In college, everyone is so physically close together, making it really easy to hang out, and so we do, all the time. As someone who really cherishes her alone time, I felt like I couldn’t find enough of it. When it came up in conversation, I would often lament that I could go days without talking to or seeing people. So it has come as a surprise to me to realise this summer that… I need to see more people.
But this summer, there haven’t been very many people I know around. And with the few people who are around, I don’t want to be too overbearing by making plans with them every other day. I mean, just because I’m bumming around this summer and don’t have a life doesn’t mean that other people don’t have lives either.
This is uncharacteristic of me to say, but I wouldn’t mind meeting new people. I wouldn’t mind the nervous excitement of trying to impress someone you’re unfamiliar with, not by not being yourself or inflating yourself, but by genuinely thinking of fun experiences to try together. You know, just to give myself something to do this summer.
When you meet someone new, there’s the obligatory introduction, an opportunity to glimpse a page of the story of their life. And, inevitably, there’s the part where you talk about yourself as well. Which… is the part I’ve been running away from ever since graduation.
I think it’s one of the main reasons I haven’t really been able to get back to my regular rhythm of blogging. This space has always been a place for me, to share and remember what I’ve been up to, to parse the jumbled tiles of my thoughts. But I don’t want to talk about myself, and even less do I want to be left to my thoughts.
I’m scared of the future and I don’t want to get into any social situations where it might come up. I’ve had variations of this conversation this summer. As my dear friend Kat said, talking about things can make them easier, but it also realises them. The future is scary. And despite however much we plan for it, it stays scary.
So I haven’t been meeting new people. Instead, I’ve been spending time with the people I know, navigating our uncertainties together. And even though we hardly ever arrive at any conclusion (it’s a process), there’s comfort in knowing that although you might not be in the same exact place in life as someone else, and in fact most likely will never be in the same exact place in life as anyone, you’re not alone.
One of the friends I’ve been spending time with is Louise. A few weeks ago, we hit up South Jazz Kitchen for brunch. *seamless transition* South is a Southern jazz bar and restaurant, open on nights as well as for brunch on Sundays. And not just any brunch — a three-course brunch!
Louise and I made sure to order different things so that we could share and taste different dishes. We kicked it off with drinks — a blackberry lemonade for her and a hibiscus limeade for me. For appetizers, we shared johnny cakes and blue crab cakes. For mains, we stuffed ourselves with chicken and waffles and a mushroom and kale omelette. For dessert, we polished it off with walnut pecan pie and a lemon merengue tart.
My favourite dish was the chicken and waffles for sure. I had only tried chicken and waffles one other time in my life, which was at The Breakfast Club Hoxton, and this definitely topped that. The Breakfast Club was quite dry, but South was absolutely delectable — perfectly crispy on the outside, and tender and juicy on the inside. I even ventured out and drizzled some maple syrup on it! Although the whole brunch was delicious, for the sake of my wallet, I could have done with a single course of just the chicken and waffles.
The kitchen took a little while to bring out our appetizers so they apologised with complimentary cornbread topped with cream cheese honey butter. It was a pleasant surprise; I mean, they weren’t the quickest, but it wasn’t an excruciatingly long wait. But who were we to deny complimentary cornbread? (I frickin’ love cornbread.) Served with Southern hospitality, truly!
600 N Broad St
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 600-0220
PS: walnut street cafe jazz brunch, one shot coffee, the breakfast club