#8 in an eclectic collection of notable noshes to whet your appetite and brighten your day.

When I was four years old we moved away from my first home, where the family gathered for lunch each Saturday singing songs around the table. We flew over the ocean to this hard gray city, and one of the first things I smelled was onions frying.          I FELL IN LOVE with the coffee shop. The squeak of the stool. The shine of the aluminum. The stainless steel. The griddle. The toaster. The steam that rises. The noise. The choice. The confidence. And presiding over the frenzy? An eight-armed octopus called the short-order cook whose name is Barney March. Half a yawn past dawn, Estelle the waitress throws out the orders loud and fast. “ADAM AND EVE ON A RAFT. WRECK ‘EM!” (Could I kindly have scrambled eggs on toast?) “WHISKEY DOWN WITH A STRETCH!” (Rye toast with a Coke, please.)            HE     GRABS     EGGS. (360 a day.) He poaches, fries, scrambles, boils soft, boils hard. He flips flapjacks. Sizzles bacon. He is the morning greeter, counter whizzer, white-apron wearer who toasts that white, rye, whole wheat, bagel, bialy. He is a hash slinger, potato masher, egg-cream whipper, onion chopper, plate stacker, burger slider. People say, “Hello, how ya doin’? Hiya. Howarya?” It’s a jazz combo. The soup slurper. The doughnut dunker. The pickle cruncher. The cash register rings. The phone rings. “CHICKEN SOUP, BOOTS!” (Chicken soup to go.) The deliveryman grabs the brown-bagged soup, dashes out past the accordion player on the corner and rings the bell of the finicky and persnickety . . .

MAIRA KALMAN RESUME

OBJECTIVE:

• To pursue a career in the growing field of donut product marketing

STATEMENT:

• I believe I am highly suited to this career because I’m eager to taste many kinds of fillings and I’m very curious about sprinkles.

EDUCATION:

• Harvard University summa cum laude
• Major: Leisure Food Technology
• Minor: Beverage Management
• Junior Year Abroad: Bomboli Program, Florence, Italy
• Senior Thesis: “Crullers: The Myth and Meaning”

~ from Chicken Soup, Boots by Maira Kalman (Viking, 1993)

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This tasty tidbit is brought to you by a blogger who also likes chicken soup, boots, taking naps, snacking, donuts and cafés, and who took time off from balancing an egg on its end to type this post. Still trying to figure out how to grow up to be Maira.

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Copyright © 2012 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.