

18. Not yet.

I have a few places I will order takeout from. Mom and Pop’s, small kitchens, but that’s it.

[Silent3]

19. Maybe too comfortable

But my wife and I are vaccinated and boosted, and not especially fond of cooking all the time, so we're eating out often these days.

[BeckyDem]

20. Last time we ate at an indoor restaurant was mid-January, 2020.

The pandemic shut down everything soon after, and that was it for indoors. Because so many Americans remain unvaccinated, I honestly don't know when I will ever do that again.

We did eat at an outdoor restaurant a few times last June, where there was plenty of room between tables and a masked waitstaff.

[Wounded Bear]

21. Actually, have been doing it for a while now...

As per the parameters of the question, I am fully vaxxed and boosted.

[we can do it]

22. Not yet.

[KarenS]

23. Nope,,,, not yet,,,,

We go pickup food but we don't even eat on their patios,,,,
Early March 2020 was the last time we ate in a restaurant.

[Polly Hennessey]

24. We have no problem. Had sushi the other night.

It was crowded and the food was good.

[FakeNoose]

25. I have ordered carry out meals and many local restaurants encourage them

For me, it's cost effective because I can't eat a whole portion anyway. Usually one carry out meal (for me) gets split into two dinners once I bring it home. When the weather is nice I'll go back to eating at outdoor cafes. However the only place I've eaten inside is at my German club, where we are all vaccinated and some are wearing masks.

[Celerity]

26. Absolutely comfortable, we have done so many, many times recently. nt

[Wingus Dingus]

27. I haven't for a while, except a couple times last November during a trip. But

I will be going to restaurants again soon, since my husband got over Omicron and I assume I had it too--was definitely exposed. (I am pretty sure I had Delta variant last fall, also). We can't catch it again, we can't spread it, we are vaxxed and boosted. So, yeah--looking forward to eating out again.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

28. Been doing it for months

Fully vaxxed, no booster.

As soon as restaurants re-opened, I started eating out again (usually just once a week).

[Hortensis]

29. We're not typical because we're both high risk even with vaccine/boost,

but we're here so I'll throw in our two cents: we're not willing to die for sit-down service, even if it's with friends we miss.

For a brief time last summer after vaccinations and before Delta showed up, we were able to dine out and it felt lovely, like we'd been liberated.

[IbogaProject]

30. I prefer take out but I have eaten out from time to time

I am vaccinated.

[Dial H For Hero]

31. I am, and I almost certainly caught Covid from my sister while having dinner with her

a few weeks ago. Vaxxed & boosted. My symptoms were quite mild. Mind you, I have enough contact with her such that I likely would have gotten it from her regardless (she had no symptoms at the time).

[Iggo]

32. Outsidea restaurant? Yes. In a restaurant? No.

Except I hate eating outside, so…

[calimary]

33. Fully vaccinated and boosted, and yes we have.

Not often, though. More likely it’ll be order-for-pickup.

[spinbaby]

34. Depends

I’ve gotten to the point where I’ll eat in an uncrowded restaurant with a vaccinated dining partner. But it’s mostly an academic discussion because we rarely ate out before the pandemic and do so even less now.

[msdogi]

35. I'm in, usually

I am trusting the vaxxing, and boosting, so do eat indoors sometimes. I do live in a county with a good vax rate.

[northoftheborder]

36. Uncomfortable, but have a few times.

As long as my county is on "HIGHEST RISK" I'm still being ultraconservative. I have been going to physical therapy where only the staff is masked, only a few clients are, and I'm uncomfortable with that even with my own mask. Still do takeout or my own cooking. Really miss eating out.

[CentralMass]

37. No. I either do take out or eat outdoors.

[Emile]

38. If I do eat inside I go after the lunch/dinner crowd when the restaurant is almost empty!

[Generic Brad]

39. Nope

It’s been two years. If I have to mask up at my job, no way I’m eating in a restaurant.

