Of course we wanted to have banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery, who wouldn’t? I was game for a bite to eat and a spot of tea. We had just enjoyed the MOMA and were ready to sit a bit, even if we had to wait in line outside of the famous bakery and enjoy more cheerful banter with the non-locals itching to eat some banana pudding, too.
”Stay out! You have to keep both doors closed until you can enter without holding one door open!” “Get in this line if you want banana pudding only. Order a drink here and then go in the banana pudding line and pay and then come back here.” I think the banana pudding lady enjoyed barking the same thing over and over, even though I helpfully suggested a sign would go far in maintaining her vocal health. Well, who wouldn’t feel welcome in such a fine establishment approximately six feet wide by 12 feet in length, accommodating two lanes of banana pudding traffic? Our crowning achievement was the request for water – at the cash register. The money girl sent us back in the pudding line to get water, offered for free. “Do we have water? Where?” “You have to put ice in the cup and then add the hot water, that’s all we have.”
We got our waters and left the pudding line for good, only to have to find an outdoor dining table. Al fresco in December in New York. How refreshing to sit on a cold metal chair while the Salvation Army Santa danced and played “Feliz Navidad” ad nauseum. We scarfed banana pudding and headed to our next cultural event, buoyed by the cheerful and thoughtful people at Magnolia Bakery.
You make me laugh!!!