Anna and Marco

We met in one of those hole-in-the-wall joints near the university area at the end of St. Charles Street in New Orleans. Marco and Gary were in line ordering the food as Anna and I watched for one of the six tables to clear. We were standing near the sink at the edge of the bar. Not that the sink belonged to the bar; it is there for the hygiene of paying customers. The toilet areas are almost comical in size to match the size of the restaurant and so the sink was placed on the outside of the toilets. No other city in the U.S. could get by with this! Anna seemed a little pensive waiting for the table - a normal reaction considering the circumstances. We've been going to Domilie's since my adult children were children so I introduced myself and tried to explain the system. There is only one game plan- be aggressive and grab the next available table by anticipating the other patron's moves. As soon as someone looks finished with their paper plate emptied and after the obligatory "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I ate that much" stretch, run behind the almost standing customer and smile like you just won! It's great. Everyone understands and they're very accustomed to the move if they've visited the place more than once. I beat Anna to the table and smiled at both she and the customer. I rudely sat before

being invited but I was just trying to claim the territory for either of us. She graciously invited Gary and I to sit with them. Wow! I liked these folks already!
We got to know each other over lunch. It was so much fun! In the course of our conversation we learned that it was Anna's birthday and they were Italian so naturally Gary began the discription of Tony Angelo's - our favorite restaurant in New Orleans. "It's a small mom- and-pop operation near the lake." He begins to describe the tiny tapas-like dishes that are brought to your table in 15-20 rounds. Anna was ready to go! We changed our reservations from 2 to 4 as soon as we got in the car!