[lindysalsagal]

40. I know a couple spots that put up barriers around the booths, and we go later

when there are very few diners. Otherwise, I can't do it. Even the wait staff unmasked makes me nervous.

[tritsofme]

41. We eat out about once a week.

I’ve even attended 5 Blackhawks games this season.

Vaxxed boosted, and moved on with life.

[RussBLib]

42. only if there is outdoor dining

we have been doing a lot of take-out, however.

[MineralMan]

43. My wife and I have done that, off and on, during the pandemic.

If caseloads are low, we will go during the week. We mask except for when we are sitting at the table with food in front of us. However, since the Omicron variant, we have skipped our usual once a week restaurant visit. We're about to start back on it, though, since caseloads are way down.

We're both vaccinated and boosted. We do mask up when we are in public places, though.

[bamagal62]

44. I've done it three times

in 2 years (all after I was boosted). I did not feel comfortable at all.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

45. I feel comfortable.

I enter masked. Leave masked.

[Bettie]

46. I am not particularly comfortable with it

and yet, this weekend, I have to do it.

Our Robotics team is going to the next stage of competition, DH is a coach, youngest child is still on the team, and they need an extra chaperone.

So, I'll need to eat at a restaurant on Friday.

Hoping everything will be OK.

On the other hand, our school is supportive of this academic team, which is pretty great.

[Raftergirl]

47. Not doing it yet.

I’m fine waiting for outdoor restaurant season before going to a restaurant - then I won’t have to think about dining indoors until next fall.

In the meantime I’m perfectly happy with take out on the nights we don’t feel like cooking.

[Tomconroy]

48. Have done it regularly for quite a while now. We like to support

local businesses and neither of us are that big on cooking. Did much less during Omicron's run but here in CT that's pretty much over so: back to normal. Vaxxed and boosted, I know the stats quite well. At least at this point, Covid is not a serious threat.

[samnsara]

49. im fine with it but i live in a small town anyway

...and we go out to eat mid week and stay masked up until we eat then mask back on again.

we are all vaxxed and boosted however hubby did catch it a few weeks back and i just isolated with him.

[dumbcat]

50. Not even before the current pandemic

We never really did like eating in restaurants. My wife especially just doesn't trust anyone else preparing her food. The last time we were in a sit-down restaurant was in December of 2019 when we had family visiting from Taiwan and we were in San Diego. We can probably count the number of times we have been in a sit-down restaurant in the last ten years on one hand. Very rarely we might get some take-out BBQ.

[Bev54]

51. Not now in my province

our Premier decided last night to eliminate vaccine passports that allowed fully vaccinated people to eat in and social distancing. I went out a few times and felt ok, we were away from others but not now. Everyone is allowed in so I will stay away.

[MissMillie]

52. Nope.

Not yet.

[GoneOffShore]

53. Been doing it for months.

[notinkansas]

54. There was a funeral luncheon for a family member recently.

Around 80 people in attendance. Being immunocompromised I did not attend, but my husband and son did. My husband's brother contracted covid. My husband and son both became sick - it had to be flu because it only lasted a couple of days. And my husband 'generously' shared his ailment with me. All of us had flu vaccines well prior to that.

So, no. I continue to forego eating in restaurants for now.

[Diamond_Dog]

55. We haven't eaten inside a restaurant since February of 2020

With one exception, our anniversary which was last May, where we sat in a very sparsely populated restaurant dining room right next to an open door. Probably 20 feet away from the next table with diners.

We do takeout now. Maybe once a week. I feel as though it’s still not safe to eat indoors, even tho we’ve been vaccinated and boosted, because there are still way too many unvaccinated people in my red area. And it’s hard to find an off-night for dining, restaurants are jam packed every night of the week.

[Kaleva]

56. Rarely ate in a restaurant before

[RobinA]

58. I've Been Eating

in restaurants since you could eat in restaurants. The more I see of who gets sick and who doesn't, I'm convinced that there's more in play than masks and hiding at home. Super careful people sick, more casual people never sick... It's about more than masks and isolation.

