Gratitude Monday: Brunch à Montmartre

Following on the joyous success of having an in-house yoga lesson and lunch with my instructor (16 days ago, so past the incubation period as currently understood), I had brunch yesterday with a friend.

We used to do this with some regularity, and then covid19. In the past month or so, we’d cautiously discussed where we might have our Saturday/Sunday breakfast, but we weren’t ready to eat indoors, and the places I’ve seen with outdoor dining are heavily deuces, which means we’d essentially be talking straight into each other’s faces.

Then I remembered Café Montmartre, a French-Viet bistro at Lake Anne. Lake Anne Center is the oldest in the People’s Republic and it’s one of two that’s allowed to have restaurants that aren’t part of chains. Café M’s food is wonderful and its outside dining space has always been larger than its inside, so I knew we’d be okay. And we were.

For two wonderful hours, we ate pain perdu, eggs Benedict, flan and tarte aux fruits, and we talked and laughed and talked and laughed some more. I realized this was the first restaurant meal I’ve had since February (when I was at RSAC), and I’d missed it and my friend so much.

I know that the old “normal” is not coming back. But whatever new normal emerges just has to include meals with friends at family-run eateries with the entertainment of families passing by on a weekend morning. (It better include hugs, at some point, too.) I am so grateful that I got to have that once again.