City Day

I have said many times before that I had a happy work life before retirement and that I have loved my colleagues. I was glad that they liked me, too. So, when two of my current friends and former colleagues invited me to have breakfast with them at Boulette's Larder in the Ferry Building, I happily traipsed back into the city to meet them.

We had a good natter and delicious breakfasts, and I even met a woman, a friend of Irene's, who actually reads my blog and enjoys it. It's hard to imagine a better breakfast than Boulette's with two great friends and a friendly new admirer. Made my day, week and possibly month!

I did the errand I had saved for that morning, then headed over to the Civic Center to catch the Maharaja exhibit at the Asian Art Museum before it closes next weekend. If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth making the time. You may have seen the cartoonish banners outside the museum and decided it wasn't worth the trip, but you'd be wrong. Sumptuous is the word that comes to mind. Not only the gleaming gold and silver, and sparkling jewels, but the exquisite, gem-like paintings and rich fabrics are well worth a visit, too.

When I emerged from the museum, it was past lunchtime but I noted that there were four food trucks across the street in the plaza in front of City Hall, so I ambled over to see what was on offer. Falafel, Indian food, hamburgers and a black truck emblazoned with the name of the company, Bacon Bacon.

My regular readers will have no trouble guessing which truck I chose. In my defense, I couldn't imagine how one could eat curry standing up, I was a little jaded with burgers, and falafel just doesn't float my boat. Bacon does.

They were out of several offerings but they still had grilled cheese with bacon and bacon jam. Never having had bacon jam - in fact, I had to ask what it was - still, I thought that sounded pretty good. I took my drink and my grilled cheese to a chair (I coulda had that curry after all!) thoughtfully provided by "Off the Grid," who organizes the event, and sat down to sample the fare.

Perhaps I need to explain that bacon jam is a combination of bacon, onions, maple syrup and a bunch of other stuff, simmered together for hours until there is nothing left but sweet, concentrated, gooey jam. Then, they put extra crisp bacon and sharp cheddar cheese between slices of sourdough bread spread with the bacon jam and toast it on the grill. The first bite is amazing - sweet, ever-so-slightly sour from the good bread, cheddar-y and bacon-y all at once.

The past two months have been sad ones for me, with death, serious illness and job loss all around, but days like that help to lift my spirits and remind me of the good things in life. Sitting on a chair with the partly cloudy sky above, a political harangue going on in a tent to my left in front of our incomparably gorgeous City Hall, and lovers snuggling in line at the Bacon Bacon truck, I was struck by how lucky I was to be there with a head full of glorious Indian images, a killer sandwich in hand, and a fresh breeze on my face.