The Energy
This past Wednesday night I had stopped off for dinner at the Olive Vine, on the way home from the subway. The Olive Vine is a Park Slope Middle Eastern "pizzeria" (2 locations) that is somehow related to the very similar Moustache in Manhattan. The menu is small but reliable, and one of the highlights is the fresh-baked pita.
My dinner was a falafel platter, with babaghanough substituted for the default hummus. Along with my meal I was drinking a Fin du Monde, the excellent Belgian-style trippel ale (9 % alc./vol.) from Unibroue in Quebec.
At one point, when I was maybe 2/3 through the platter, and dipping my pita into the babaghanough, a woman at a nearby table turned to me and said, "Excuse me, sir, I don't mean to interrupt you, but you seem to really be enjoying yourself. I just had to tell you that." I was taken aback.
"Well, the food is very good here, right?" I answered after a moment's pause.
"It's not just the food," she said. "I mean you REALLY seem to be enjoying yourself. I can feel the energy from here." Her companion nodded in assent.
This was news to me. I had no idea I had any energy. To tell the truth, I had been having a pretty mediocre, if not miserable, day. In fact, I was feeling a bit depressed. Now, out of the blue, a stranger is telling me that I'm very obviously enjoying myself--and projecting energy, no less. So maybe I wasn't depressed after all. All of a sudden I'm feeling great.
Sometimes a stranger is as good as a friend.
My dinner was a falafel platter, with babaghanough substituted for the default hummus. Along with my meal I was drinking a Fin du Monde, the excellent Belgian-style trippel ale (9 % alc./vol.) from Unibroue in Quebec.
At one point, when I was maybe 2/3 through the platter, and dipping my pita into the babaghanough, a woman at a nearby table turned to me and said, "Excuse me, sir, I don't mean to interrupt you, but you seem to really be enjoying yourself. I just had to tell you that." I was taken aback.
"Well, the food is very good here, right?" I answered after a moment's pause.
"It's not just the food," she said. "I mean you REALLY seem to be enjoying yourself. I can feel the energy from here." Her companion nodded in assent.
This was news to me. I had no idea I had any energy. To tell the truth, I had been having a pretty mediocre, if not miserable, day. In fact, I was feeling a bit depressed. Now, out of the blue, a stranger is telling me that I'm very obviously enjoying myself--and projecting energy, no less. So maybe I wasn't depressed after all. All of a sudden I'm feeling great.
Sometimes a stranger is as good as a friend.
posted by Peter Cherches at 10:36 AM
2 Comments:
La fin du Monde is one of the beers imported by Robert Charlebois au Québec. Robert Charlebois has been a very popular singer in Québec in the 70's. Then he moved to France. He's won popularity there but sadly lost some here... until he brought those beers :)
Maybe you know Blanche de Chambly already, if not, try it. It's my favorite chez Unibroue.
Yes, I know Blanche de Chambly. I'm not really a fan of white beers, however, though they can be nice on a hot summer day.
Unibroue's Maudite is excellent too.
http://www.unibroue.com/products/maudite.cfm
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