Maxcold on the Hottest day

It might have been the last all-I’m-doing-is-standing-outside-and-I’m-sweating day of the season. Still, a smattering of folks took their lunch to Clark Park to bask in the lingering summer. A woman in a bright purple dress pulled a Diet Coke from her Playmate 'Maxcold' and took a sip, her fingers leaving marks in the condensation. 

Cristina packs her lunch almost everyday. She Ziplock-bags and stages in the fridge the night before – a sandwich, fruit, yogurt, and cheese curls – and sticks them in the cooler with ice cubes before she heads to work in the morning. She’s a high school teacher coach and has a patchwork schedule of appointments in schools all over the city. She drives to the appointments and fits her lunch in when she can.

Today it’s roast beef and cheddar with spicy mustard, Chobani yogurt (tropical escape, one of her favorite flavors), grapes, baked Cheetos and a Diet Coke -pretty much the same as it is every day. “I can’t heat it up,” she said, “It works.” She eats it in the same order: fruit, sandwich, cheese curls. The yogurt’s saved for an afternoon snack.

Her leisurely lunch today is different than years past. When she was teaching high school, the idea of eating in a park was laughable. “We had a scheduled half hour,” she said, “but by the time you do your running around, it’s fifteen minutes.”

Cristina has lived in Philly her whole life, though it’s her first time in Clark Park. Enjoying her sunny spot on a south-facing bench, a few whole wheat bread crumbs on her lap, she looked content. “People should give neighborhood parks a try.”

A Man with a Sandwich

Bill looked relaxed, right ankle on his blue-jeaned knee leaning back on a shaded bench in Rittenhouse square, holding a half-eaten half of his lunch. Walking by a cart on 19^th and Walnut, “I was just in the mood for an egg sandwich,” he said.

The graying mustached man works from home in IT and frequently enjoys his lunch solo in the park or at a nearby restaurant. Though he was satisfied with the thin layers of scrambled-then-fried eggs and ham between golden grilled whole wheat bread, “The best egg sandwich in the neighborhood is actually at The Bakery on 20^th,” he offered. (I believe he meant The Bakeshop on 20^th - also known for their expansive menu of from scratch pastries.)

Bill grew up in Lancaster County and has truly gotten around since. He moved to Philly from Oregon five years ago. “Before that I was in New York, before that I was in Ithaca, New York, before that I was in Zurich, before that I was in Berlin, before that I was back in Zurich,” he went on, pulling out a cigarette and adjusting his lattice leather clog.

“My favorite city is Istanbul, I leave on Saturday,” he said, “Talk about good food; lots of fish, out of this world grilled sardines, the fruit markets and spice markets are so fresh.” He’s taken a Culinary Backstreet tour of the city and signed up for another during his upcoming trip.

What about food in Philadelphia? “I’m not too enamored with the food scene here,” he said. He’s sick of seeing the same menu items (like the Lancaster chicken he grew up with), or top-notch food with a high price and scant portion. He thinks the city’s missing the authentic French bistros with provocative menu items he used to find here. He’s seeing tastes converging to a limited set of popular combinations. “The more people pretend to be foodies, the less adventurous eaters they actually are,” he said.

He does enjoy a tongue sandwich at Schlesinger’s and fried rice at a Chinese place on Locust – comfort food, he says.

Though Bill’s tastes are adventurous, today he seemed perfectly pleased with a foiled wrapped food-cart lunch for $3.50.