Last week, we went to Coronado Island. We had our dogs with us. Naturally we went looking for a food joint which had seating outside. When we found one, we actually had to wait 15 minutes before a table cleared up and we could sit.

The question is, we were waiting to be seated outside because of the dogs. However, the place had at least a dozen other tables and they were all full, and not one table had a dog for a reason to sit outside. All these people were there just because…they were outside!!

The Island of Coronado is beautiful, surrounded as it is by the Pacific on all sides, with beautiful beaches, walkways, golf courses, parks and buildings. This food joint too was a pretty little place, it wasn’t anywhere near any of the above mentioned attarctions. True, it was in the downtown, but lets face it, it’s no Paris or London. In fact, it’s not even green, grassy or remotedly fancy. Our finest view from where we were sitting was the back of cars horizontally parked by the sidewalk right next to us. Come to think of it, not only the pedestrian walking right behind us could see that little tomato peaking out of my sandwich, but the Honda City which pulled up right behind me could actually sniff at my plate. Not to mention my closest companion was a parking meter!

Oh, and did I mention the bicycle which almost crashed into the table next to us because the bicyclist was too busy admiring our dogs?

What is this fascination with dining ‘outside’?

When we were at Rhode Island, we considered it summer the moment it stopped snowing for the last time according to the weather forecast. The barbeques were aired, cleaned and hauled back to life. Some of us lugged an entire refrigerator out and filled it up with all the ‘wrong-for-you’ designated drinks, just to lounge back and enjoy our cold drinks in the hot, flee infested outdoors right under the blazing sun. All this so that we could eat…outside!

Just like animals do.

Come summer, and we leave our climate controlled cool kitchen confines to struggle over a Barbeque grill in the sweltering heat trying to get that chicken or the veggie piece grilled just right. We lather sunscreen all over us, spray some bug repellants and then sit under the baking sun, braving wind,rain and mosquitoes. Just so that we can say ‘hey, we are dining al fresco’! Oh, and we forgot to bring out the napkins. Let me get the ketchup. Get the glasses please. Please fetch some ice. Can you get me the spoon from inside? Not that spoon, the other one.

Whenever I let Leo (my dog) out into the yard, he is back in minutes, his nose pressed against the door. He wants in, not out! Yet we spend thousands of $$ to pretty up our backyards with dining tables, chairs, grills, pools etc , all so that we can have our guests leave the comfort of our home, step outside and exclaim, “oh! How lovely”. Never mind she is squinting in the sun, getting sun burned, or even developing a headache from all those rays. She loves it.

Lets face it, so do we. We get ready, don are lovely sun dresses, and step inside a climate controlled softly lit restaurant full of empty tables, and ask hopefully, “Do you have a table outside?’. Now if the ‘outside’ was in the lush greens, or by a river or overlooking an ocean, I would understand. But most likely, its right across a parking lot, or Home Depot or, if you are lucky, a fancy Imax theatre (or a Walmart if you are not). Yet we wait patiently in line for a chance to sit outside and enjoy....what? The humid 90 degree sun? The bugs? Scrunching the eyes? The bees? All that yelling going on around us because the passing cars and trucks drown our voice? The flying napkins? The mile long walk to the restroom?

Ironically, I too am a part of it and mind you, I do not mind it at all! This weekend was devoted to getting our backyard ready for the summer. Maybe I too have decided to take a leaf out of those fancy English/ Italian movies which made dining outside a fashion. Never mind their gardens were lush, and that they had servants. Or perhaps my inspiration was the grazing of all those cows and sheep I saw in my childhood….maybe they don’t know any better, but hey, they do seem to enjoy eating outside. And maybe its quite foolish, but so do I!

And I just forgot the ice. Can you please fetch some, Neil?