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Lunch Talk at 14th & U Street
Viet grub, small talk, art, & Southeast Asia
Walking up Fourteenth Street N.W., just above U Street, I still recognize the city where I was born and raised. There are new stores, eateries, people, places, but none of it disturbs me. I do not dwell on things beyond my control. My mother used to live down here as a child and teenager. I have a birthrite. I step strong on these sidewalks.
I used to hang out down here. It was once all burned out from the 1968 riots. I found it fascinating as a kid. It was like a movie star with all the makeup removed. Washington D.C. was just a city, nothing fancy.
Food always taste better with good company. My company is spectacular. Intelligent, engaging, cultured, beautiful, and now, an essential part of the changing capitol. My lunch company is Laotian-American and a lawyer. Laotian, as in, from Laos. She is interested in the arts, and the ties that bind all of us.
Our food is Vietnamese. She eats the famous Pho. I choose Bahn Mi Lemon Grass Chicken. This is the well known Vietnamese sandwich on french bread but with spices and veggies from Vietnam. It is a colonial dish. The name of it originally was the Saigon Sandwich.
Despite all the changes in Washington D.C., my hometown, I do not feel uncomfortable there. I don’t think…
