Where does your bag sit when you go to a restaurant?

Sounds like a silly question, if you think about it. But consider the size, not to mention the value, of bags women and not a few men carry around these days, and you would have to agree that where your precious cargo sits when you dine out is a relevant subject for discourse.

It was several years ago when we started receiving bag hooks as Christmas presents. Necessity is the mother of all inventions, they say, and boy were we awed at whoever thought of this nifty little idea! Just slip it in your bag, and whip it out when you’re in restaurants or wherever you need a place to set down and secure your carry-on.

No way on the floor

As it would turn out, though, we didn’t quite take to those portable bag hook or hanger things, and we’re not alone.

“If your bag is heavy, they don’t work,” an editor acquaintance pointed out. They could also misshapen one’s purse, said a fashion designer who was quoting a stylist-friend.

But of course, to each his own. We know a few who are never without a bag hanger in their purse, unwilling to take the chance that, maybe, just maybe, wherever they decide to nosh that day has a built-in hanger thoughtfully placed under the table.

For some of us, those built-in bag hangers are no different from the portable ones. They could ruin the handles or straps of a heavy purse, and tables are never high enough for your bag not to end up touching the floor. Because no one—no one!—we know who spent a good two, three paychecks on a purse would willingly set it down on a presumably filthy floor or carpet.

Acceptable solution

So in some restaurants that have come up with what we think is the most acceptable solution to this modern-day dilemma: bag stools. You come in, the waiter pulls out a chair for you, and sets down a little stool next to you to place your purse on.

You needn’t pull in the empty chair from the next table for your bag. You don’t even have to worry about having to hang your bag behind your chair and risk it getting swiped. And you can forget about those silly hangers.

Bag stools are like water bowls to dog owners: These days, a waiter is assured of his/her tip when the customer’s beloved pet is instantly offered a water bowl as they take their table.

Nicer tip if there are ice cubes in the bowl.

It goes to show that these establishments recognize the evolving needs of their diners: If you have provisions for kids’ high chairs, why not a water bowl for pets or a bag stool? Kids, pets or bags are precious cargo to different customers.

Added perks

Of course, we don’t expect to get these added perks from, say, a fast-food joint. We’re looking here at good restaurants, and there are more than a few around. From experience, we’ve been given a bag stool in restaurants like People’s Palace, and restaurants in nicer hotels, like Inagiku, Shang Palace and the now-defunct Red at Makati Shangri-La.

Our editor-friend also mentioned Lusso and Yakumi at Solaire. Abroad, she also experienced using these covered bag baskets at the ramen chain Ippudo, similar to the ones we’ve seen at the dim sum chain, Din Tai Fung.

Props also to People’s Palace for an added treatment: After you’ve set down your purse on the stool, the waiter puts a cloak over it—extra protection against spillage and thieves—just like in restaurants in China where they put a cloak over your coat or jacket in the back of your chair.

It’s not just the utter convenience of these bag stools that make diners—especially, designer-bag-owning diners—happy, it’s also the added security of knowing your purse is within sight, because you never know when thieves will strike.

I recall an incident in one popular restaurant in Taguig sometime ago. The American guest of a group of Filipino diners suddenly realized her bag had gone missing. Perhaps to save face, the local hosts hauled the hapless waiters to the police precinct. It was ugly. Other diners, us included, could only watch, appalled.

Inelegance

In the absence of stools, we tend to put our purses either on our laps, under our napkin, or on our chair behind us, which often takes up half the seat. Inconvenient—but hey, at least we know it’s still there, touching our back.

We’ve heard of people committing the inelegance of looping their bag straps around their leg, or slinging the bag across their body throughout the meal, to ward off theft.

But not all of us walk around with cross-body bags, or would want to suffer the indignity of falling over from a forgotten bag strap coiled around our leg.

Bag stools are no guarantee that your purse won’t get stolen. Ultimately, it’s your responsibility to look out for your belongings. But it does pay to know that there are establishments that are looking out for us—not just to have a pleasant meal, but an incident-free one at that.