Manners

A New Low: Dude Watches a Movie on His Laptop at DBGB

Not okay.
Not okay. Photo: Jonathan Van Meter

People have figured out all sorts of ways to distract themselves, and others, at restaurants: They scroll through their smartphones, they give iPads to their kids, etc. But the other night night, this motherfucker walked into DBGB — a not un-fancy restaurant — put in his ear buds, opened his big-screen laptop, and started watching a movie.

Then, while ordering a glass of Champagne and a hamburger, he treated the waiters like they were flight attendants.

I took his picture because I was horrified and fascinated, sure, but also because I thought, this is what people — myself included — hate about modern NYC life: Everyone is beginning to act like they are on a flight to Los Angeles, behaving in even the busiest and most crowded of public spaces as if they were in their bedrooms.

I asked the sommelier, “Have you ever seen anyone do this before?” and he smiled and said, “Never.”

Hopefully we can amend that to “never again.”

Related: Department of Deportment: How (and Why) to Dine Solo

A modified version of this post first appeared on Van Meter’s Facebook page.

A New Low: Dude Watches a Movie on His Laptop at DBGB