Romania: On The Trail of Dracula - Biertan, Gypsies, Sibiu and Tilisca Village

As we left Sighisoara behind us, we ventured out into next to last full day in Romania. Our first stop on the road was another typically beautiful Romanian village, Biertan.

As a reminder, you can see more pictures from the Romanian portion of our trip by going to my Flickr Photostream HERE. I've updated the set to include supplemental pictures that go along with each post up to and including this one. Once there, just scroll down to the last 4-5 lines of the set to see the pictures related to this post.

Biertan
If you've been following my posts about this trip, you get the idea on how these villages are organized: German style houses mostly, linear street layout, hilltop church with fortification. Biertan is no different. Perhaps a bit more beautiful than some, however. So, this time, I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking. Check out these shots from Biertan...

Inspired by our breakfast the day before, before leaving the village, we bought some wonderful local honey. With that we were on our way.

Gypsies

Aiming for the city of Sibiu, we did stop once on the way to see some Gypsies on the roadside selling copper pots and other such items. Gypsies - or Romani as they are often referred to - are an ethnic minority in Europe. The stereotype is nomadic families or groups of Gypsies wandering around Europe picking up work or selling things when and where they can. I cannot speak to whether the Gypsies we saw moved around, but I can say that when we saw them they were indeed either doing manual labor (such as helping build haystacks as we observed) or selling things (such as we saw on the roadside.) (Left: Gypsies sell their copper wares on the side of the road.)

Sibiu
Sibiu is a larger city, along the lines of Brasov. Vlad Dracula would have been here a few times and his son was killed and buried there. So, we checked it out. After parking and walking in the muggy afternoon down picturesque streets we settled in for a lunch overlooking the old city square. After, we walked through the old town some more and went half way across a pedestrian bridge that our guide Andrei said was the "liars bridge." He said that the superstition is that if you are a liar and you cross the bridge to the other side you will drop dead. None of us decided to test the theory, most especially Andrei who said that he had told enough lies in his life that he would not want to tempt fate. Turning to go back the way we came, we ventured over to the huge Cathedral that is the centerpiece of the old town.

Now, by this time we had been in a number of Romanian churches and normally seeing yet another one might be going "a church too far." But, actually, this was not the case here. We got a nice tour by a local youth whose school was doing a tour of duty as guides for the church interior. The cool tempature inside the church was most welcome as  this obviously well educated kid showed us some interesting frescoes, how the local big wigs (including the son of Vlad Dracula) were buried within the walls of the church - noting that the more wealthy the person was, the more ornate and detailed the sculpted coffin covers were. (Right: Main square in Sibiu.)

There must have been some money in that town back in the day because quite a few coffin covers had virtually life-like renderings of the deceased carved into them, just as the people now inside would have wanted to be remembered. Our youthful church guide also noted that the particularly fancy ones would have been created before the person died so they were sculpted exactly what the person wanted to represent him (and it was always a him) on the outside of his coffin - another sign of wealth.

As we looked around the ancient interior of this church, a thunderstorm broke out and doused the city for about a half hour. A real soaker. We passed the time under the church awning watching it all come down on the old roofs of the town. When it lifted, we ambled back across the old town and to our car, stopping for pick-me-up espresso from a vending machine along the way. Side note - look for these little vending machines to hit the USA sometime. They typcially kick out your choice of espresso, capuchino, cafe with milk or straight coffee. Sounds a bit sketchy I know, but I have to say we never had a bad espresso from one of these. The best ever? No, but not bad by any means. Oh, and cheap. (Left: Cathedral in Sibiu.)

Our timing back to the truck proved excellent as not more than two minutes after we were back in, another - larger - thunderstorm broke out. Andrei piloted the truck through the streets, but he might as well have been driving inside a washing machine. I'm not sure I've ever seen so much rain come down in such a short period of time.

Outdoor Museum
Cris-crossing the city in this downpour, Andrei set a course for our next destination of the day, an outdoor history museum as he put it. As the rain let up, we parked and got out. Essentially a huge, leafy park, this museum had real life examples of old Romanian homes, mills, windmills, recreational activities and more. We toured this sight for about and hour and then set off for our next guesthouse village for the night. (Right: Traditional windmills.)

