Outdoor dining in Chinatown
Okay. You’ve decided to venture beyond the mailbox. You’re comfortable with contact-free restaurant pick-up, home delivery, and a favorite trusted drive-thru or two. The news keeps updating us 24/7 on the progress of vaccination availability and statistics. We’re still in the early recovery stages and herd immunity is months away. Still, you’ve got to start getting out of the house, and it’s finally the time to start taking baby steps reasonably and safely.
Before making any desired or impulsive decisions, keep your anti-Covid mindset sharp and do your research before planning anything specific. Be aware of the latest anti-Covid requirements and don’t hesitate to ask questions when contacting each place of interest.
At the time of this writing, we do not any recommend inside dining. Eating outside and socially-distanced from the next table minimizes the risks. In addition to requiring patio, rooftop or other outside settings, be sure they offer the minimal six-foot spacing or plastic dividers separating tables, disinfection of tables and chairs after each seating, and a masked hospitality and wait staff. Before giving an eatery a pass, also ask how often frequently-touched surfaces such as door plates or handles, light switches, railings, waiting area furnishings, and bathrooms are sanitized. This varies with the amount of traffic and should be done at least once for single shifts and minimal guests to more scheduled sanitations for longer hours and larger numbers of customers.
Here’s a basic checklist:
- Does the host or hostess greeting you wear a mask?
- Does he or she take your temperature and require masks before allowing you to enter?
- Do all employees have their temperature tested before every work shift?
- Do all employees wear masks?
- Does the restaurant provide paper menus? If not, are menus thoroughly sanitized after each use?
- Do they sanitize chair backs, arms and seat frames; table sides as well as tops; salt and pepper sets, mustard and ketchup bottles and any other tabletop items after each seating?
- How often are the restrooms, hand rails, door plates/knobs, and any other common area features disinfected? (This can range from daily to hourly, depending upon the size of the establishment, number of customers, etc.)
Many establishments have their anti-Covid policies online for your convenience. Just be sure to ask the restaurant to confirm that they follow everything listed on their site. Don’t hesitate to ask if something is not clear to you.
Always carry a bottle of hand sanitizer to use after reading menus, touching salt shakers, ketchup bottles or any other table items. Do this regardless of what precautions the restaurant has taken. Watch where your hands go and always sanitize them before picking up a roll from the bread basket, touching the silverware, your drinking glass or cup, or anything else headed toward your mouth. And when you return from a restroom break, always sanitize again AFTER you sit down and use your hands to pull your chair up to the table.
Restaurants should always require you to wear a mask to enter/leave the establishment and at your table when the waiter or service staff approach. Regardless, always practice both whenever dining out.
