Lunch With Mom At Boudin's Bakery

Having lunch with my 80 year old mother is an experience no matter where we frequent. I am not complaining, just stating the facts. She is adorable and comes from the old world, meaning she is a picky eater and does not like to experiment with different cultural foods or creations.

So I have to always think where to eat when she and I go out together and most times we settle on Italian since pasta or pizza is a safe bet with her. She always orders fettuccine Alfredo with chicken. I try to suggest difference variations, perhaps a lighter sauce or a salmon dish over chicken but she always declines and sticks to what she knows and feels comfortable with and then feels too full or unable to finish her entire meal.

Lately however, I have discovered she prefers sandwiches with soft bread that she can bite through. This tickles me pink and I love it when I can get her the sandwich she "hopefully" would like and watch her eat every last bite of it as a result of her approval of it.

So, yesterday I finally got her out of the house to a mall with the intention that I was going to feed her a good sandwich paired with perhaps a nice cup of soup. We went to Boudin Bakery and I asked her if she wanted to consider half a sandwich with a side of tomato garlic soup and she immediately declined the soup and declared she wanted a full sandwich. I explained to her that a full sandwich might be too much for her and a cup of their tomato garlic soup is a must with most any sandwich. She shook her head in the most cutest way and pointed to the turkey sandwich.

When our order was called out, I picked up the tray and headed to a table she was seated at and gave her a spoon and asked her to try my tomato garlic soup. She declined politely but continued to look at me swallowing spoonful after spoonful while declaring my fondness of it. She finally caved in and took a spoonful and loved it as I knew she would. I asked her if she wanted her own bowl and once again she declined politely, but this time it was because she felt embarrassed.

I watched her finish her sandwich, which I knew she would and then commented on the soup. So I told her we will make a habit of our visit to Boudin Bakery and order 1/2 a sandwich with a side of tomato garlic soup. She nodded and smiled. Ahh,the time with my mother is priceless...