A Spectator's Dining Dilemma

When and what to eat when the theatre takes the spotlight

A minor table-related topic that I’ve been tinkering with in my mind is the trouble that most concert and theatre performances pose for people’s normal eating rhythms. This came to mind because we went to a Patrick Watson performance the other night and ended up booking a bistro table beforehand for 6 p.m. We started with a drink, then ordered the usual formula of entrée + plat + dessert, and nice as it was, such as it was, it was a mistake.

For a start, it was all too much to digest at such an early hour, at least for us (we normally dine at 8). Furthermore, since in any restaurant the kitchen and waiters set the pace, we found ourselves so rushed at the end that we had to leave before barely putting a dent in dessert and with our glasses half full. Then, of course, there was the discomfort of going straight from one chair into another, where we sat for hours on very full stomachs. Not exactly ideal, but then neither would it have been to put dinner off until 11 p.m., which was the alternative. Or was it really the only one?

In retrospect, in would have been more intelligent to gather our small party at home for an apéro dînatoire before hopping in a taxi to head downtown. That merry little “meal” is of course the French notion of hosting a cocktail hour with substantial enough food (but still light) to make unnecessary any dinner proper afterwards. In other words, you serve more than just the usual drinks-hour offerings of, say, olives and roasted almonds, and lay out a few hors d’oeuvres, not of the froofy puff pastry sort, but healthier: spring rolls or little quiches or a selection of tartines (toasted baguette with various toppings such as foie gras or tomatoes with burrata and basil or sardines with butter, lemon, and mint…).

I’ll tell you who knows how to do pre-theatre fare like nobody’s business, and that’s Viennese café bars. Open-faced sandwiches like these and a glass of wine and I’m good for the night. Alas, not all cities have such smart delicacies on offer.

How about you; have you got any favourite standbys you’d like to add to the list of apéro dinatoire dishes or other pre-theatre fare?

Here’s a little video from a few centuries ago that I made about basic apéritif-hour bites commonly served in France. Not substantial enough for an apéro dînatoire, but something to keep in mind for another time.

Onwards for more...