Everyday Canvas

Sidewalk Cafés

Prompt: What do you think of sidewalk cafés? How about writing a description, a story, or a poem about one such café that you have seen or visited?

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I think the sidewalk café idea is a worldwide phenomenon because I can’t think of any country I visited which didn’t have such a café even though the sidewalk cafés in Paris almost always steal the show in people’s imaginations. Sometimes, these establishments get so out of hand that they become sidewalk restaurants. One such place is situated across the street from the Metropolitan Opera in NY city.

When visiting such a large and sometimes fancy place, the etiquette is to sit and wait to be served. If the café is not crowded or rather there are only one or two customers in a place with more than 10-15 tables, the servers might not notice you. Then you have to go in and ask to order.

When ready to pay, if a check has not been presented, the thing to do is to catch a waiter’s eye and make a motion as if writing on one’s palm. Writing on the palm motion is recognized worldwide (I think). Even in distant countries, one can make his wishes known through this specific gesture.

Then, wherever they may be situated, sidewalk cafés always attract the artistically inclined. Sitting at a sidewalk café while sipping an espresso is the finest way for writers to people watch, and authors past and present have made the note-taking or writing poems on a paper napkin the thing to do. In fact, it is said that even when the Germans took over Paris during World War II, one could still see people writing poetry on napkins while the Nazis strutted about.

Curiously, a long time ago, in the East Village in NY city, I’ve witnessed a Poetry Slam taking place. This just goes to show the staunch resolve of poets to experience and reflect their environment.

Surely, in the northern regions, the best time for sitting at a sidewalk café is Spring, Summer, and possibly early Fall, since during the frigid months, most of the cafés will move their sidewalk tables and chairs indoors. Talking for yours truly, in my younger days, I had a love affair with any or all sidewalk cafés. Nowadays, I am not very comfortable with exhaust fumes from the cars, but if they are not situated on a busy thoroughfare, the sidewalk cafés still hold their charm for me.