Lunch for One

You don't always get a low-key lunch when you expect one.

Sliding into my neighborhood joint for a bite to eat today, I was amazed at the non-stop parade of people also seeking out a Monday lunch at Bistro 27.

Maybe it's the new menu. Maybe it's that they're open on Mondays when so many places are not. Maybe it's that it's Halloween.

Even the guy who was delivering linens to the restaurant made 27 his lunch spot. Then there was the mayor. And the beer rep and his gluten-intolerant girlfriend. And the 100 lawyers.

Craziness.

Ignoring all that, I had the Kifti Kabob pita, grilled lamb and tzatziki with a green salad in pita bread; the fries were an unexpected bonus.

The succulent lamb smothered in tzatziki could have given a Greek place a run for its money, if you know what I'm saying.

When I was asked if I needed ketchup for the fries I declined; the perfectly cooked shoestring potatoes needed no embellishment beyond the light sprinkling of salt that came on them.

I wasn't going to have dessert, really I wasn't, but given the newly-arrived  Fall weather, I couldn't help but order the poached pear.

The pear had been poached in red wine and spices and was still warm, making for a nice contrast with the vanilla bean ice cream.

A nearby bar sitter asked if I was having beets with ice cream (WTF?) and I explained what I was eating. I may have done a good job because he ordered one,too.

I offered my best gluten-free restaurant recommendations to the girl with the intolerance and she was thrilled to hear about options of which she'd been unaware. GF is showing up on plenty of menus now.

As I perused the RTD article about the proposed Arts District, I had to stop myself from turning around and asking the mayor why the proposed district didn't include Clay Street (the location of the Black History Museum and my home base).

But it's a start and the district can always be enlarged. Or so one would hope.

Besides, I'm sure the mayor didn't go out for lunch on a Monday to hear from constituents.

I know I didn't go out to hear about any one else's complaints, so why would he be any different?