My day started off not too differently in terms of when I got up (6 AM) but it did change in what time I left my house (7 AM) and what time I got on BART towards the city (7:55 AM) and what time I made it into the Ferry Building (8:45 AM). My breakfast choice was supposed to be easy: Acme Bread and Cowgirl Creamery Cheese. In entering the building, my brain explodes with the 3 additional choices that jump out:
1) A mind dizzying hybrid of cheese and bread: Cowgirl Creamery Sidekick. Creamery Cheese and Acme Carbs combine to make delicious grilled cheese and various food stuffs.
2) Il Cane Rosso had some yummy meat, egg and potato breakfast choices. (Even if it did replace my favorite French place, Mistral)
3) Boulette's Larder was the fancy schmansy choice. Open kitchen, Acme breads and Blue Bottle Coffee (my indulgence). This is a place where one can easily drop $25-$30 on breakfast... per person.
Too. Many. Choices. All different price points
I temporarily patched the hole in my heart with breakfast at Boulette's Larder. I seem to do that when Scout is gone... gourmet, local goodness to keep the sadness at bay. Upon coming into Boulette's it's a little scary because there's so many fancy jars with fancy spices and an open kitchen... almost like stepping in where you don't belong. The staff squashed that feeling immediately upon seeing me and offered me a table of my own or a seat at the community table. I chose the community table.
A little slice of heaven in a warm kitchen with a view of the Bay Bridge ensconced in fog was my companion. I ordered my breakfast (Eggs scrambled in duck fat with breadcrumbs) and coffee (a glorious pot of Blue Bottle Coffee... all. for me!). The eggs were fluffy and decadent. The breadcrumbs added good texture. I was in heaven and made good to savor every single bite lest my goodness disappear quickly into my tum tum. The coffee was a dream come true. Upon leaving the pot and pooling in my tasse, a gorgeous crema formed on the top. When I poured some cream into the cup, a wave of milky goodness swirled in my cup. To sweeten it: ground turbino sugar (it's Sugar in the Raw that's been ground a little finer than those bigger granules) and it was perfect.
Soon after my breakfast came, a sweet couple came and sat in front of me. There was a ginormous flower arrangement between myself and the couple, but (per my evesdropping) they had just come back from a month in China. The girl could not get over how wonderful the coffee tasted and was giddy over the crab souffle. Their excitement was infectious. I loved that.
I left after my gourmet breakfast in search of duck fat. No... not really (though it was crazy delicious) and went to Blue Bottle to pick up a bag of coffee for me. On my way there, I watched the Ferry Building open up to Sunday morning shoppers. Nothing beats the smell of fresh bread and napalm in the morning. After my bag of coffee, I decided to enjoy some time outside.
Under non-gourmet breakfast conditions, I would have enjoyed my bread and cheese under the shadow of the Bay Bridge. Today, I enjoyed my stint Sittin at the (ferry) dock of the Bay: wastin' time.
I wasted a good 30 minutes watching the water drift under the haze and fog. It was bliss.
I wrote the following when I finally found a place to hang my jacket (inside where I could sit and write):
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How lucky I am to be here. The Bay is at my back and the Ferry Building in an energetic frenzy to the front. My table is in a comfortable spot between Book Passage and Peet's coffee against a large picture window. I'm surrounded by everything I love in life... well minus Scout being with me. The comforting whirr of the grinder and smell of fresh ground coffee makes everything okay. This is not a normal day...but an extraordinary one. :) The communal table and the City in general makes it less difficult for me to be single. There are great people to talk to, lots of people for me to watch and time to appreciate everything in my life.
It's not as if I couldn't do this at home, but closer to home... my prospects at being coupled seem slim. My sitting at a coffee shop would be solo and not at a communal table. Trying to recreate the feeling I get by writing is rejuvenated at the coffee shop, but it's different. Certainly, some man wants to date a raven haired lady who writes and curses like a sailor. Right?
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It bears repeating, I love when I write. In 2011, I vow to write a lot more!
xoxo Emma
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