I went through a very brief period of hat-wearing about twenty years ago. My hat was a wide-brimmed, safari-style thing that I used to keep the sun off my face and neck. One of the reasons I stopped wearing the damn thing is that I never knew what to do with it when going into a building. Restaurants generally don’t offer hat/coat check anymore, and some of them don’t even have coat racks or hooks anywhere. It never occurred to me to keep the hat on, because that would be weird and definitely a faux pas.
There’s a Dashiell Hammett novel where the hero walks into the bad guy’s lair, sits down without being asked, and puts his hat on the floor next to the chair. This demonstrates how fearless and badass he is. Me, I’d just awkwardly hold the hat, while silently resolving to give up this whole stupid hat-wearing thing.
Yeah - wasn’t my idea or my money. I didn’t want to go. Today my main meal will be baked potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Total cost for 2 of us maybe $2 - and I guarantee I will prefer it to yesterday’s meal!
If I saw that behavior at a Michelin-starred restaurant, I’d cancel my order and walk out. If the place can’t handle something basic like hat removal, I wouldn’t trust them with my food.
I’m aware of the convention, but it strikes me as outdated, and I can’t imagine that in 2021 on the west coast of the United States, anyone would give a fuck. Shorts/t-shirt/ballcap might get you some stares in some contexts, but a nice hat that otherwise matched the general attire? Nah…
I have to assume @silenus is kidding in the above post.
I rarely visit a place fancier then the steak place with peanut shells on the floor, so I leave my hat on, even after 20 years in the military. Now, if I will be attending a fancy event, like a wedding with a fancy luncheon or reception, I won’t wear a hat to the event, but there is one in the car for the ride home.
Man - they gave my wife a copy of the menu. It was something like 10-12 courses. Totally over the top pretentious bullshit IMO. BTW, restaurant was ever in Chicago. There were scallops, yellowtail, caviar, asparagus… 3 dessert courses…
For a topper - when the bill came, our host - one of our best friends- lacked enough cash and didn’t have a credit card w/ him. So I had the pleasure of putting it on my card! (He already stopped by this a.m. w/ the cash.)
Never again!
Oh - and I guess I’m so old fashioned, I checked ahead of time to see if jacket/tie were required. They weren’t.
I just see these kind of things as a way to keep “them” out. Doesn’t matter who your “them” is… the poors, the blacks, the trailer trash; Not allowed to dine here if you don’t have a suit and tie, or refuse to remove your hat… because your nice jeans/baseball cap might turn somebody’s stomach and make it impossible for them to choke down their pâté de foie gras.
If you were at Alinea, I am so jealous. My brother has been there three times — I can’t bring myself to spend the money, but I know I’d enjoy it, even though my tastes run low brow.
As to the OP, I would find it odd to wear a hat inside, I guess, especially in that setting. That’s my social indoctrination, I guess.
I get as irritated with baseball caps in fine restaurants as Tony Soprano does, though I’d never say anything to anyone about it. However, we are talking about a restaurant where dessert is served directly all over the tabletop. Without any snobbery at all, it honestly sounds like one might be allowed to dispense with other traditions such as bared heads.
Depending upon the level of dining you were experiencing, there may have already been an attendant in the restroom to do that for you along with a spritz of cologne as you left.
Sigh. I haven’t eaten in a really fancy restaurant in a few years now. The one sorta close to me closed. I really enjoy them, though. I need to find a new place.
I like wearing baseball caps promoting various things that I support, plus it’s a handy cover when my hair is too long and/or unkempt, which is often – I am a Retired Old Fart. But there is something instinctive about removing it in a restaurant, which I always do. I’d feel like a complete boor wearing a hat in any eatery of higher standard than a mall food court.
Hell, I sometimes wear my hat during the national anthem at sporting events . Though I usually don’t wear a hat so I don’t have to think about taking it off indoors. Especially not in a fancier place. I will keep a baseball hat on in a bar the few times I’m wearing one.
I think at this point it’s “a thing”, but it isn’t serious enough for me to notice if someone was wearing a hat while eating.
In general, in any restaurant with a tablecloth and table service, I take my hat off, and put in on a empty seat or the far end of the table away from where the service comes from.
. Though I usually don’t wear a hat so I don’t have to think about taking it off indoors. Especially not in a fancier place. I will keep a baseball hat on in a bar the few times I’m wearing one.