DineLA Distress

Is it just me, or is this whole Dine L.A thing also the source of this "oh no, I got to take advantage of this but where and when should I go" type of distress?

Take me for example, dining in most of the places mentioned is only something I daydream about endlessly, hoping to one day, by some crazy organization of instances, get to sample . So, of course, I jump on the whole bandwagon (not to mention $34 for me is still a hell of a lot; like food for 3 weeks!), but still...the ultimate question still remained: where and when?

So I make a reservation for one of the prime L.A restaurants at the moment: Grace. And for Wed. Jan. 30, 2008, without any specific time, I am 9th on the waiting list. Pheeew, at least I did something to try to "take advantage of this 'once-in-a-lifetime' event".

So Wednesday finally comes, and by some other crazy allotment of instances, my brothers friend (who is serving as my only VERY APPRECIATED sponsor for 'real restaurant' visits right now) wants to have late lunch. Crap, where to go!? So I rummage through every single participating dineLA place to see which one I was going to use this ultra-rare opportunity on. Where, where, where! But after getting unjustly violated by the law for riding my Vespa in an industrial district (long story involving misidentification and frisking), I am left even more uneasy and anxious than usual, and still can not think of a place to have lunch (as if there were any that were open after 2:00PM anyway)

Anyways, I end up seeking some comfort at Real Food Daily (I know, but since I leave to the carnivore capital of the world on Sunday, and never been to the NOHO location...). I end up finding that needed comfort in the last day of the monthly special 'loaf' of squishy, squashy lentils, barley, millet, butternut squash drowned in pan dripped gravy, oblique cuts of undercooked carrots, parsnips and one Brussel Sprout, Emerald Forest as it is called on the menu.

And after this filling meal, on the suffocatingly packed bus ride back home (suffering from post-traumatic scooter disorder), I get a phone call from Grace letting me know that a spot had opened up at 9:00PM..."Can I call you back to find out?" Hmmmm....take advantage, live up to my name (glutton it since I wasn't that hungry)? Finally sample one of the 'best', most talked, written, hyped about places in L.A? Spend all that dough without thinking about the future? Go all the way back to the other side of town again? By myself? Was King Salmon, Quinoa, Artichokes, Lobster Nage really worth it?

By the time I almost go insane thinking about it and call back: "Sorry, the table is no longer available"

Can someone please provide me with some sort of remorse-resolving solace?

Is this whole thing really worth it? (how about in Grace in particular?)