[orleans]

59. not comfortable--

haven't been inside a restaurant since before lockdown which was march 2020.

but i wasn't a big restaurant-goer before that so probably not since mid 2019.

i won't go into hair/nail salon, been wearing my contacts for a longer period of time since i haven't gone in for an eye appointment since before lockdown, won't go into a mall.

i'm vaxed and boosted but have a couple health issues and i work around kids (including kids under five yrs who can't get vaccinated). i'm trying to stay safe & trying to keep all the kids i work with safe.

[Elessar Zappa]

60. Me.

I’m back to living life normally, except I wear a mask everywhere except when eating.

[Patton French]

61. I'm becoming more so...

Fully vaxxed and boosted, so feeling better about it.

[Green Line]

62. Not yet

Waiting for spring when outdoor eating is available again

[peggysue2]

64. My husband and I have dined out a number of times now

Always go masked. The servers at the restaurants we frequent are also masked.

We did outside pickup throughout the pandemic but with the last flattening we started with outside dining, and then once the weather turned wintry resumed dining in.

And yes, of course, we're fully vaxxed, boosted and even got our flu shots. I normally don't go for the flu injection but this year I didn't want to take a chance with our grand daughter.

So yes, we've felt comfortable. As for the movie theater? Think I'll stick to streaming until at least the summer.

[Jose Garcia]

65. I have been eating in restaurants since last Valentines Day

That was about two weeks after my wife and I were fully vaccinated.

[Shrek]

66. Dining out fairly often now

It feels pretty safe and I like to support local restaurants.

[Mad_Machine76]

67. I've been comfortable

Most of them I've been generally pretty empty most of the time, particularly fast food joints.

[GoCubsGo]

68. I wasn't comfortable even before COVID.

It has nothing to do with any viruses. I've heard too many horror stories about what goes on in some of those kitchens. I prefer home cooking. I get exactly what I want, and I know what goes into it.

[Crunchy Frog]

69. Not even close. nt

[StarryNite]

90. I'm with you, not even close.

[Dwinal87]

70. Pretty Comfortable....

Then again we live in MA. with a high vaccination rate in our county, no health issues, and not too old...yet.

And after getting our first 2 doses of Moderna in April/May 2020 as soon as we were eligible, we're back to traveling.

The only place I traveled and felt somewhat unsafe was in Florida in late October due to the lack of mask wearing. Although, there I was outside the majority of time, even when eating.

Europe felt WAY more safe than Florida...

[Vinca]

71. I don't like restaurants in the best of times. My husband had a trainee working for him once

who described working at a restaurant when she was in college. She told us about going into the kitchen and finding the chef sitting on a stool massaging his bare feet which were sore from standing. He then went back to cooking. That pretty much did it for me.

[Demsrule86]

72. I ate out yesterday...I am fine. I have vaccine and am boosted as well.

I wear a mask just in case but remove it when eating...also, I don't want to get regular flu either...had a flu shot too...but I believe all this stuff about phones and doorknobs passing flu around is wrong...it is mostly transmitted via air...I have masked the last two years and have had no flu. Thus I will continue to mask even after Covid is not a worry. I believe in the end maybe by the end of this year, Covid will be less threatening...more like flu. I think the worst is over. I hope I am right.

[pecosbob]

73. I'm not comfortable eating in any restaraunts that belong to the Roark Group

CKE Restaurants: (Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Green Burrito & Red Burrito)
Focus Brands: (Auntie Anne's, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister's Deli, Moe's Southwest Grill, Schlotzsky's,
Inspire Brands: (Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, Jimmy John's, Rusty Taco, Dunkin', Baskin-Robbins)
Jim 'N Nick's BBQ Restaurants
The Cheesecake Factory

Roark Capital Group is an American private equity firm with over $33 billion in assets under management. The firm is focused on leveraged buyout investments in middle-market companies, primarily in the franchise/multi-location, restaurant and food, health and wellness, and business services sectors. It is named for Howard Roark, the protagonist in Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead. The firm claims that its name is not meant to connote any particular political philosophy but instead signify the firm's admiration for the iconoclastic qualities of independence and self-assurance embodied by the central figure in The Fountainhead. - wikipedia

They pour millions into fighting fair wage laws across the nation.