Tilisca Village
Off the main freeway we wound our way through rough and uneven roads, through a couple villages to ultimately arrive in Tilisca Village - site of our guesthouse. Right in the middle of all the normal older buildings and homes, this place actually was quite modern. Situated adjacent to a roaring stream and looking out on a green forested hillside where ancient fort ruins poked through, we instantly knew we'd like this place. The house owners were home - a school teacher and a musician - and happily greeted us. After a rest, we ate a wonderful home cooked meal of lamb and, at last, tried the regional "hooch" called Palinka. This is a sort of distilled plumb wine that is clear in color and super powerful. Think ouzo or grappa. (Below: The streets of Tilisca Village at sundown.)

After dinner, Andrei and I took a walk around the village as the sun set and darkness took hold - casting what turned out to be a bluish wash over the town. We walked past very old churches, through alleyways, over cobbled streets, across small bridges. Mostly quiet, the streets did yield some activity when we got near one of the bars - naturally. And yep, the youth of Tilisca were out for a good time as they could be seen and heard living it up as we walked by. After we returned, Andrei and I sat up with the guesthouse owners in their courtyard, drank beer, and compared notes on the world as the stars sparkled overhead in between big cloud formations. Fun. But, it was getting late so after a while I decided to call it a night. Good thing too. I think Andrei could have stayed up all night talking - which of course is a complement. It had been a long day and I just couldn't.

Diane had already turned in and was asleep, and so with the sound of the lulling stream sounding continually outside and below our room...I quickly dropped off as well and slept the sleep of another great day in Romania. Knowing that tomorrow would be our last full day in the country, as I drifted off I relished our last big stop on our tour - hiking up to the real Vlad Dracula's castle.


(Below: Diane and Marc with guesthouse owner Elina in Tilisca.)

NOTE: Pictures in this post were taken by or are the property of Marc Osborn and are not permitted for any use without prior written permission of Marc Osborn.

Romania: On The Trail of Dracula - Viscri and Sighisoara

Pulling out of Simon Village, we hit the road with the well preserved medieval town of Sigishoara as our ultimate destination. To be sure, there would be plenty of driving on this day, but to me watching the countryside, the villages and the people go by out the window was endlessly fascinating.

I think the things we saw on the drive were typical of what we observed every day in Transylvania. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, check out some pictures I took as we drove along below. Also note that I've updated my set of Romania pictures on my Flickry Photostream HERE to include pictures relevant to this post.

The other thing that was going on as we drove was the temperature was going up - way up. Sure, it'd been hot in Brasov but now I think it was getting into the mid 90s if not hotter. Eventually, the fairly populated countryside because quite rural again and eventually we exited the main freeway for a side road that would take us to the picturesque and off-the-beaten path village called Viscri.

Viscri
Viscri is one of those places that is consistently cited by travel books as a wonderful chance to see how typical Romanian village life is today and was in the past. However, it's also a place that not many tourists go because a) it is so off the beaten path, and b) the "beaten path" is a REALLY rough road. But, as Andrei our guide says, good things are worth the effort. (Below: Viscri home, Viscri stork nest.)

So we made the effort. Pulling into the village after a jostling ride, the first thing you see is a row of houses on each side of the dirt main street. These German-style houses are bathed in bright colors and seem to connect together to form an almost sold wall going all the way through the village as it rises up the hill.

We got out into the heat and walked up the hill, noticing both some guys sitting outside in the shade at the local (and only?) bar in town. We also spied a stork in her nest atop one of the house's chimneys. Cute. Turning to the right and into some shade, we made our way up to the town's primary visitors site - the fortified church.

Back in history, these villages would always have a church, but they typically also fortified it so it was a fortress as well. Often these were placed on the highest hill in the village boundary. This would give people a place retreat to if an ill-intending army or bad guys showed up. From there, the town could either wait out the trouble or fend of the interlopers from their positions.

We walked around the complex, got up into the rafters and defense positions, toured the church and generally looked around. I also bought a pair of home made wool socks from the woman in charge of the gate. Kinda funny doing that when it's 100 degrees outside, but I figured that come next winter I'd appreciate them. Anyway, this was an intriguing look at how typical villages were structured and how they organized themselves. We were glad to have stopped. But, we were getting hungry so off we went - hitting a roadside diner (another score for Andrei!) before heading directly to our next and final stop of the day. (Left: Viscri fortified church.)

