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Apr. 22nd, 2013 03:23 pm
Busman's weekend
Yesterday was a bit frantic. My plan was simple enough: wake up early, chill out, nap, and then head into work to finish my damn evaluations. But then Big Bones called up and invited us to lunch. Since we'd been trying unsuccessfully to get together for almost a month and because I myself had been the one to suggest that we do brunch the next time they were shopping at Middle Eastern Bakery, I felt obligated to say "yes". Also, it fit well with my recently renewed resolution not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good and I figured the reward of nice meal out would make it easier working on a Sunday.
Everyone left the choice of venue up to me, so I presented them with some options and then steered us all to Acre. Unfortunately, the better weather (still cold, but bright and sunny) brought people out and we ended up having to wait at the bar for a table. Mercifully, we were soon shown to an enclosed booth where we could actually hear each other over the din. Miss Cleveland ordered the chicken and waffles, simply because he'd never had it before and was curious about the appeal. I had a very nice if slightly scanty grilled tuna sandwich. I also longed to follow his example and quaff a beer, but I knew that would be disastrous.
They were kind enough to give us a ride home, and then asked if they could drop me near the Red Line. Unfortunately, the station they chose was Granville, which is closed to northbound traffic at the moment--something I discovered only once I'd been waiting ten minutes already. In a huff, I sped over to Sheridan road to catch the next 147, but when the doors opened the driver yelled, "Sheridan and Pratt! Sheridan and Pratt!" It was ten minutes until the next one, which shambled up to the Howard station where I had to stand about waiting for the Linden...
All in all, a 5-mile trip ended up taking over an hour--only a little shorter than Google Maps suggests it would take to walk. Add that to the time consumed by our leisurely meal and I knew almost immediately that there was no way I could finish up in time to make it home for dinner. So after a solid three hours of hacking away at the keyboard, I headed downtown, seeking somewhere quiet for a bite. I settled on Café 527, only to find it much more busy than it typically is at lunch. (I was seated right next to a birthday party in process.) Feeling indulgent, I had their "pork chop with noodle soup"--actually a Taiwanese version of tonkatsu without the sweet sauce. The breading was interesting--it tasted like it was made with ground sticky rice--but the soup was beyond bland, pure canned chicken stock with plain white noodles.
Afterwards I walked all the way to Koco Table for some premium ice cream only to find them closed. (I made up for that today.) Unwilling to settle, I went straight from there to the train station, heard a train go past, and kept walking to the next station. A perverse desire to close the circuit had me ride south all the way to Granville again, even though all told it probably added another 15 minutes to the journey. Anything to break from my workday routine and make the whole miserable experience resemble in some way a pleasure outing.
Everyone left the choice of venue up to me, so I presented them with some options and then steered us all to Acre. Unfortunately, the better weather (still cold, but bright and sunny) brought people out and we ended up having to wait at the bar for a table. Mercifully, we were soon shown to an enclosed booth where we could actually hear each other over the din. Miss Cleveland ordered the chicken and waffles, simply because he'd never had it before and was curious about the appeal. I had a very nice if slightly scanty grilled tuna sandwich. I also longed to follow his example and quaff a beer, but I knew that would be disastrous.
They were kind enough to give us a ride home, and then asked if they could drop me near the Red Line. Unfortunately, the station they chose was Granville, which is closed to northbound traffic at the moment--something I discovered only once I'd been waiting ten minutes already. In a huff, I sped over to Sheridan road to catch the next 147, but when the doors opened the driver yelled, "Sheridan and Pratt! Sheridan and Pratt!" It was ten minutes until the next one, which shambled up to the Howard station where I had to stand about waiting for the Linden...
All in all, a 5-mile trip ended up taking over an hour--only a little shorter than Google Maps suggests it would take to walk. Add that to the time consumed by our leisurely meal and I knew almost immediately that there was no way I could finish up in time to make it home for dinner. So after a solid three hours of hacking away at the keyboard, I headed downtown, seeking somewhere quiet for a bite. I settled on Café 527, only to find it much more busy than it typically is at lunch. (I was seated right next to a birthday party in process.) Feeling indulgent, I had their "pork chop with noodle soup"--actually a Taiwanese version of tonkatsu without the sweet sauce. The breading was interesting--it tasted like it was made with ground sticky rice--but the soup was beyond bland, pure canned chicken stock with plain white noodles.
Afterwards I walked all the way to Koco Table for some premium ice cream only to find them closed. (I made up for that today.) Unwilling to settle, I went straight from there to the train station, heard a train go past, and kept walking to the next station. A perverse desire to close the circuit had me ride south all the way to Granville again, even though all told it probably added another 15 minutes to the journey. Anything to break from my workday routine and make the whole miserable experience resemble in some way a pleasure outing.