Lunch in the Park

It recently occurred to me that it is a shame I have never walked to Central Park during my lunch hour! My office is close to Sixth Avenue and 51st Street, and the park begins at 59th.

Yesterday I was having computer troubles, and I needed to give my machine some time to process the updates from the support team. So, I decided it was a perfect day for an outing. (To those readers who occasionally ask if I ever work, the answer is yes -- I just choose not to bore you by writing about the days like last Tuesday, when I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at my desk.)

As I passed the carousel and the ballfields, I stumbled upon this darling cafe! Here's how the park's website describes it:

Directly bordering the Heckscher Ballfields in Central Park on its northeast side resides the Ballfields Cafe. Aptly named for its locale, this cafe is frequented by hungry spectators from the ball fields as well as strollers who stop by for a quick meal. This current building replaced an original Ballplayers House at the same site, which stood from 1873 to 1969. This quaint red and cream brick structure with its red-checkered tablecloths and green umbrellas serves up all of its items made to order. Besides the typical "Take me out to the ball game" fare, such as hot dogs and hamburgers, patrons will be pleased to find sandwiches and salads at reasonable prices. While dining outdoors, patrons can watch some of the baseball or softball games in action. Music from the nearby Carousel can be heard as it mingles with the cheers and jeers of the crowds as the crack of a bat hits a ball through the air.

As I scrolled through news clippings on my BlackBerry, I had a very tasty turkey sandwich (carved turkey breast like Thanksgiving -- not the slimy deli kind!) on ciabatta bread with lettuce, tomato and avocado. It was a perfect lunch!

I started to give myself a hard time wondering why I hadn't done that sort of thing more often, as the warm days won't be here much longer...but I was a little "dewey" by the time I got back to my desk, and I think that's my answer. It's just too hot in the summer to do much mid-day walking in my work attire. However, now that the temperatures are more pleasant, I'll have to seek out more mid-week, mid-day adventures!