Photo courtesy of SID CEASER PHOTOGRAPHY Shown is writer and humorist Teresa Santoski.

As businesses throughout New Hampshire re-open during the COVID-19 pandemic and work to accommodate new health and safety standards, there’s bound to be an adjustment period – not only for employees, but also for customers. This is especially true in regards to the restaurant industry.

I recently dined out for the first time since our state issued its stay-at-home order. Call me naïve, but there was a small part of me that had hoped things would go back to normal and we’d be able to eat in restaurants the way we did before the pandemic.

But instead of sitting in a comfortably upholstered chair surrounded by tasteful décor in a climate-controlled environment with light music playing in the background, we found ourselves sitting at a wooden picnic table under a tent in the restaurant parking lot, trying to keep our paper placemats from blowing away in the breeze and being serenaded by the sounds of traffic.

Mom and I were actually the first guests to dine at our favorite restaurant under these conditions. Our waiter, who was wearing a mask, informed us that we were the first people they’d be serving under the new system and asked us to please bear with him.

We had no issues with dealing with a potential learning curve, and we told him as much. After two solid months of cooking and minimal takeout, we were looking forward to a meal we didn’t have to make ourselves. And no dishes to clean up? That’s an even bigger bonus.

First up was the bread and oil that are this restaurant’s staple appetizer. Each serving of bread in the bread basket – two slices each – was wrapped in foil, with the oil and parmesan cheese presented in single-serving plastic containers. The appearance was a bit reminiscent of airline food, but it certainly didn’t detract from the taste.

Our entrees were served in regular dishes, just as they had been when we dined at the restaurant before the pandemic. Mom and I decided to split wild mushroom ravioli in a carbonara sauce and cheese ravioli in a vodka cream sauce – dishes that we would never attempt to make from scratch at home.

Both entrees were absolutely divine, and there was enough left over to have another meal at home. And since we had takeout containers, we didn’t have to worry about dirtying more dishes.

Given that we were already bringing food home, we figured we might as well get dessert to go. We decided on two cannolis and a flourless chocolate cake trifle with chocolate mousse and toffee, served in a bowl made of white and dark chocolate.

We have a running joke in our family that cannolis don’t travel well ever since Younger Sister picked up cannolis from a restaurant near her apartment with the intention of giving them to Mom and me when we came to visit-and then ate them herself because they “didn’t travel well.”

I’m pleased to report that these desserts did travel well – no melting, no mushing-and were brought home to share with the rest of the family. Yes, even with Younger Sister.

The food aspect of our post-quarantine dining-out experience was lovely and the service was exceptional, especially considering the numerous adjustments our server had to make. It was everything we had dreamt of while paging through cookbooks at home, looking for manageable ways to make chicken breast more exciting while not dirtying too many dishes.

Though it was pleasant to be outdoors, the dining experience itself would benefit from some minor modifications. In addition to the now-standard mask and hand sanitizer, here are a few items I suggest you bring when next you lunch al fresco.

First and foremost, bring blankets – one to sit on, and one to put over your lap in case it’s chilly or breezy. In the event a blanket might not be enough padding, you can supplement with a cushion or one of those foam kneeling pads that gardeners use.

Next, bring sunscreen. You don’t want to have odd tan lines from your mask. Not that you’ll be wearing it while you eat, but it’s good mask etiquette to wear it when your server is at your table to help protect them from potential exposure. You can then use the sunscreen bottle, along with other small but heavy items like glasses cases or hand lotions that you or a dining companion may have in a purse, to help hold down your placemat if it’s breezy.

If you have long hair like I do, I recommend bringing a clip or an elastic to keep your hair from blowing in your face while you eat. And speaking of the wind, you might also want to bring a small bag for trash. That way, neither you nor your server will have to chase straw wrappers or crumpled napkins halfway across the parking lot. Just give your server the bag at the end of the meal to take away with the dishes.

Though I wish we could magically return to the way things were before the pandemic, life as we know it has changed, and we’re all having to make adjustments. We can choose to complain and refuse to accept the “new normal,” or we can choose to make the best of a challenging situation.

I’ve been looking forward to dining out again since I finished the last bite of my dessert. If I can have a meal like that again and not have to cook it or clean up after it, I will make just about any adjustment they request.

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Tete-a-tete is published monthly. Teresa Santoski can be reached at tsantoski@gmail.com or via www.teresasantoski.com.

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