Last Sunday was beautiful and warm. We went downtown to Commercial Street in Aransas Pass for breakfast at the Bakery Cafe. They’ll tell confused customers that in 1929 it was a bakery, but that aspect disappeared years ago when it was sold to new owners. (Maybe around the same time that real biscuits disappeared from restaurants everywhere, replaced by factory fakes—huge, soft and despicable to someone who remembers tasting and making real biscuits.)
The place was full of us Winter Texans and locals. With jokes and easy laughter, the waitresses supplied the unpretentious warmth that biscuits used to offer. I overheard our waitress tell the guys in the booth behind us that she wasn’t “as young and cute” as the truthfully young and cute waitress who had just given them menus, but that they would “get damn good service” from her. For us, that meant that when she brought Andre and another customer empty but spooned coffee cups on a tray loaded with drinks, her confession was endearing and entertaining. And they all gave damn good service. Of course I had to tell her that some people appreciate older and cute. Cute continued when we came back out to our car and spotted a flowered yellow VW, and then a line-up of pigs in the window of the closed-’til-Monday-at-noon Surplus store.
I headed back to the Stetson Surplus store Monday, after lunch at The Big Fish, a dark, palm encircled warehouse of a restaurant, famous for serving all-you-can-eat chicken fried steak, gizzards and chicken liver with fries for under $3 on Tuesdays. People go at 10:30 and there are still lines out the door and around the building. Thus, we took great care to go Monday when it was almost empty. In contrast, the Stetson Surplus store was not; it was boot, hat, belt, coat, knife, shirt heaven. Not so friendly, but worth a walk through and a look at hat prices, pigs and iron cookware.
Today, it’s damn cold—up from 26 to 36 degrees. And that strong wind continues to rassle with the palm trees and remind us of home. The down coats are back out. No! I don’t expect your sympathy in the least. It’s just that we temporary Winter Texans were without power for a few hours this morning and now our park water is off until...? On top of that, Andre just said we’re supposed to have snow and freezing rain on Friday.
The place was full of us Winter Texans and locals. With jokes and easy laughter, the waitresses supplied the unpretentious warmth that biscuits used to offer. I overheard our waitress tell the guys in the booth behind us that she wasn’t “as young and cute” as the truthfully young and cute waitress who had just given them menus, but that they would “get damn good service” from her. For us, that meant that when she brought Andre and another customer empty but spooned coffee cups on a tray loaded with drinks, her confession was endearing and entertaining. And they all gave damn good service. Of course I had to tell her that some people appreciate older and cute. Cute continued when we came back out to our car and spotted a flowered yellow VW, and then a line-up of pigs in the window of the closed-’til-Monday-at-noon Surplus store.
I headed back to the Stetson Surplus store Monday, after lunch at The Big Fish, a dark, palm encircled warehouse of a restaurant, famous for serving all-you-can-eat chicken fried steak, gizzards and chicken liver with fries for under $3 on Tuesdays. People go at 10:30 and there are still lines out the door and around the building. Thus, we took great care to go Monday when it was almost empty. In contrast, the Stetson Surplus store was not; it was boot, hat, belt, coat, knife, shirt heaven. Not so friendly, but worth a walk through and a look at hat prices, pigs and iron cookware.
Today, it’s damn cold—up from 26 to 36 degrees. And that strong wind continues to rassle with the palm trees and remind us of home. The down coats are back out. No! I don’t expect your sympathy in the least. It’s just that we temporary Winter Texans were without power for a few hours this morning and now our park water is off until...? On top of that, Andre just said we’re supposed to have snow and freezing rain on Friday.
posted by Susan at 1:20 PM
1 Comments:
i can't believe that you came out of there without a pair of cowgirl boots.
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