5 Million People...One Resteraunt...and a Conversation Later

I had been craving a salad, and not just any salad--the Metro Salad from George's Pastaria. It comes complete with grilled chicken and shrimp, romaine lettuce, penne pasta and then to top it off the best BEST most delish Parmesan dressing there is! YUM. Anyone have a napkin? I am salivating just thinking of this magnificent, awesome, completely fabulous meal!  Anyways, crisis averted, I satisfied my desires and went there for take-out last night! SO, and here is the part where I come to my story:

When I left New Mexico one of the things I knew I was going to miss the most was that 'small town feel' of going to the grocery store or the mall or even out to eat for the evening and seeing someone you know. Now you might be thinking, "shoot, the last thing I want to do when I go out is see someone I know", but for me this is one of my favorite parts of small town living! Having moved to a city of almost 5 million people (where I grew up there are only about 30,000 people) you can hardly expect to feel the warmth of people who know you when you venture out to dine, to shop, or to whatever... But last night during the waiting, (with utter anticipation) for my Metro Salad to-go order I had the best kind of encounter... an "it's such a small world" kind. 

As I sat there, stomach growling from the smells... oh the smells that were wafting towards my face from the kitchen close by...a man came and sat down next to me (I think he didn't know, that I knew, that he was the owner, but I did :)) and asked me if I like the restaurant, the wood floors, the quiet feel of a nice dining establishment...? I of course said yes, only because it was true, and then we proceeded to shoot the breeze; talking about cooking, my latest battle wound from the Baking My Way to Orange endeavor, the wood-burning stove that has been in the restaurant since the day it opened, cooking iPhone Apps, and how a plate of spaghetti once cost $3.95 (complete with salad and bread).  We somehow got to the topic of what I did for a living, and I told him that I worked for the fabulous Grace Pres as a Youth Director - and GET EXCITED - this is where I tell you the awesome news... George knew the church, not only did he know about Grace, he is really close friends with our wonderful HR director (who is also my sweet friend)! Ok then, I mentioned to him that I had recently taken my friend’s daughter's senior photographs... and then WHAT?!? He knew who I was! Saying, "you took those photos??! They were awesome!” I knew him, he knew me...

5 million people...one restaurant...and a conversation later...  awesome! 

We chatted. I met his lovely wife and then I left feeling all warm and happy, and no longer just because I was about to embark on the worlds tastiest salad! 

SO go to George's Pastaria and not JUST because the food is great, but because yes, there are still places, even in this HUGE city that the owner says hello, the wooden floors have character, you can sit with friends and have pizza out of a 20 plus year old oven, and even though years have gone by you can still have spaghetti (with a salad AND bread) for only 9 or so bucks! 

...AND you might even run into a familiar face :) 

-Bon Appétit! Sara