Originally posted by: montanafan
Four hours sounds about right to me for an evening out at a nice restaurant with a couple of friends. You have to figure in time to have a drink waiting for your table, there has to be a long discussion about the appetizers and should each order their own or should they share and then if they're going to share who can have what and then finally decide to try a couple of different ones to keep everyone happy and then you have to discuss the different entrees and the good and bad qualities of each and why one is better than the other for your weight and then whether you should order different ones so that you can try each others and then conversation about the cute guy waiting on your table and the wait for the appetizers and then when the appetizers come you have to try the different ones and discuss them and you have to take your time because even though you're starving you don't want to seem like a pig in front of the other girls and then you have to order another round of drinks because you want to see the cute waiter again and all the time the cute waiter is waiting for you to finish the appetizers so that he can bring out the entrees, but now he has to go get the drinks and the bar is busy so it takes awhile and then when he gets back everyone's ready for their entrees so he takes away what's left of the appetizers and you wait while he goes to get the entrees and then he brings them and the fussy one of your friends doesn't like the way her steak was cooked and you have to wait for her to get the cute waiter's attention and then he has to hear her complain and then he takes it back to the kitchen to get it cooked well-done instead of just done and you and the other friend don't want to be eating while the fussy one isn't so you talk and decide to order another drink and the cute waiter has to delay getting the fussy friend's food to go to the even busier bar now to order the drinks and then that takes a while and he finally brings them to the table and then the fussy friend complains to him that it's taking a while for her steak to get there and so the cute waiter goes to get it, but now he's pissed so he takes his time bringing it to the table and spends some time with the cook rehashing game seven between Miami and Dallas and then he finally brings the food out and then everyone gets down to eating, but again not too fast because you don't want to look like a pig in front of each other and then you have to try each others entree and discuss them and why you should have ordered theirs or why you like yours better and then you finish eating and the cute waiter comes over and asks if you'd like dessert and then you have to discuss that for a while because you all want dessert, but you have to take turns explaining why you really shouldn't, but if everyone else wants to have one you will and then you all convince each other that it won't hurt to have a little dessert and then you have to discuss the options on the dessert menu and the number of calories and fat content of each and why you shouldn't have them and then you finally convince each other to try different ones so that you can all sample them and then you order and decide to order another drink as well to have while you wait on them and then there's an even longer wait for the drinks because the bar is really busy now and then you get your drinks and the cute waiter goes back for the desserts, but he takes his time because the three of you are really working up quite a tab with all the drinks now and he hopes that you'll finish these and want more or get so drunk that you'll think he's even cuter than he really is and leave a really large tip that you'll think was foolish in the morning because you won't remember him being really all that cute after all and then he finally brings the desserts and you take your time eating them so that you don't look like a pig in front of each other and you try each others and it takes even longer to eat because after each bite you have to say, I really shouldn't, but just one more bite and listen to all your friends say the same thing and take the time to convince them why they should so that you can eat all of yours with out looking like a pig in front of them and then when you finallly finish your desserts you notice that you finished your drinks earlier and decide to have just one more for the road after much discussion of why you really shouldn't and with lots of giggling and laughing about if your husbands/boyfriends could see you now and then there's an even longer wait for the drinks because the cute waiter is now sure you're going to be so drunk that this tip will make his night and then the drinks come and you giggle and laugh a lot as you say things about your husbands/boyfriends and your love life that you never thought you would and of course you keep trying to get your friends to go into even more and more detail and then finally the drinks are finished and you ask for the bill and after a short wait for that because the cute waiter is impatient for his big tip you have to look at the single check that you got because you forgot to ask for separate ones and you have to go through it item by item and refer back to the menu that you had to ask the cute waiter to go back and get for you and then you have to try to add up the appetizers and entrees and desserts and drinks that each person had and the cost and percentage of each and then the tax and it takes a long time because no one brought a calculator and it's hard to do all that math when you're drunk and then you finally finish and you have to discuss and decide whether each should leave their own tip or just leave one collective one and so you do the math for each individual one and then discuss which way would be best and then you decide the collective tip would be best and then someone only has large bills and so you have to go through your purses to try to make change and then you finally get it all worked out and then when the cute waiter comes to get the money one of your friends asks for a doggie bag for the rest of her dessert because she wants to take it home for her toddler and so you have to wait for the cute waiter to bring it because he takes his time because he's now upset that the tip wasn't what he was hoping for and then he brings the doggie bag and while your friend is putting the leftover dessert in it she talks about her child and everyone has to chime in about theirs or why they don't have any yet and the pros or cons of that friend starting a family and then after you settle that your friend who has a long drive home decides that she had better powder her nose before she leaves so you all go to the bathroom with her and get into a discussion about your cars or houses while you're in there and then you all decide to fix your makeup before you leave because your husbands/boyfriends are going to be mad that you've taken so long and you at least don't want to look falling down drunk when you get there and then on the way out you run into a friend of one of your friends and she introduces all of you and then there's a recap of each other's evenings and goings on and then you go out to the parking lot and see each others cars and discuss them and then you all say your goodbyes and everyone waits for each other to get their cars started up to make sure no one has a problem and then there's the drive home and there you are.
So yeah, I'd say at least four hours.