How will it look? Business Meetings in Non-Kosher Restaurants
I was working as a summer associate in a law firm in Century City, Los Angeles, between my second and third years of law school. The job was going well, until the day the entire group of summer associates was
invited out to lunch at Delmonico’s, a non-kosher seafood restaurant. Stage center at the restaurant was a huge fish tank, built into the front window of the restaurant facing the street. Patrons were invited to select their own lobster out of the tank, which was promptly prepared in the kitchen. No matter how unappealing I found the idea, as part of the group there was no way for me to maneuver out of the invitation. In fact, failing to attend could have cost me the opportunity for permanent employment after graduation. The restaurant had nothing to offer in the way of kosher food, but I assumed that I could watch the others eat their lobsters and prawns while I sipped a bottle of water.
There was only one problem: the restaurant was located on Pico Boulevard, directly across the street from the Young Israel of Century City, in the most densely populated Orthodox area of Los Angeles. How could I allow myself to be seen walking in there?
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