Taking advantage of a break in the rain, I walked down to City Market, the new grocery and deli at Main and Union, for lunch. After looking over their menu, I decided to go with the Blazing Beale, a panini sandwich made with curry chicken, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions on naan bread. I love Indian food so this was an easy decision to make. It’s a little spicy, but not too spicy. It came with a side of potato chips and a pickle.
While I was waiting on my sandwich, I walked around the store, and Sunny, one of the owners, showed me some of the items City Market carries. I’m definitely going to try some of their snack mixes at a future date, with the wasabi mix looking to be a likely first choice. I tried the Mexican fire mix too and it was good. Sunny also showed me their selection of stuffed olives and their selection of different cheeses. I noticed they had some ready-to-heat to-go meals in a refrigerator case, with Cajun chicken and lemon pepper chicken dinners being today’s selections. They also had wraps, deviled eggs, slices of meatloaf, and those vegetarian Indian frozen dinners that are so popular. They had frozen bags of edamame (shelled and unshelled) too.
I decided to dine in, and not only did I enjoy my sandwich, but the view out the window.
They have a new glass counter set up facing Main Street, and you can sit there and watch people go by as you eat. Union and Main is one of the best people-watching corners Downtown. It reminds me of my early years down here, when I used to sit in the Map Room/Empire Coffee at Main and Madison and people-watch out the windows. Several friends passed by and waved. People walked by walking their dogs.
Then, as I was eating my sandwich – horror of horrors – the Nuh-Uh Girl walked by, and I had food! With the big glass windows, there was no opportunity to hide it before she saw me. Amazingly, though, she kept walking. I guess she realized that if she came in and asked, “Can I have a bite?” – which she was surely tempted to do – there would be 8 or 10 photos for this blog post rather than two.
I lingered at the counter for an hour, in no hurry to leave. I watched people come in and get coffee, and look at the five or six different types of cakes they had at the counter.
A good first experience dining there. I’ll be back at City Market soon, to shop and to eat.