We were at breakfast with the kids at Lenny's the other weekend. This place has the best breakfasts you've ever had (and Barbara: it's even kosher)! I grew up with the owner, and never imagined he'd take over after his father died, but it's extremely lucrative. They are constantly packed, with people willing to wait, and it's a big restaurant!
So as we're sitting there, a family at a table nearby was eating lunch (it was brunch time - where anything goes). The baby at the end of the table somehow managed to get a bowl of hot soup, and spilled it all over himself. My boyfriend, afraid that the baby was going to be scalded, jumped up and motioned the owner over. The owner rushed in, and between the mom and himself, got the tyke's outfit off in a jiffy (he was fine).
"So that's all you have to do to get your pants taken off in here!" said my boyfriend loudly (I can't take him anywhere, it appears).
"Shhh!" I hissed at him. "This is a family restaurant!" and I jerked my thumb at the table next to us complete with kids of their own (let alone ours). "Oops!" he said, realizing what he'd just done.
But instead of being offended, everyone was laughing. "Where d'ya guys originally come from?" asked the grandmother "next door".
"Here," we answered in unison.
"No, I mean originally," she said. Now that's funny, because we moved down when I was still less than a year old, so I've always thought of myself as a native. However, my parents were from New York so I was raised by New Yorkers. My boyfriend moved from another northern metropolis when he was in elementary school. So, we told her all this and she nodded.
"Yup," she said. "We're from New York too. I could tell in an instant that you guys were from up north."
Florida is a melting pot. I consider myself a native, and my brothers definately are natives (they were born after me). But New Yorker or not, my usually proper mother would've been scandalized. Either that, or she would've been laughing just as hard as they were. Mom is a cipher. You can't always tell...
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15 comments:
I don't know what it is about NJ and NY people but most of the time, you can spot them a mile away. I can only say this bc I'm from Jersey.:)
Same here, Janet. I'm a native New Yawka. Great tip for a restaurant, Saur. I'm not over that way much, but if I'm ever there, I'll give it a try.
You can take a New Yorker out of New York, but you can't take the York out. Brooklyn-ese is implanted.
Good fun and good fun! I'm glad the baby at the other table was okay.
Yes, I lived in Boca Raton for seven years. When I moved to Birmingham after that, everyone said I had a northern accent. It was from being around all of the northerners down there! Before that, I lived in Houston, TX (another melting pot of northerners). I think part of my northern accent has melted away now, since I have lived here in the "heart of dixie" for 12 years. ;)
Lee Ann, How funny! It's true that Florida is the LEAST southern of all the southern states. It's really predominantly northern-flavored.
FTS, I know! I grew up around SO many accents that no one knows WHERE I'm from. Actually many people think that English is my second language because I speak it so properly! A lot of people guess I'm from Sweden because I look Swedish and lived over there for a while, but I'm not.
Jamie Dawn, it was pretty funny! But I should add that The Other Half didn't crack the joke until we were completely sure the little guy was fine. Soupy, but fine. ;o)
Old Hoss, just where are YOU from, come to think of it???
Fred, you'll definately enjoy it. Just be prepared for a wait, but it's worth it!!!
Janet, yeah, you're right!!!
I guess people in Florida just expect that other people came for somewhere else. It used to be that way in CA also.
One time we stayed in the hotel directly across U.S. 19 from Lenny's. I really like that new Filthydelpia stadium. I loaded the family in the car to have breakfast and it took me 10 minutes to go 50 yards because of all those New York Drivers.
Mr Gator, I completely believe it! The new stadium IS really nice, isn't it??? The hotel you stayed in is pretty nice, too. They host a lot of business conferences and I can say from experience that their food is actually good!
TLP, Yeah. I guess it's because Florida REALLY only began to be settled in the late 1940s and 50s, and even then it was very sparsely populated. In the 70s is when it really got inundated with people and it just grew WAY too fast. So, we ended up with an eclectic mix (to say the least) and it ranges from the very tacky to the very superior (both in people and in architecture).
It’s definitely one of my favorite Spring Training Facilities. I feel like I should get some credit for its construction because I told Hoyt that if he took his fat butt to Jack Russell Stadium that it would surely collapse under his weight, and the rest is history.
I always wore a bullet-proof vest when I went to the old stadium. Clearwater done good.
Wait. I thought 50% of Florida was from New York.
Mr. Gator, yeah...the old stadium was in a VERY bad area. Kinda weird to pass drug dealers to go see a baseball game...
Zombieslayer, Oh, I'd say you were about right! ;o)
As soon as I open my big fat mouth- everybody knows I'm a NeW YaWkA! Never fails!
Great post!
I was born in Memphis, but we moved when I was around four. Then I was in southern California until I was 13 to PA. Every now and then someone will ask me what part of the south I'm from. I haven't a clue as to what prompts it.
Never mind Florida, the US is a melting pot.
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