The Lunch Ladies

A Metropolitan Market lunch

By Emily Williamson

Miranda is on a new exercise kick. She is determined to walk 10,000 steps a day. She says she is doing a walk-a-thon, and she is her own cause.

I joined Miranda's cause, but mostly because I like hanging out with her. On a (cold) spring day last week, she led the walk-a-thon from Hiawatha Park to the Junction, and then, since we needed a few thousand more steps to reach our goal, we marched back up to the Metropolitan Market for a lunch. After all that walking we were starving!

This is how Miranda and I have lunch at the Metropolitan Market. We call them our picnics. I highly recommend it.

After admiring the flowers in the lovely courtyard entrance, we pull out a mini cart and head to the olive bar. I'll admit, we sample one or two olives every time we go. Then we scoop a few into a plastic container and plop it in the cart. Next, cheese. There are so many great cheeses I am not going to even bother recommending any, half the fun is buying cheese you've never heard of and trying it. You can ask the staff if you have any questions - and they may also let you sample. Then a piece of fruit, whatever is in season: grapes, persimmon, pinklady apple, peaches. Miranda picks the crackers. She is very particular about the crackers. She reads the boxes or packaging carefully for just the right kind. Buttery and crisp is her preference.

Then we move onto the deli.

On this particular walking day, we hit the deli hard. We started with the fish and chips, and then added a little macaroni and cheese, grown up style, with white cheddar and penne noodles. Then there was the fresh sushi, and a cup of the coconut chicken curry soup.

Then, of course, there is the bakery. Cases of scrumptious delicacies! Yum! I like anything chocolate. We got a dipped macaroon.

It sounds like a lot of food, doesn't it? Well, it is. Here is the trick, we purchase small quantities of everything, then split the left overs.

After we have purchased our feast, we walk up to the cafŽ. Miranda likes to look at the kitchen supplies. I save our spot. The best place is outside under the heat lamps. I don't think we are supposed to feed the cute little English sparrows, but I always "drop" some crumbs and watch the birds hop as Miranda talks.

Miranda is 20 years older than me, and my mentor. Here are a few things I love about Miranda.

- She admits her mistakes, and does not claim she is perfect.

- She always tries her best.

- She can tell you the ingredients in just about anything she eats.

We start with the olives. We smoosh them onto a cracker with some cheese - delicious! Then for the main course. The fish from the deli is tender, moist, and flaky, with a crunchy beer batter crust. The mac 'n' cheese is just right; the white cheddar does the trick. Any of the sushis are superb; my favorite is the Hawaiian roll. But the best is the soup. I love the coconut chicken curry. It is creamy, spicy, and great to eat on a cold spring day, though I could not discern the flavors. So, I just asked Miranda.

"What are the flavors in this soup?"

Usually she peels off an answer more quickly than I can take a second bite (refined pallet), but on this day, instead of telling me, Miranda suggests I close my eyes while I try and pick out the flavors myself. She coached me to look at the floaty bits, chew slowly, and to enjoy every bite. I tasted: red pepper, lemon grass, basil, carrot, chicken, coconut milk. There may be more, I'm not sure.

We sit under the heat lights with the sweet birds and enormous amount of food and talk about alley walks, health, Oprah, awakening, and food. What a wonderful time.

I highly recommend the Metropolitan Market picnic lunch (or breakfast or dinner) and share it with a good friend.

The Entire Meal plus left overs = $25, $12.50 each. Can be done for much less!

Metropolitan Market

2320 42nd Ave. S.W.

937.0551

Emily Williamson has lived in West Seattle for over 10 years and loves it. She can be reached at fuzzycaterpillar@comcast.net