Any dining-out related dreams?

[DreamInsights]

Had a dream about how the dining-out experience has changed since the pandemic. Eateries have few staff, hence slower, and even lower-quality service.

The dream: I was dining-out in a place where the dining-area was larger than the average dining-area - the dining areas being both indoor, and outdoor seating.

I was dining-out with a relative, and I had briefly stepped-away from our table to use the wash-room - upon returning, our server bought me a dish with a fork, beef-knife, and spoon wrapped-up in a napkin - a dish with no food.

Just before our server quickly walked-away, the server mentioned, I can guess that you wil be ordering a beef-entree. The server guessed correctly, yet I did not mention what I was ordering to my relative. I must say, I was beside myself, and shaking my head out of doubt, and disbelief.

Immediately, I woke-up - yet my first thought after waking-up involved a subtle bit of sarcasm on behalf of our server, In this dream, I thought our server would ask us, "will you have our beef-entree with "that" ("that" being food on the dish with a fork, beef-knife, and spoon wrapped-up in a napkin- with no food, or drinks)?

I'm glad this was just a dream not based-on any known real dining-out experiences.

 

[Lyn Holley]

How do we get sustenance in our lives? Perhaps we feel that we have the tools, but not the meal itself. In other words, I am looking for spiritual or emotional sustenance but it does not seem forthcoming. The server is a sort of a, "trickster," who is pointing at what you want, but not providing it. These guys appear in our dreams to point the way with humor in order to wake us up. "I am giving you the beef knife, but no beef." (Getting the beef is up to you...)
The dining room has both indoor and outdoor seating. The conscious and the unconscious are involved in this dream. Consciously, you want something in your life, but have not gone after it. Your shadow relative is of no help at this point but is there to emphasize the, "I don't know," quality of the dream. Look for other dreams that point you to the way of emotional and spiritual sustenance. The dreams are leading you there!

 

[DreamInsights]

How do we get sustenance in our lives? Perhaps we feel that we have the tools, but not the meal itself. In other words, I am looking for spiritual or emotional sustenance but it does not seem forthcoming. The server is a sort of a, "trickster," who is pointing at what you want, but not providing it. These guys appear in our dreams to point the way with humor in order to wake us up. "I am giving you the beef knife, but no beef." (Getting the beef is up to you...)
The dining room has both indoor and outdoor seating. The conscious and the unconscious are involved in this dream. Consciously, you want something in your life, but have not gone after it. Your shadow relative is of no help at this point but is there to emphasize the, "I don't know," quality of the dream. Look for other dreams that point you to the way of emotional and spiritual sustenance. The dreams are leading you there!

The dream interpretion is a very good guess.

I'l post another dining-out related dream.

 

[DreamInsights]

A dining-out related dream I experienced sevreal years ago: I was in a restaurant in a booth with four or five people. I was sitting in the inner part of the booth sharing pizza, and drinking beer. We all had our own individual glasses of beer. No common pitcher of beer here, as pitchers encourage too much drinking. Moderate alcohol consumption was a theme.

The interior design style had wooden-planked walls e.g., our booths felt like open ended crates (this is significant as I dislike booths; as booths are too confining (the open-ended crate design also seemed to signal space limits).

Anyways, we were enjoying our ourselves being reasonably quiet. Yet, I spotted our server quickly walk to our table, and a had that sixth-sense that our server was irritated (at our albeit "reasonably quiet") conduct. Sure enough, she sarcastically said, "excuse me, can you please keep the noise down!"

As this was one of those places where patrons are allowed to draw on paper covered tables, and provided with colored markers, our server proceeded to reach for colored markers at our table, and sarcastically say, "please QUIETLY draw-out your feelings on the paper, and markers we've provided.....thank-you!"

Okay, I decided that the wise thing to do here was to wake-up from this dream, and feel that I can use this dream as an example in counseling (I was having at the time) - as my awesome therapist wasn't surprised by this dream stemming from concerns with social situations, and developing friendships.

In real-life, I've never experienced visibly irritated servers at eateries. As a matter of fact, I've had good experiences with small-talk at places where I was 'a regular.'

 

[Lyn Holley]

The energy in the dream is with the server. She wants you to be quiet. Where in your life were you keeping quiet when you wanted to speak up?

