A curb-side lunch

Yesterday, was our national holiday to celebrate and remember the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  It also happened to be Munch Monday!

Munch Monday is a new concept in lunching for downtown Santa Rosa.  On a trial basis, the city is closing off 17 parking spaces in a large parking lot downtown and allowing lunch trucks to roll up and feed the masses.  Currently, there are six different lunch trucks offering everything from Chicago style hot dogs to crab sandwiches to dim sum with lots of choices in between. 

I learned about Munch Monday, as did a lot of other friends in my cycling world, from our friend Sarah who posted a link about it on FB.  So, after a short, and social cycling adventure (a rare treat for me on a Monday), six of us headed to a downtown parking lot, across from the post office, for lunch.

When I arrived I was surprised to see well over 100 people milling about and ordering food from the different lunch trucks.  As I surveyed my choices, I finally decided on a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and french fries.  It was really the fries that got my attention because they looked great (and they were).

After we got our food, we all walked over to one of the curbs to sit, eat, and chat.  This quickly turned into one of the best lunches I’ve had with friends in a long time.  There was something about the setting, eating on a curb and laughing with friends, that was special.  This was definitely one of those instances where the total experience was greater then the sum of its parts.  After about an hour of good food and great conversation, we all recycled our containers and headed home.

As of right now, this is still a trial and Munch Monday will only continue through the end of February.  But if yesterday was any indication, it is going to be successful so who knows how long the city will let it run.  I can tell you that I am already looking forward to my next curb-side lunch and chat.

Au revoir!