Sighisoara
Located in the heart of Transylvania, Sighisoara (pronounced sig-y-shore-ah) is one of the best preserved hilltop medieval towns in all of Europe and the only one like it in Eastern Europe still inhabited. It is also the birthplace of, you guessed it, Vlad Dracula.

Winding our way up the hill toward the old town center in our vehicle, we eventually broached the old city walls and emerged into a wonderfully colorful town square. Diane and I got out and found some shade as Andrei squared off with the hotel staff over whether or not he could park our truck across the very narrow street from the hotel. Andrei won out. (Left: Medieval tower in Sighisoara.) 

Our plan from here was to see the sights first and then dodge the heat with some shade, a beer or two and then some rest in the late afternoon. The first thing was saw was the massive clock/defensive tower in the middle of the old town. It's impressive from the outside, but then also we climbed up inside and emerged at the top where there was a nice breezy balcony to survey the entire region.

Back on the ground, we next stopped at the birthplace of Vlad Dracula. Vlad's father, Vlad Dracul, lived in this town in an house right on the square. "Dracul" is a name he was given after he joined "the order of the Dragon" earlier in his life. Upon the birth of his son, Vlad, he gave him the name "Dracula" as in, from Dracul or Dracul's child. And that's how the name "Dracula" came into being. Today, the house is actually a restaurant on the ground floor, and yes, they do play up the fictional Dracula angle a bit. But, you can also see the order of the Dragon symbol over the doorway too and there is a plaque noting the building as the home of Vlad Dracul and the birthplace of Dracula. Across town in a small square, there is also a bust of Vlad Dracula.

Next, we  hit the torture museum, and why not? About this time we were overheating and getting tired so we headed for a shady side street and sat down to have beer. Wiling away a good hour there, we then adjourned to our hotel - situated right on the main town square - where we checked in and rested up. (Right: Building where Vlad Dracula was born.)

As it turned out, there was a film festival happening in Sighisoara that evening. Initially we thought that this would be a pain because it was taking place right in the town square...right in front of our hotel. But, as it turned out it was fine. We actually ended up sitting in the audience, enjoying the finally cool weather and watching some of the festivities and the film - in this case a recently-produced historical drama about the Ceausescu days. (Below: Colorful scenes around Sighisoara.)

Before that, however, we took a walk up to the top of the fortified hill for a view and a look at the church up there. While still hot, this was a nice way to see more of the back streets of the town. We ate dinner back near our hotel in a delightful courtyard restaurant, and then strolled the streets some more before sitting down to watch some of the movie.

Thus ended a very busy, but very rewarding day. With no problem sleeping whatsoever, we awoke ready for a new day. I actually got up a bit early and walked the streets of town to see it in the morning sun. Pretty.

After a nice breakfast at the hotel, we saddled up and headed out for the day with the town of Sibui as the main point for us to visit.


NOTE: All pictures in this post were taken by Marc Osborn and are not authorized for use without prior written permission.

Romania: On The Trail of Dracula - Peles Castle, Sinaia and Simon Village

Having left the Princely Court of Vlad Dracula in Targoviste, we made our way through the Romanian countryside up into the mountains for a visit to - what turned out to be - one of the most interesting castles we've ever been to, Peles Castle. I have added pictures associated with this post to my overall set on Romaina on my Flickr Photostream HERE.

Winding our way up the Carpathian foothills hills to a summit, we passed through a number of typical Romanian villages and increasingly glimpsed views of the beautiful peaks on our way to the small mountain pass town of Sinaia. There are other things to do in Sinaia than see the castle, and indeed it's a popular destination in the summer for hiking and biking and in the winter for skiing. The day we arrived, the town was full of people enjoying the sun. In the distance up on the peaks, you could see a large gondola ferrying people up to the meadows and mountain tops for summertime hiking and sight seeking.

We made a bee-line to a nice old hotel for a lunch on the balcony overlooking the city park. We had delicious soup, home made bread and some leafy salad. Once done there, we drove up some more and to the site of Peles Castle, tucked away in a very large wooded park. (Below: Peles Castle.)

