I wrote in my first newsletter that I was missing breakfast out. It really is my favourite meal to have out of home. I recall reading an interview with Tom Clancy many years ago where he described his daily writing routine as being based around the reward of a big sit down breakfast at his favourite cafe. I was insanely jealous.
Anyway, with the lockdown easing up where I am, and Pourboy my favourite cafe still in business, I recently took myself off for a breakfast sandwich and I just sat, drinking one cup of coffee after another and letting it all roll over me.
Some things I recall?
The muffins. I die for them.
Big band jazz music kicking it from the sound system.
A table of five next to me. Four serious business women and one African American guy in a very cool tee shirt. The Flash. I think he was a graphic designer, taking them through some art he’d done for them in iso.
Ah, the background buzz of conversation. The way you can tune in or out of other people’s lives. Isolation was isolating.
Latte Art! It’s still a thing, people!
I needed to put a reminder in phone to check my parking now that it’s paid again.
Spoiler, I forgot.
If you were dining in, you had to provide contact details for contact tracing. I wondered why nobody had adapted an app like FourSquare to do this. Within a couple of days, someone had.
There was a QR code on the table for contactless ordering. I’ve eaten the same damned meal so many times at this place they just plated it up as soon as I walked through the door.
Scrambled egg and prosciutto panini with a big flat white.
"where everybody knows your name" and breakfast order.