It's Lunch Out Thursday! (again)

I had a bit of a backslide today. I was all set to try the pizza place on my corner. Despite its having been there now for about two years, I have never gotten pizza from there, but it always seems busy. This is at the corner of my block, and the sidewalks around it were being replaced so there was no way to get inside. No Gotham Pizza today.

I made a quick decision to head to the Choux Factory, where I went last week since I didn't want to go too far. Same place, but I did order something different. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, and the man misunderstood me and said, "Steak and cheese sandwich?" So I said yes. I love steak and cheese sandwiches, but there are so many bad ones that I rarely order it, but decided to give it a try today. This was a good sandwich: finely chopped steak bits, finely chopped mushrooms, peppers and onions with melted cheese blended through on a good whole wheat roll whose inside was toasted and outside was not so it had an interesting "mouth feel" as the gourmands say. And good whole leaves of lettuce. I don't know why, but I love when a sandwich is wrapped like this, and then cut through the paper.



I did stick with my same drink as last week -- iced coffee. Somehow, I totally forgot my reading matter -- I think because I became obsessed with a Netflix I had to mail -- yes, I actually watched my new Netflix movie within 48 hours of getting it and two other letters so I think I was concentrating on that. Since I had nothing to read, I sat in the window seat, looking out onto First Avenue and the parade of people and cars.



Some just walking...

Some walking their dogs...

Ladies reading the outside menu...

Texting and walking...

Hailing a cab...

Getting a cab....

This is a "man in blue" sweeping the streets. Before I get to him, the bicycles chained to the tree fence is a typical New York scene... delivery bikes outside the Chinese take out next door. One thing I don't understand, and I see this all the time, is that all the delivery guys seem to put a plastic bag over the bike seat, even on some beat up bike. Am not sure the purpose of the "protection." Sometimes when I'm sitting on my steps, a delivery guy will pedal by on his bike, recognize me (I assume from various visits to my apartment) get this big smile and wave and it's then that I know I might order in dinner more frequently than I should. It's bad when the delivery guys know you on sight.

Anyway, back to the "man in blue." These guys are part of a program called Ready, Willing and Able and they take formerly homeless men and women and give them dorm-style housing while helping them  get their lives back together. They have a job which is sweeping the streets, and they take great pride in their work, and get a paycheck for it. Really nice guys. The motto of this privately-funded program is "Work works." It's about the dignity that work brings you. It's a charity that I've contributed to over the years as its success rate -- men and women graduating from the program and going on to become productive citizens is very high -- like in the 80 percent region. And, of course, they personally make my neighborhood a better, cleaner place.

All in all, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, 65 degrees with deep blue cloudless skies.

P.S. Has the basic look of the school bus changed since 1958? This looks like the same bus I rode on as a girl.