Poor Guy eating alone

This might be a thing where I log the places I eat alone at. I'm at Coral Tree Cafe in Encino. It's not near where I live, but like most places I feel comfortable eating alone at, it doesn't matter so much what the food's like or where it is. It's mostly important if it's not too trendy or depressing and I hate waitress service. I need the freedom to bolt when I'm done. And I hate when they come up to me when I'm chewing and ask how it is very ten seconds, but then when you want something or your check, they're nowhere to be found.  Also what matters is if the place has a low-stress parking lot, and isn't usually that crowded. Tonight there's some charity event and it's crowded so I'll leave. I suppose I log the places I feel comfortable eating alone at to share with others, and feel I have a mission. I saw this guy a few years older than me the other night eating alone, and I felt bad for the poor lonely guy. But I was alone, but that was different. I had a project! I had my laptop! It's like feeling bad you see someone at a porno store when you're there. (Before Internet reference) 

I may travel for the first time in awhile so I'm hoping others tell me places in their city that's good for eating alone at. There's a chapter about eating alone in my book, "Maybe We'll have You Back". It's coming out late April I think. Lots of people when I tell them I have a book, they say, "Self Published, right? It's just self published?" hoping whatever news I have is something that's not that good and for them to be envious about. When I say no, that in fact it's a real publisher, I can see the crushed look on their face. They don't want other people doing good. They can't hide that look, so they try to recover saying, "But I hear you don't make that much from a book unless you're famous or Stephen KIng, right?" I told this guy this other one was saying, "Self Published, right?" and he said, "So what it's self published? That's still a lot of work you did!" and I tried correcting him that it's not self published, but he didn't want to hear it. "Why does he have to put down it's self published? You still have an accomplishment." He just didn't want to hear it wasn't self published. Okay people are yelling and laughing. Gotta leave. Normally this is a cool low-key place for eating alone