Would you eat inside a French social-distancing lampshade?

Issue 160: There's only one way to settle this: a good old-fashioned vote.

Hello! Welcome to Nosh Box, a lunchtime-ish food newsletter with no additives, preservatives, or artificial flavorings.

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As you read this, it’s probably been at least two months since you’ve eaten inside a restaurant. You may be saying to yourself, oh! How I long for a night out on the town, but alas, I would feel unprotected from my dining companions lest I am exposed to Covid-19! Maybe you’d phrase it a little differently, but to each their own.

Regardless, have no fear — France has solved this problem:

AP Images @AP_Images

A man and a woman demonstrate dining under a plastic shield in a Paris restaurant on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. As restaurants in food-loving France prepare to reopen, some are investing in lampshade-like plastic shields to protect diners from the virus. | Photo Thibault Camus

Yep, it’s a large shade that hangs from the ceiling, and it’s got an open back so you can just slide right into it. The height of romance. I guess you just have to hope there’s not as much glare in real life as there is in this photo?

In a very amusing article over at Grub Street, Rachel Sugar declares, “I Want to Eat in the Weird French Lampshades.”

At first I thought, No. Or rather, non, out of respect for the French. I like touching things! I touch glasses and tables and napkins. Also, I love sharing meals — eating from just one plate is an overwhelming commitment — and you can’t share a meal when you are encased like a gourmet bubble boy.

However, now that I have pondered it for several hours, I think I was too hasty with my repulsion. Bubble dining is not only a concession to a broken world; it would be a multisensory culinary experience, and I love experiences. I haven’t had one in several months, except for eating jam, but I remember being interested in them.

This particular diner-protection gizmo is called the Plex’Eat and was designed by a guy named Christophe Gernigon, who told Reuters he designed it because he thought existing models looked too much like prison visiting booths. Lovely.

The Grub Street article continues:

Perhaps it is best to think of the bubble shade less as a necessary barrier between you and a terrifying world, and more like a giant see-through blanket for adults; maybe it isn’t really safe in there, but it feels safe, and also there is wine. How does the wine get in there? The reports do not elucidate this point, but the image promises it’s possible.

Alright, we’re gonna try something new: Nosh Box democracy!

If a restaurant near you installed these lampshades, would you go eat in them? Vote here by clicking on your choice:

I’ll share the results in Monday’s Nosh Box! Want to explain your choice? Join our comment section:

Have a good weekend!