Eating at the Empress and Listening to Art

I'm out of practice with this early morning work business. What that means is that when I have a 9:00 meeting, I have to eat breakfast way earlier than usual; this also means I'm ravenous by late morning and even noon lunch plans can't come soon enough. As it was, when my friend came by to fetch me, I was still in my walking clothes and had to make a quick change to look presentable for the Empress.

It was friend's first visit but I knew to expect an excellent meal. I ordered a salad of arugula, Edam cheese, grilled chicken and chick peas in a red wine vinaigrette and he got a panini of proscuitto, pesto and roasted red peppers. He was especially appreciative of the Carytown Coffee and Teas cuppa joe they served him because he was only recently awake and moving about. Let's put it this way, he was so impressed by the taste of the coffee that he didn't put the usual packet of cancer-causing pink in it and that's saying something.

My salad was a very generous serving of peppery arugula and chicken with enough garbanzo beans to satisfy even the heartiest bean lover (read: me). The Edam had been grated in large shavings so as to fully enjoy its creamy nuttiness; it's not often that Edam shows up on a salad and I really did enjoy having something different on mine. At $8 (including tax, a practice I love on menus) it was a hearty lunch.

Friend was most happy with his salty sandwich and its extra crispy bread, but had nothing but compliments for my salad. As he sipped and munched, he became more awake and talkative, putting him about where I'd been around 9 this morning. I didn't mind waiting for him to catch up because he's always such a good listener for my stories. We also eavesdropped on a nearby table and it sounded really gory with talk of finding a body and lots of blood. Unfortunately, we didn't catch the set-up, so we don't know whether they were talking real life or not.

Driving me home, friend cut through the Ward to avoid Broad Street; he wanted to show me a little piece of art affixed to a street sign that he'd noticed. I see such pieces up and down Grace Street and I appreciate the artists sharing their work with the world this way. This piece was especially eye-catching with a colorful picture of a gramophone and the words, "Listen to the ex."

It would have been a wonderful piece no matter where it had been hung, but as it happened, it was a few yards from the house I used to share with my ex, his house.

I hope it gives him as big a smile as it did me.