Peles (pronounced pell-esh) Castle is not very old in the context of European history, as it was built only just more than 100 years ago. However, it's significant because it was the residence of the very first king of a unified and independent Romania under the monarch King Carol I. Prior to that, "Romania" was actually just a series of principalities (Wallachia, Transylvania, etc.) ruled by their respective princes and loosely bound to the Hungarian King and/or the Church. As a side note, it's interesting that King Carol I was a close relative to the Kaiser of Germany. All these European monarchs were (and are) related. For example, a 110 years ago the Czar of Russia, King of England and Kaiser of Germany were are cousins. And King Carol I was part of that big family tree too.
At any rate, the castle is also significant because, well, it's very pretty from the outside and quite impressive inside. No Dracula angle here, just a visually pleasing castle.

Touring the grounds and the interior was delightful. The diversity of rooms, styles, art and color themes wowed us. Certainly there are bigger and even flashier castles in Europe (Versailles for example), but even up against those bigger and better known palaces Peles really stands out. Massive wood carved statues, banisters and spiral staircases; beautiful Moroccan style rooms; glitzy Venetian mirrors and chandeliers; impressive displays of armor; secret passageways and grand hallways; opulently decked out apartments; sweeping staircases; spiky turrets; cozy library and study rooms - all these and more make Peles one of the most diverse and interesting royal residences we've toured.

After our enjoyable tour inside, we walked the garden-rich grounds outside for a view of the castle from close up and afar. All and all, a very nice visit and a pleasant surprise.

And then we were off - on the road down from the pass and toward the town of Bran where we would stay in a guest house in a nearby village called Simon (pronounced she-mon).

We blew through the main part of Bran on our way in and only got a glimpse of the famed castle there. But, knowing we'd see it the next day we didn't care too much. Onward we went a couple miles until turning off down a road that soon led to Simon. Many villages in Romania are linear - as in, they are not clustered around a central plaza. Rather, most villages are one house or building deep along a road on both sides. Most structures are homes and then of course your typical other buildings like a school, post office, general store, bar, etc. interspersed here and there. Simon is like that - linear. (Left: The guest house we stayed in and our vehicle.)

About a quarter of the way through the village we stopped at the guest house where we would stay. Basically, a guest house is what we would call here in the states a bed & breakfast...except you get dinner too. The owners of this guest house were a couple - Magdalena, who is the village doctor, her husband who is a teacher/administrator at the local high school and their teenage son.

On this day, the father and son were out in the yard cutting down the tall grass with scythes. These are long sticks with a sharp, curved blade at the end that are swung with the blade right at ground level to cut the grass. I tried this. Not as easy as it looks. Anyway, they were cutting the grass to create hay for use by their neighbors. Everybody in Simon seemed to be doing this as we say it everywhere. (See picture above of neighbors piling up cut grass for hay on a horse cart.)

Our original plan for our tour called for us to take a 2-3 hour hike to end the day after arriving in Simon, but since it was already 5 p.m. we postponed until the next day. Too tired.

We did, however, decide to take a nice, leisurely walk along the much of the length of the village. We visited some neighbors as they piled up hay onto a horse cart, observed local farm animals and ultimately stooped at the Magazin Mixt shop (like a 7-11) to get some icy cold Romanian beer that we drank while taking in the view from the yard associated with the shop. (Right: View from our walk through Simon village, Left: view as we drank beer in the garden next to the convenience store in Simon.)

Strolling back, we ended our day with a wonderful meal made by Magdalena featuring a hot polenta and cheese appetiser dish, pork, salad, potatoes, locally made wine and desert. Wonderful.

When planning this trip, I asked the tour company if they could dial back the price a little, and the option given was to stay a few nights in guest houses instead of hotels. I wasn't sure what that would get us, but now that we experienced it first had, I am a big fan. In fact, it would have been great to stay more nights in village guest houses. An excellent way to meet people, see "the real" country and eat some seriously good food. (Below left: Church on main road through Simon village.)

Another interesting thing we learned about guest houses was that following the 1989 revolution, there were a lot of people out of work - particularly in the rural areas. The new government felt that tourism could be and would be a major component of the new Romanian economy and incentivize rural families to build guest houses and learn the basics of the "hospitality" industry. Our guide Andrei actually got involved with that program back in the 1990s and that's how he initially got into the tourism industry. However, as Andrei is quick to point out, the promise of flocks of Romanian, German, British, Russian, French, Dutch and even American tourists flooding the picturesque Romanian countryside to spend their money on accommodations, food and drink has not materialized. Sure, some come. But not as many as hoped. As a result, villages like Simon - so beautiful and well located - are full of nice guest houses with virtually not guests during tourist season.
Our thought was that Romania ought to invest in getting "adventure traveler" to their country. With so many peaks to hike and climb, rivers to raft, parks to mountain bike in and so forth, it seems a natural. We'll see. Anyway, it was kind of nice to have Simon to ourselves as tourists.