 

[Lyn Holley]

Or, what part of you silences you?

 

[Al1ce]

May the dream means that you are very structured and follow order, maybe it is time to change your life up a bit and do the things you wouldn’t, everyone expects your responses and knows you decisions, your wants and needs, could this be how others see you and how they project this version of you, is it time to break free from this cycle and bring your inner child out what she needs and wants. Sometimes these kind of dreams make us question ourselves, and re connect to our inner child. What do you really want and desire?

 

[DreamInsights]

Or, what part of you silences you?

Your previous responses in this disc. thread are plausible interpretations which I will consider with interest. What is your experience with interpreting dreams?

I've enclosed a description (in this disc. thread) of a dining-out related dream I experienced (the previous night as of this writing).

 

[Al1ce]

If it was me and a waiter knew what I wanted, it would mean I give to much away. I would question how I am perceived by others. I would also like to clarify that this is an open forum, no one needs an expertise, we come together as a collective to help each other. It is up to the dreamer to find their connections.

 

[DreamInsights]

A dining-out related dream: I was at a gathering with an estimated two-dozen people at a dining-hall. We were eating samples of gourmet breads, and gourmet spreads e.g., the spreads were like specialty butters. Someone immediately began passing Raspberry jam.

As soon as the jar of jam reached my table, I had a chance to spread jam fully on one slice of bread, and only a tiny portion thinly spread on another slice of bread - just as a dining-hall staff member came-by, and had taken the jar of jam away from us "out of the blue," and without a spoken word. I was left to spread the tiny amount of jam I had left-over, and finally ate the slice of bread with the ample of jam spread.

I experienced this dream with singer Rick Astley's dance/rock song 'Never Gonna Give You Up' playing in the background.

 

[Al1ce]

I was responding to your first dream earlier, we can see how it changes each time as you have progressed, I had similar reoccurring restaurant dreams, for me I have been on a self discovery spiritual journey, and each time I visited the restaurant it changed with me, almost like it is a reflection of the self. I also seen it as my higher spirit reaching out to me, the waiter knows your there in spirit, the song never gonna give you up says it all, I remember a similar song in mine - baby don’t worry about a thing, Bob Marley everything is gonna be alright. As we reach higher within our being parts of us begin to dissolve, the jam could resemble the sweet things in life which you are cherishing, these first piece was spread perfectly, the second is telling me not to spread yourself to thinly, and the bread symbolises nourishment and satisfaction. Next time you are there, try to talk to the waiter more, he may have something important to tell you. This is only my opinion. I wonder did you go outside through the courtyard? I saw a blossom tree outside, and a woman in a red dress got my attention, I read her lips on entering, and she said “she’s here” so try obverse your surrounding if you find yourself here again, look for clues. It sounds very lucid to me as your able to interact.

 

[DreamInsights]

I was responding to your first dream earlier, we can see how it changes each time as you have progressed, I had similar reoccurring restaurant dreams, for me I have been on a self discovery spiritual journey, and each time I visited the restaurant it changed with me, almost like it is a reflection of the self. I also seen it as my higher spirit reaching out to me, the waiter knows your there in spirit, the song never gonna give you up says it all, I remember a similar song in mine - baby don’t worry about a thing, Bob Marley everything is gonna be alright. As we reach higher within our being parts of us begin to dissolve, the jam could resemble the sweet things in life which you are cherishing, these first piece was spread perfectly, the second is telling me not to spread yourself to thinly, and the bread symbolises nourishment and satisfaction. Next time you are there, try to talk to the waiter more, he may have something important to tell you. This is only my opinion. I wonder did you go outside through the courtyard? I saw a blossom tree outside, and a woman in a red dress got my attention, I read her lips on entering, and she said “she’s here” so try obverse your surrounding if you find yourself here again, look for clues. It sounds very lucid to me as your able to interact.

In the dream, I did not note any exit to the outside. This was a dining-hall without any windows.

I had not dined-out with servers taking customer orders in a long time - as dining-out service has slowed due to staffing shortages.

Two or three times a week, I order coffee, and baked-goods at the counter - which is pretty much carry-out self-service.

