How do you like your beef in the morning? I like mine pretty rare.

During the summer I had to research some stuff a lot for a big essay, and after I had photocopied what I needed (not quite the whole book, although it would have been cheaper than buying it) I sat in a local baguette shop typing/writing it up. The shop - Crumbs... - is what Subway pretends to be: they have a range of ingredients, and you can choose whatever combination you want.

One ingredient is beef - rare. I tried this the first time out of curiosity, and was hooked. It is so much better than well-done beef! Its bright pink and actually has taste! So now, whenever I go (which is not often enough, I must admit, this shop being entirely local) I have rare beef and blue cheese in my baguette.

The blue cheese naturally overpowers the beef most of the time, but the beef gives an essential under-taste that the bagguette would be lost without. And when I get bits of beef on its own...it's like some familiar piece of music that still manages to surprise you everytime with little nuances and twists.

The whole...well I hesitate to use the word cafe, as there is only room for ~15 people...is nice too. Everytime I've been in there I've been served by the same man - does he own the place? - who is very nice. I always take my plates back at the end (although I do that in any cafe, out of politeness) and he seems to be pleased.

"Have a good day!"

I always imagine I'm going to be swept off my feet by some stranger there - it is an intimate place and I can easily imagine in-depth and heartfelt conversation between two people, who will never see each other again, happening. That hasn't happened yet, but I still hold out hope.