Cafe Lalo

Me and Michele at Cafe Lalo

One of my all time favorite places in the world is a charming little cafe called Cafe Lalo on the Upper East Side in New York City. And, yes, I know what those of you that know me are thinking - and no, it's not just because Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks met there on You've Got Mail (although, sheer perfection that they did). I simply adore it's menu.....irish oatmeal with fresh berries....cappaccinos, lattes, coffee, sandwhiches made with goat cheese and melted spinch. It's a simply lovely atmosphere. Small, quaint, wood floors with a glass display of all of their delictiable cheesecakes, cakes, giant cupcakes with sprinkes topping them off....
Michele and I went there almost two years ago. I dragged her there knowing once she arrived she would no longer think it wasn't a nescessary sight-see. Uh huh. The same with Nat, Josh, and J-Paul. They ate their words, although they might deny this. Michele and I sat down and ordered the most delicious sandwhich while the guys at the bar served us free margaritas....it was two in the afternoon. We sat next to a couple who had to atleast be in their eighties. We ended up talking to them for three hours. They looked rather down dressed, almost poor. Very understated. I asked them...."so do you see any famous people up here?" "Well," uttered the woman. "Our next door neighbor is Martha Stewart." Her husband told us to google her name and when we did we found out she was a famous, innovative artist. The first female to have a piece of art - a sculpture - allowed into the Modern Museum of Art.
Upon leaving Cafe Lalo there are all sorts of "items" - matches, t - shirts, post cards. Of course, I am tempted to buy them all as any sane person would be. For it is simply the greatest coffee shop in the world. And it lies in New York City. I'm in Dallas unfortunately at the moment. Perhaps I was thinking about it because I made myself eggs this mornng and I thought very Audrey Hepburn like "OH, wouldn't it be loverly...." to be at Cafe Lalo, eating a waffle with a dollop of real whip cream and fresh straberries..... , sipping my latte, talking to famous artists in disguise. Hopefully in the fall....when the leaves change and as Tom Hanks would say in You've Got Mail...."Don't you just love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies...."