[Retrograde]

83. I avoid chains whenever possible

I'll cut local ones some slack (although the nearest branch of the (formerly) 5 store Vietnamese noodle house was a Covid casualty), but if a restaurant advertises on national TV I won't patronize it. When I travel, I go for local: sometimes there's a dud, but then there's always a chance of finding real gems.

[BusterMove]

74. Been doing so for a while now. No issues. nt

[Lars39]

75. Not even being vaxxed and boosted...our numbers are

crazy high here in TN

[beaglelover]

76. Extremely comfortable.

We just finished a kitchen remodel project. Down to the studs as they say. We started the project mid December and until early last week we were eating out (inside the restaurant) for every dinner and most lunches. We are both vaxed and boosted. Neither of us got COVID after spending all that time in restaurants during the height of Omicron. Yes, I'm very comfortable eating out but very happy we have a new kitchen so can eat at home more often as eating out all the time for 7 weeks was definitely having an impact on my waist line!

[Poiuyt]

78. I haven't eaten in a restaurant since the pandemic began

I'm going to have to overcome inertia, if you will, to go inside a restaurant. I'm pretty sure I'd be safe, but I still worry.

[Lettuce Be]

79. Not yet

Have eaten out three times in the last two years. Once at a local sushi place, and twice at a local Chinese place. Not interested in going to restaurants all that much anyway, so it's not a huge sacrifice.

I do think it's silly to require a mask to enter, but you can then remove it -- what is the point of that? Either you wear one or you don't but taking them on and off is ridiculous, IMO.

[Ms. Toad]

80. Outdoors only.

I do on rare occasions with my spouse, who is far less careful than I. But that doesn't make me comfortable.

I've still dined fewer than 2 dozen times with anyone outside of my residence (restaurant, private home, work, etc.) since March 2020.

[Luciferous]

81. I've only done it a few times since the pandemic started.

[Retrograde]

82. Yes and no

I have no problems eating in a restaurant, as most people here are fully vaxxed and take precautions, but it's just not the same. I budget restaurant meals under "entertainment", since I have no good reasons not to cook at home. But for the most part, the experience isn't the same - few people, mostly outdoors (and it does get cold here in the evening), limited interaction with people: it's just not as much fun. I have been ordering delivery - mostly from local Chinese restaurants - every other week or so, since I want them to stay in business.

[Calculating]

84. At this point I'm not bothered anymore

Vaxxed, boosted, and recovered from Omicron(it was basically a really mild cold). I see no reason to continue being afraid unless a new particularly nasty variant comes up.

[Tree Lady]

85. Outside just fine

We ate inside once when outdoor area was too cold and I worried all week whether we would get sick or not. Not worth it mentally.

[Greybnk48]

86. I'm not comfortable at all at this time.

Maybe in a month or so if things continue to improve.

My husband, our daughter and I just got over Omicron. We were moderately sick for about 2 1/2 weeks. A relative came into our house maskless for 5-10 minutes, against my wishes, and infected us all. I say this over and over; we've lived like mole people for 2 years with a brief respite last June and part of July, and just like that we were infected. We have all three shots. It only takes one person.

That said, Omicron levels are dropping like a rock, but Delta is still here. So we're going to play it safe for a while longer rather than let our guard down too early and pay the price again. Carry out once in a while is fine, and we also like to cook.

[vercetti2021]

87. I'm fine long as it's not busy

I've been to restaurants several times since I've been vaccinated

[Cadfael]

89. Not comfortable with it here

Vaccinated and boosted and would not dine in at a restaurant….take out is within our comfort zone