Bedding down after our late dinner, we looked forward to the next day's adventures - seeing the famed Bran Castle and visiting the beautiful town of Brasov. Satisfied that we'd had a great day, we quickly drifted off with only the occasional farm sounds in the inky darkness breaking the rural silence. (Left: view from the main road of Simon village.)

NOTE: All pictures in this post were taken by Marc Osborn and are not authorized for any use without written permission.

Hot, Fresh NYC Restaurant Reviews

I just returned from a business trip to New York City and while work was the main thing on the "menu," I was able to drink and dine at some places new to me. Necessity, proximity and how easy a place is to find are keys to eating well on the run in NYC on a business trip, and for sure this is a lot different than doing your homework in advance and planning your dining as you would on, say, a vacation. 

None the less, I think I ate at some good places you  might want to check out when you're in New York next.

Here goes:

Bar Americain. This is not a bar - although it has one. Rather, it's an hip white table cloth restaurant in mid-town by chef Bobby Flay. On the night we were there, it was quite crowded. The menu features a typical variety of fish, poultry, chops, steak and and vegetarian options. However, that's the only typical thing about it. For example, I started with the gala apple salad with walnuts, blue cheese and pomegranates. These elements combined for a very interesting tangy, sweet, crunchy and creamy combo. Next, I had a piece of flaky good skate (a white fish) with a chili butter sauce and capers that was probably the most unique fish dish I've ever had. My buddy Craig had a piece of grilled tuna with red and green chili sauce, avocado relish and crispy onions. I also spied that the guy at the table next to us had the plate of the day - buttermilk fried chicken and black pepper biscuits. Hmmm. Looked good too. At any rate, we downed our meals with a bottle of mellow Bordeaux red.

Recommendation: This is a well above average restaurant - especially for mid-town. Go there if you're staying in that area of the city. However, I would not go so far as to say that it's a place you must seek out compared to some other places you need to go. Such as...

Nobu. Yes, this is the place actor Robert De Niro co-owns that you may have heard about. My three man crew went to Nobu Fifty Seven at 40 West 57th Street between Ave. of the Americas and 5th Ave. This restaurant does not take reservations, and there appeared to be a pretty long lineup of people wanting to get a table at this super sheik, darkly lit space. Luckily one of my group knows one of the managers and we were quickly whisked upstairs and seated at the sushi bar for a front row seat on the raw fish action.

While Nobu does offer some more typical options for sushi lovers, more of it's menu is lined with innovative twists on sushi or sushimi. For example, we started with a plate of Kumamoto oysters with Maui onion salsa. Wow! Next up, Yellowtail sushimi with Jalapeno. Double wow! What could top that? Well, how about a bowl full of deep fried creamy, spicy crab balls over a thin bed of lettuce. People, this is food of the gods! From this pinnacle we cooled off and eased on down with a Spicy Big Eye tuna roll, vegetable tempura and a Cucumber roll. I would also throw in a shout-out for Nobu beer as a great beverage to complement and wash down all of these delights.

Recommedation: If you like sushi, you need to go here. Seek it out and enjoy!

John's Pizza of Bleeker Street. There are lots of pizza joints in New York, and a lot of them have names like Johnny's or Ray's or similar. So, don't get this one confused with a pretender. No, this great old pizza joint is on Bleeker Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. Serving fresh, hot made-to-order thin crust NY pies, John's delivers a unique pizza with equally impressive trio of crust, sauce and toppings. You know a pizza place is good when even their simple "plain cheese pizza" is sublime - and that's the case here. The atmosphere of this long-time Bleeker Street resident rules with red wooden booths and tables with years worth of names, messages and symbols carved into them. As a bonus, the overhead sound system plays a great mix of oldies rock, jazz, soul, and country tunes as you eat. Note also that John's only takes cash and you cannot order pizza by the slice. 

