10 Good Reasons to Eat At Home Tonight

1. Baby, it’s cold outside … and even if it isn’t, it is, figuratively speaking. For me, whether there’s actually a blizzard outside or not, it’s just so much cozier at home than anywhere else.

2. I’m not in the mood for getting dressed. Among other things, my feet hurt. Believe me … they do, and I can’t wear my slippers to the restaurant.

3. I’m in no mood for schmoozing with anyone tonight. Sometimes just talking to a waiter is way too much socializing for me.

4. I often find my own cooking better than what I can get outside—it also costs about ten times less. Who says that the gnocchi at the local restaurants are better than mine? My kitchen may not be as well equipped as theirs, but it’s just fine for me.

5. Sometimes I just want to eat lying down, like a Roman emperor … in front of the TV, even. I know, that TV is usually moronic but why should I feel guilty if I’m seeking just a little simple distraction? Besides, sometimes I just don’t feel like talking—or even sitting upright—while I eat.

6. With what I have in my fridge and my pantry I could eat for a month. I love grocery shopping and having a well-stocked refrigerator. It gives me great joy to see all those packages of pasta stacked up in the cupboard. It would be pitiful to turn my back on them!

7. Sometimes I want just one more bite of something … just another spoonful … or, well, another whole plateful. There’s nothing more delightful after finishing a really delicious dish than to be able to have just a little more.

8. I hate that little piece of paper they bring me at the end of the meal in a restaurant. I find being handed a bill at the end of a meal can really block the digestion. In Italy, they call the check, “la dolorosa”—the painful.

9. After a really satisfying meal, I like to stretch out—very horizontally. If restaurants start providing little after-dinner rooms with cots, I’ll reconsider this one.

10. Sometimes I like to lick my plate at the end.