A Drinking Kind of Place

I just had lunch with a friend who suggested we meet at the upstairs cafe/bar of a charming but worn hotel on Long Island Sound.  I mean really on the Sound - if the cafe weren't on the upper deck, you'd worry that your shoes might get wet when the tide came in.  The location is remarkable, the cafe less so.

Our date was for noon, but I was there a bit early, so I took the time to press my nose against the window and look out at the water.  It's a grey, blustery and wintry-cold today, making it especially nice to be seeing the icy water from the shelter of a warm room.  Then I looked around for a table with a view, scanning past the big bar and around the large open room, which resembles nothing so much as the rundown rec hall of an old summer camp.  Even though my eyes were looking for a two-top, my brain seemed to be registering something else:  the fact that there were about 15 people in the room and all but two were drinking.  A quick look turned up wine, a few martinis and more than a few Bloody Marys. 

Somehow, seeing people knocking back brandy at 6 am in the markets of France never struck me as odd, but pre-noon non-weekend martinis on Connecticut's shoreline had a different feel, something Cheeveresque.

"Yeah," it's like this," my lunchmate said as she settled in.  I thought she meant that the cafe was just a drinking kind of place, but no, the "it" she was referring to was the American Northeast.  She's convinced that mid-day drinking is a regional trait.  So being lifelong Northeasterners, along with our Cobb Salads we ordered a Sam Adams for me and a Bloody Mary for her.

Comments

[Dorie]

I'm sorry I didn't get back to comment for a while -- I seem to have lost track of stuff -- again -- aarrgh.

I'm a sucker for Clamato juice - I'll drink it straight up or mixed with stuff and always be happy. But I'm curious, what about the Bloody Caesar makes it a Caesar?

[rob]

I think your friend has a point about regional drinking patterns. The breakfast cocktail of choice here (not too far from the US northeast, I might add) is a Bloody Caesar, which differs from the Bloody Mary in that the mixer is Clamato, not tomato juice. They are delicious, particularly served with freshly grated horseradish.