Recommendation: You in the Village? You like pizza? You need to go here.

The Blind Tiger Bar. Right across the street from John's is The Blind Tiger. Featuring an eclectic mix of draught, cask and bottled beer from all over the nation, this homely little bar is an old-time favorite with locals. My friend Tammi who lived in NYC for a while tells me that the name of the bar dates back to prohibition. Apparently it wasn't illegal to consume alcohol at that time, but it was illegal to buy or sell it. So, some enterprising entrepreneurs got the idea to charge patrons a fee to see an attraction like "a blind tiger" to which also just so happened to include a beer. True? Who knows. Sounds good to me.

Anyway, today patrons belly up around slab-like wood tables or sit down near the side-wall fireplace to enjoy brews that - to me at least - seemed to be predominately ales, IPAs, stouts, ambers, and other darker varieties. I did see some lagers floating around so there must have been a least one tap with a lighter option. Anyway, the friendly bar tenders draw out whatever you like. The bar also has a food menu of sandwiches and "small plates." I didn't eat any of these, so no review on that. In the summer, the street side windows open up so the place would definitely feel like an indoor/outdoor spot. When I was there it was like 20 degrees outside, so no such luck.

Recommendation: In any season, if you want a good beer stop in the Village after a long day of shopping or sight seeing - this is it.

Victor's Cafe. This Cuban restaurant has been in business for more than forty years. Originally an uptown spot, it is now located near Times Square. Normally that locale would indicate sketchy food, bad service and high prices. And sure enough, not far away are places like the Olive Garden, Bubba Gump's and similar restaurants built to capture tourists and the theater crowd. But, this is not the case with Victor's. No. This is delicious real Cuban food in a nice setting. Featuring classic and "neuevo" Cuban dishes, the menu is full of things like chicken and rice, roast pig, adobo pork shops, skirt steak - all surrounded by interesting Cuban sauces, spices and preparations.

Coming off my John's Pizza lunch, I was already pretty full, so I opted for the shrimp sauteed in spicy creole sauce with tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs over a sweet potato mash and a side of white rice and black beans. Loved it. Also to note, the staff were very nice and this place has THE BEST sangria I've ever had. Dynamite all the way around.

Recommendation: New York is one place in the U.S. outside of Miami that you can get high quality, authentic, Cuban food. Break out of your normal pattern and try something new - like Victor's. If you're seeing a Broadway show, definitely check this place out.

The Brooklyn Diner. On the last evening of my business trip to NYC last week, I found myself flying solo. In those instances, I like to find a friendly place to sit at the bar or counter and eat - no hassles trying to get table and I avoid looking like to big a loser sitting alone. You'd be surprised how difficult this is to do actually as most places that the masses know about fill up by 6:30 or 7 p.m. and no bar stools are open. Anyway, a couple weeks ago my buddy Ken - who used to live in New York - said that I should go to The Brooklyn Diner. With this little nugget of info, I decided to give it a try.

Now, the first thing to know is that The Brooklyn Diner is not in Brooklyn. No, it has two locations, but they are in Manhattan. I went to the original up on 57th Street between 7th Ave. and Broadway.

Next, the theme here is upscale comfort food a la Brooklyn. So, hot pastrami sandwiches, burgers, chicken pot pie, pot roast, lasagna, mac & cheese...well, you get the shtick. In terms of decor, this place is modeled after what original diners really were - train diner cars turned into stationary restaurants. This is not to say that it's a narrow little space, but rather that the ambiance and decor echoes that look with a bit of 50s style thrown in. I especially liked the dual TVs above the bar playing the classic old movie, The Man in the Iron Mask.

And so it was that I found a stool at the counter and proceeded to order a salad, pot pie and a Brooklyn Ale from the friendly waiter from Brazil working the bar area. The service was quick, but not too quick. My pot pie came to me piping hot and I have to say was quite delicious. As I ate, a couple theater-goers drifted in to the counter for a pre-show drink and chatted. As they talked, I noticed the massive cheesecakes and other pasteries sitting there behind the bar. Unfortunately, I stuffed myself on my diner so had to pass.

Recommendation: Not a "must-eat-at place," but one to check out if you're craving comfort food or you want that pre-Broadway show bite, a casual place for an after show drink or desert - or if like me you're looking for a friendly, easy place to eat solo.