"My friend and I meander through the cold and blustering wind on a brisk day in February 2023. The wind whips our face and gives a pink, almost luminescent, glow to our skin. My friend's stomach grumbles a sign that hunger is near, nay, has but already arrived. We hasten our pace and stop our giggling things are getting serious. We need food fast. We have crossed our rubicon.Our weary eyes gaze blankly at the restaurants in front of us all but too fancy and too elegant for a simple, quick lunch that we so desperately crave. Then we see it. A star amongst the dark night (this is a metaphor, it was midday). The shadows part to reveal a one Beatrix Market. The smell of freshly baked bread and fast casual splendor draws us in.The market is a small one attached to the bustling Beatrix restaurant. Like ravenous wolves, we scan the room for our prey. Our noses draw us to a large ladle entrenched within a silver bowl, labeled “Turkey Chili”. This was it! This is exactly what we need.We serve ourselves two bowls of the chili. I gaze up and notice small balls of cheese and bread, labeled “Brazilian Cheese Bread (GF)”. GF! WOW! As a gluten free girlie, I cherish any restaurant or food hall that provides ample options for my dietary needs. I grab two and dunk them in my bowl of chili.As we dig into our bowls, our childhoods dance in front of our eyes, like the critic in Ratatouille when he tries Remy’s delectable entree. I hear the faint hum of the Girl from Ipanema as I my teeth crunch into the cheese bread, both perfectly crunchy on top and chewy within. I dip the bread with exuberance into the chili; together, they are like Batman and Robin, Marlin and Dory, Selena Gomez The Scene an iconic dynamic duo. I highly recommend this combination.This is glorious. Our bodies so desperately needed this. We are alive."
