52nd City

Simple vs. Simply Outstanding

I enjoyed that rare afternoon of complete and utter contentment yesterday, with a mix of live music, cool weather, record shopping and just the right amount of food consumption.

To recap: bookend performances by my favorite new band of the last five years, the Silversun Pickups, at Vintage Vinyl for a 5:30 acoustic set, then another 35-minute performance, full-on and electric at the Pageant at 8. With some time to kill between too-short-but-awesome sets, I headed to Meshuggah, to eat, get away from records I can't afford and, maybe, to get in some grading.

Perusing the menu, I noticed a sorta different option: a bagel topped with olive oil, pesto and gorgonzola cheese. It cost a buck, or two, extra than the usual toppings, but feeling rather buzzed by the Pickups, I threw down an extra bone on the special bagel. (Yeah, I roll like that.) The result was this: the single best food item I've ever had at a coffeehouse. And I'm, like, old and have been to many a coffeehouse over the past half-century.

Mind you, I already enjoy the kinda-European ambiance of Meshuggah, the weird ordering counter, the teas, etc. Even the self-possessed college kids on $2-K laptops. But that bagel: oh, perfection.

I'll stop now, as I'm having a moment, a flashback... how late is that place open tonight...?