Open Auditions

We eat out a lot. Partly because we have crazy schedules, partly because we’re lazy and partly because we like to eat out. Because of that and because we’re creatures of habit, we’re regulars at a couple of different places.

One of those places has sadly closed its doors. The Mayrose, on Broadway and 21st street is becoming something else. Gone is the low-key, mostly tourist free atmosphere and, of course, the delicious simple food that hit the spot – every time.

So now we’re looking for a good breakfast spot. Someplace where the customers aren’t pretentious and where the food is good. This morning we went to the “Chat n’Chew on 16th street. It’s a long and narrow eatery in the basement, with a few tables outside. The tourist ratio was a bit high for my taste, but the place is quite cozy. The food options were basic – lacking for a veg like me – but the deserts displayed up front were absolutely killer!

Overall, the place is OK. Decent food and reasonable prices. The wait staff is very inattentive and our coffee was cold – unintentionally. The spot of favorite low key breakfast joint is still open. Replacing the Mayrose is no easy task…

Lard and other oddities

I’m not what you could call a frequent grocery shopper. While there are periods when the purchasing of food-stuffs happens more or less regularly, there are also spans when the cupboards are conspicuously devoid of anything to eat; when we’re down to the last few cans of something un-appetizing, and while we might have enough spices and canned tomatoes to start a feast, all of the remaining key ingredients are missing.

This week was one where we were pretty much out of everything. No bread, no margarine (artery clogging deliciousness in a tub), no vegetables, no canned soup (always a staple of the lazy cook). So today I gave in and pushed the granny cart to the local chain grocery store, past the metal barricades, past the security guard, into the fluorescent-lit run-down store. Yes, this is a chain grocery store, and no, corporate doesn’t seem to care what this particular store looks like.

The dairy isle of my ghetto grocery store does not disappoint. In fact, it’s probably the highlight of the place. It runs the entire length of the store, going from the front registers all the way to the back. All the usual products you’d expect are there, plus some that might surprise – like lard. Sitting pretty next to Brown and Brumell yogurt margarine. Lard next to the margarine that is promoted as the healthy alternative to margarine. At least when compared to lard.

I perused the margarine section for a great long while. I like to choose my hydrogenation carefully. While I’m more or less conscientious in what I put in my body, margarine is a guilty pleasure. I made my choice and proceeded to the check out.

It wasn’t until I got home and put the purchases away that I noticed that my margarine was not mine, but Lee Iacocca’s. I thought it was odd. I struggled to find the connection between the K Car and vegetable spread. No dice.

Well, it appears that Mr. Iacocca is now in the business of margarine. Weird I suppose, but while I have always found the K car tremendously unappealing, a margarine tub is, to me, a sight to behold.