 

[Al1ce]

I Quote my question regarding this - The dream: I was dining-out in a place where the dining-area was larger than the average dining-area - the dining areas being both indoor, and outdoor seating. (I was not sure if you took note of the outdoor also.)

 

[Lyn Holley]

I don't mind listing my credentials, although I agree with the other lady that this is friends helping friends. I am a Jungian oriented L.P.C. I was a member of the Jung Society. I have two masters degrees in Education and the other in the science of counseling. I am almost 74 years old and have worked with dreams for many years. I just returned from the Haden Institute dream conference for a week...my 4th time there. that is focused on DreamWork.

 

[DreamInsights]

Several years ago, I had a dream that took place in a Los Angeles restaurant with that Mid-Century 'Googie style' design. The interior was noted for its' display of Mid-Century style living-room lamps illuminating the place with a soft, and a slightly dark tan lighting - hence the name of the restaurant in the dream became 'Lampson's.'

This place had an excellent fried-chicken dish, and chocolate cake. My mom and I were awaiting our order for fried-chicken, and anticipated chocolate cake. My mom was giving advice on being a successful author - the advice being, "stories without protagonists, and angonists are stories that won't sell." As I was digesting this advice, our orders of fried-chicken arrived - hence an actual meal to....digest. Taste and scent were noted in this dream.

The reasons why I might have had this dream. I had lived in West Los Angeles as a kid - where there were a few Googie style restaurants, and other Mid Century style architectural styles (including interior design styles - such as lamps that were popular at the time). I remember seeing these styles over the years before too many of these older places were torn-down. Food represented sustenance within a place of notable architectual styles.

The advice on being an author stemmed from criticism of my written content being too intellectual - that is, content that it too intellectual in style usually results in very little readership interest.

What a dream - Mid Century architectual styles, food, and advice on being a successful author - WHOA!

 

[DreamInsights]

It's been over a year since this discussion-thread was updated.

The other night, I had a dream of a dining experience with another unknown (yet familiar-like person) in a eatery serving old-West-style dishes. We had a waiter who seemed determined to become a comedian - a waiter who was professionaal, very personable, and had that sharp wit.

We had beef-dishes with delicious bread rolls, served with awesome beer. Our waiter talked-us into ordering two desserts. Personally, I rarely order dessert. Scents, and taste were notable in this dream.

We were impressed with the food, admiring, and were amused by our waiter's personality.

The dining-out bill was the most notable part of the dream: First of all, this was a bill I've never seen before - the bill had about a dozen randomly pencil written numbers: Bottom of bill; numbers such as 132.86, 119,50, 128.11. The other nine numbers were lesser numbers towards the top of the bill. These were just numbers, without the dollar signs. No, this was not felt to be a joke....from our humour-minded waiter, but an honest mistake.

Did our waiter inadvertantly leave-us with a piece of paper - with a bill tally calculated old-school with pencil?

So were left scratching our heads -familiar with this eatery, and it's reasonable prices, we seriously asked ourselves if our bill was over $120 for lunch serving two of us? From my own personal experiences: For two people, we rarely had bills exceeding $50. We both took an itemized inventory of what we ordered, the bill was estimated around $50. Obviously, there was a (big) mistake in our bill.

So we proceeded to the cashier while looking for our memorable waiter (who was nowhere to be found). We now mutually asked, is this a joke?? We arrived at the cashier, with noboby present -without a normal bill in hand!!

At this point, I woke-up from the dream. I felt I had to make "fun of" (to complete) this dream. I had left my wallet with credit cards in the other room, I jokingly said, "I'm going to quickly retrive my wallet form the other room - and quickly jumping back into bed!" (No, I did not actually do this).

I actually wished this dream was completed - complete with paying via a normal bill's numbers, and to include a 20% tip (above the customary 15% tip) for our memorable waiter.
Has anybody here in 'DreamForum.net' felt that 'let's complete that dream feeling', and maybe getting a few laughs......after waking-up?"

The takeaway from this dream: From personal experiences, we've never had such lively servers - yet we've had memorable servers. I might have had this dream from current memories relating to dining-out experiences before the COVID pandemic yielded changes to food service.

