When I set out to learn about my mother's bridge club, the Jewish octogenarians behind the matching outfits and accessories, I never expected to fall in love with them. This is the story of the ladies, their game, their gen, and the ragged path that led me back to my mother.
Went to NYC today and had a full in-person publishing day. Publishing has always been a very social industry. Business contacts between agents and editors forged over bread baskets and tiramisu. Lots of gossip. Lots of schadenfreude to spread around. When I was at the beginning of my career, I was terrified of agent lunches. Every aspect: inviting them, choosing a restaurant, making small talk, making big talk, figuring out the tip in a timely fashion. One very fancy agent who clearly didn’t want to meet another young editor summoned me to her neighborhood place. Once there, menus before us, she put her head in her hands and said that we was going to kill herself if she had to have another Cobb salad. Now, I’m her. World weary, tired of chirpy young editors, been there, done that. But I’m not going to off myself over a Cobb. I still love the Cobb.
What did you have for lunch today?
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Betsy Lerner 
Sushi. Alone. I want to try something other than the salmon lover’s combo but the lady now always says, “Your usual?” or “I know what you’re having.” And she does, all the way down to the to-go cup I prefer even though I’m eating in. An hour away, then back to magazine land. How could I eat anything else there. Sushi is once a week. On the other days there’s a nature center nearby and I go there and walk the trails. Two weeks ago I was ten yards away from baby deer. Last week a lady let me hold a baby squirrel. People at the office ask where I go every day and I tell them it’s none of their goddamn business.
Bacon. See, I make the Friday night challah on Wednesday, then stick it in the freezer. So I had a single egg I’ve used to brush on the top, but most of the egg is unused, AND I happened to have a mere two pieces of bacon left over from a quiche I made on Saturday night (yes, freshly ground gruyere and heavy cream), and it suddenly came to me, as if from the gods above, that I really wanted to cook that bacon, push it to the side, and add the egg into the middle. That’s what I did. That’s what I ate for lunch. And let us say Amen.
“What did you have for lunch today?”
Pita stuffed with some vegetarian meat substitute (my wife’s a vegetarian, which pretty much makes me a vegetarian), onion, and sour cream, with Ruffles on the side, all eaten at my desk while I dealt with a new case that came in right as lunch was ready. Li-ion fire, from the looks of it. Those things (li-ion batteries) are built to high tolerances, but they are everywhere. Odds are a few go off and then you have fire. In the night. Burning the house. It’s just the odds.
I do like a Cobb salad. Last had one when I was in hospital.
Opened a can of salmon, added mayo, mustard, sweet pickles, S&P. Had with chestnut crackers. Pretty disgusting. Then back to my desk.
I often defer to “The Cobb” (sans bacon, it’s a cultural thing) but it places second to a neatly composed Nicoise. Neither appears in my quotidian kitchen, however, where lunch is a variant of what’s in the fridge, which items I grab first, and whether or not I’m eating standing.(The choices will be healthy, though, and hopefully, fresh.) Earl grey or jasmine green ever present brews.
I broke my cereal habit, and now (I’m about to sound like a health nut, believe me I am not) but by the time I eat, it’s lunchtime, and it’s really breakfast. An apple, and oatmeal – plain oatmeal, with brown sugar, and a splash of milk. And I love it. Which is what really counts. Eaten at my desk while editing the current WIP.
I love Cobb salads!
I wish I loved oatmeal. My doctor daughter says it’s the “perfect” food, especially if made with milk (for the protein).
What I love even more is “Eat This Not That” tested oatmeals, and the one I’m eating ranks #2 on their list of the top 25. It’s just Quaker Oats – plain – and the only reason it didn’t rank #1, it’s not the organic version. Either way, it’s actually helped my “gut.” I feel MUCH better. Have I convinced you yet? 🙂
That sounds yummy. I often have oatmeal for dinner. I like to nuke a little bowl of frozen blueberries until they’re juicy, then pour those over the top with some coconut sugar and soy milk. (Tonight’s dinner plan now in place.)
I would eat that for dessert! Sounds scrumptious.
I’ve been vegan for ten years, so I usually make a veggie soup on the weekends and tote it with me to work. Today I brought roasted tomato and white bean, made with home-grown romas and a carrot-top gremolata. I wish I had some crackers to go with it, but I forgot to pack them.
A good old conversation sandwich followed by a few sips of sparkling listening juice with a side order of smiles and complimented with sweet pride for dessert. The dining locale was mostly the cab of my truck while spending the day with my teenage daughter, going to the apple orchard and then the mall, talking about school, music, creative writing, the National Honor Society and the harrowing story of a friend of hers who drives slow but turns sharp and fast.