Barack Obama eats at Parkway Tavern

I read in the newspaper today that the sitting President ate lunch yesterday at Parkway Tavern and Bakery.  I don't blame him.  We go there fairly frequently, so frequently that the woman at the register and I know we share the same last name though we may be only very distantly related.  There are a lot of Kings in the world according to phone books but I rarely ever meet one.  Interestingly, all the other Kings I've met are either African American or hail from the Caribbean.  My own surname hails from upstate New York, a town you've never heard of south of Buffalo.

Since I first spent extensive time in New Orleans, I've been a Parkway fan.  I still can't eat a whole regular sandwich and the woman at the counter knows that my wife and I like it cut in half so we can share.  I'm partial to the reuben, but the barbeque beef also finds a soft spot in my stomach.

I was thinking of going to Parkway for lunch yesterday but I opted instead for Bud's Broiler.  I know, the food isn't exactly in the same league but I admire any place that's open twenty-four hours as the City Park location is.  I also think Bud's serves the best hot dog in the city, which is what I ordered:  #9 without onions.

The lady of the house was reading the newspaper this morning and asked if I had already read it.  Of course I had.  It arrives promptly at 3:30AM every day.  I admitted I had considered Parkway for lunch yesterday.  "And you didn't say anything?  I would have taken Parkway over Bud's Broiler any day!"  I know.  That's why I didn't mention it.  I was hankering for a #9 without onions.

Maybe I should have shared my thoughts.  Then in the course of a single week I could have bumped into  two White House occupants.  It doesn't bother me too much because I got to rub shoulders and elbows with New Orleanians rather than Washingtonians yesterday.  Nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with that at all.

I have to admit that now that the colleges and universities are in session the tenor of the clientele at some of my hangouts has changed.  I won't say if its better or worse.  Let's just say I'm getting old.