09 April 2008

Still Angry After All These Years


I was in Myers of Keswick, the beloved English food provisions place on Hudson Street, today to pick up a delectable Pork and Stilton meat pie (really, really good—trust me). The place was filled with Limeys, chatting ad nauseum about soccer or rugby or cricket or some such stuff. Lots of pale, pinky complexions. Not a Yank in sight. Could have been a corner shop anywhere in Blighty.

I waited patiently while a old guy regaled the counter boy with some unending yarn. He wasn't buying anything; just gabbing. The counter boy finally caught my eye, causing the large-beaked, balding, bespectacled elder to turn and look at me. "American!" he spat out, with what seemed like real disgust. "Took our country! Took our culture! Took our language!" I looked for a twinkle in his eye, for the corner of his mouth to turn up, indicating he was having me on. Nope.

"That's right," I replied, with a smile. "And we're not going to give 'em back."

The met pie was super yum. I'm not giving that back either.
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9 comments:

  1. Anonymous4/09/2008 2:22 PM

    I love Myers of Keswick, but that old English guy should go back to where he came from.

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  2. Anonymous4/09/2008 2:41 PM

    I went there to get the same said meat and cheese pie and ran into Alton Brown from the Food Channel. Psych!

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  3. hoover factory4/10/2008 5:29 AM

    Love M of K too, but tend to go there less and less for a HobNobs fix now that the Turkish bodega in my Sunnyside 'hood sells 'em...

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  4. Anonymous4/10/2008 6:21 AM

    I've never met anything but kindness and good cheer there.

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  5. Brooks of Sheffield4/10/2008 6:25 AM

    And I'm sure, BaHa, on any other day that would be the case. Just a nutty old man. I guess I was looking particularly American that day. Don't anyone get me wrong, here. I like Myers, always have.

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  6. Anonymous4/10/2008 7:12 AM

    If anyone doesn't know, you can get many British and Irish products at "Two For The Pot", the tea store on Clinton Street near Atlantic. And they are always nice.

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  7. Editor4/12/2008 12:23 PM

    I've been going to M of K for almost 20 years now, and while I've seen some colorful Brits there, I've never had a bad experience. If i didn't love your blog so, and have every faith in your veracity, i'd think that was just some very entertaining fiction!

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  8. Brooks of Sheffield4/12/2008 2:16 PM

    Tod: It's the only bad experience I've had there. And it wasn't that bad. Just kinda funny and weird. The place is still great.

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  9. old school villager1/29/2009 7:46 PM

    my son does a booming business at his school reselling the bizarrely flavored potato chips (lamb and mint jelly?)

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