Why would I even hint, let alone say aloud that dining alone is a problem? You start this way, you are saying it is a problem...

I live alone, I travel a lot and I dine out a lot - both when I am in my home city and when I am on a trip - usually with the kindle in tow. The restaurants exist so that people can dine in them. It does not matter if it is 1 person or 10 - it is still customers.

Now - if someone feels uncomfortable dining alone - that's a different story. But in my experience restaurants and the people working there really do not care - if anything, the waiter usually will stop more often to check on me when I am alone than if I have company and we are talking...