New York Morning

I really miss my business trips to New York City. I used to love walking out of the hotel into the NYC air, feeling the pulse of the city and then walking a short distance to one of many New York Markets where people line up to get an egg sandwich. That was the real NY Experience as far as I was concerned.

This a.m. I challenged myself to break my morning ritual of oatmeal, tea, newspaper, & carpool to work. I took an early BART train (empty at 7 a.m.) and exited the Montgomery station. A new deli opened on Market, Lee's, which by all appearances is much like the NYC deli. I walked to the back and found the breakfast counter where I ordered my scrambled egg sandwich on wheat. I then walked half a block to Peet's (a San Francisco experience), got coffee and sat down to read the paper and enjoy my NYC-style egg sandwich.

Damn. I forgot salt.

There's nothing more bland than unbuttered toast and unsalted eggs, and Peet's wasn't exactly rife with salt. I ate it anyway and sadly, the flavor was unsatifactory. Should I go back, I will most certainly make an effort to request buttered toast and salt for the eggs.

I enjoyed the morning air, the ritual of waiting for the sandwich, sitting with my paper and coffee in the shop and eavesdropping on adjacent conversations. Leaving Peet's I felt relaxed. I wasn't worried about being late or traffic or any of the morning stresses that I usually feel.

And as I crossed Market Street with coffee in hand, I felt "grown-up", a real "city" person. I glanced at the other working stiffs, all with coffee in hand, and enjoyed a moment where I felt like I blended in. I was living my own New York City moment and enjoying every bit of it.