Alot of our local eateries cut hours, reduced staff, and even closed-down. Many eateries now operate on a carry-out order basis to make best use of staff, and to keep costs down - with an option to dine on the premesis. Dining-out will never be the same again.

P.S. About twenty-five years ago, I had a dream of food-scents which might be described as a cross between old-West-style dishes, and Italian food - all while riding in the back of a pickup truck, and listening to the 1999 Tal Bachman song, 'She's So High' - presumably venturing to get lunch.

No, I was not hungry, no making plans to dine-out while having any of the above mentioned dreams.

 

[DreamInsights]

I had located an old computer file with a typed descriptions of dream I experienced long-ago. The origial decription was heavily edited, yet the following post is highly remembered:

This dream involved a daytime walk on a main boulevard (Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, Encino Region of LA) not far from where I lived decades-ago.

In a seemingly lengthy walk, and search for a "highly recommended" eatery (recommended as it's known for it’s good food yet - it’s not over-ratted), I had noted appetizing scents of several different cuisines of foods during my walk. After an apparently unfulfilled quest for this recommended eatery, my dream shifted - as I found myself standing, and staring (almost mesmerized, and disappointed) at a chessy sign for a fast-food place located within an old, drab (unappetizing) suburban Los Angeles-style strip-mall.

A few months of time elapsed since this food dream, as another related dream - same locations, walking again, but this time, a search for a recommended dessert/coffee place.

This dream included a novel tie-in to images associated with the Freudian school, as the dream involved walking into a small-shop that specialized in selling products for Psychologist’s offices; complete with a Freudian-style office motif, and even a Freudian couch as the main in-store display. I would have been hard-pressed to answer a store staffer's question,"can I help you?"

I don't remember how this dream ended, yet the ending felt more encouraging than staring at a drab, aging strip-mall with a notable unappitizing eatery - complete with terrible parking.

I’ve never walked more than a block on this main boulevard; as walking distances on Ventura Blvd. are quite lengthy; hence, motor-vehicle travel was preffered (despite the terrible traffic) on this 18-mile long street - which must contain one of most diverse arrays of urban-suburban sprawl.

"And No, I was not hungry while experiencing these dreams."

 

[anjae]

I had located an old computer file with a typed descriptions of dream I experienced long-ago. The origial decription was heavily edited, yet the following post is highly remembered:

This dream involved a daytime walk on a main boulevard (Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, Encino Region of LA) not far from where I lived decades-ago.

In a seemingly lengthy walk, and search for a "highly recommended" eatery (recommended as it's known for it’s good food yet - it’s not over-ratted), I had noted appetizing scents of several different cuisines of foods during my walk. After an apparently unfulfilled quest for this recommended eatery, my dream shifted - as I found myself standing, and staring (almost mesmerized, and disappointed) at a chessy sign for a fast-food place located within an old, drab (unappetizing) suburban Los Angeles-style strip-mall.

A few months of time elapsed since this food dream, as another related dream - same locations, walking again, but this time, a search for a recommended dessert/coffee place.

This dream included a novel tie-in to images associated with the Freudian school, as the dream involved walking into a small-shop that specialized in selling products for Psychologist’s offices; complete with a Freudian-style office motif, and even a Freudian couch as the main in-store display. I would have been hard-pressed to answer a store staffer's question,"can I help you?"

I don't remember how this dream ended, yet the ending felt more encouraging than staring at a drab, aging strip-mall with a notable unappitizing eatery - complete with terrible parking.

I’ve never walked more than a block on this main boulevard; as walking distances on Ventura Blvd. are quite lengthy; hence, motor-vehicle travel was preffered (despite the terrible traffic) on this 18-mile long street - which must contain one of most diverse arrays of urban-suburban sprawl.

"And No, I was not hungry while experiencing these dreams."

If you have any new dream, tell me and let me interpret that. It may help

 

[DreamInsights]

Personally, dreams related to food often contain taste, and smell scents. The previous dream I posted also contained experiences in a shop devoted to furnishings for therapist's offices - - complete with a Freudian-stlye couch as the main, in-store display.

How often are taste, and/or smell scents experienced in dreams?

 

[DreamInsights]

I wouldn't be surprised to experience dreams with taste, and scents with the holiday food experiences upon us.

Any experiences?