When you are no longer of the age that a sleepover is a common occurrence, it becomes rare that you have breakfast guests on a weekday unless you have regular traveling visitors. Making breakfast for a friend is one of the great pleasures in life. (Brunch, even with the same foods, is a different beast entirely.) In our house, I regret, breakfast is usually a singular activity, so I was thrilled to get a visit from my friend Caroline. She got an egg, tea, and melon, and for me coffee, two eggs and a tomato, and a banana sliced with almond butter.

Today was the first day that I’ve been out of the house for lunch for weeks, and I was excited to play hooky and see the city with Caroline. We spent the afternoon wandering around the Boston Common and the Public Gardens, checking out the farmers market in Copley, strolling down Charles Street. This stately fur ball was seen in front of Savenor’s, dutifully waiting for his human friend. And maybe a marrow bone.

After discovering that Caroline’s desired chai hot chocolate was still not at being sold at the chocolate shop, despite the fact that fall is almost here, we headed off to Brookine to pick up her friend’s wedding dress, and forage for lunch. To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to eat. We debated Cutty’s (even though I’m not enamored with it), sushi, Anna’s (she’s from Texas, so that was out). I learned that Caroline had never been to Flour, so I decided that a trip to the South End was in order.

After finding a fortuitous two hour visitor parking spot in the South End (when does that ever happen?), we headed over to Flour. It is here I should note that this particular occasion at Flour made me really appreciate a) the fact that my current food restrictions are not life threatening illnesses that so many of my friends have to deal with, and b) the fact that there are some supremely lovely people in the world.

At 3 o’clock, there was no line, so I felt a little more comfortable attempting to order food that was restriction-friendly. I opted for the lamb salad (without the delicious tomato chutney or goat cheese, alas), and immediately the folks behind the counter were more than accommodating, and full of suggestions. Could I eat carrots? Avocado? Tomatoes? Suddenly what I assumed was going to be a slightly boring salad became exciting again. The oil was a blend that I was wary of, so they gave me a side of olive oil and vinegar, and I ordered an espresso and made sure to give a good tip.

After our lunch, we walked the South End, and headed over to Formaggio on Shawmut. Because I’m a regular at the Huron location, I felt that it was high time that I check out the other location in the city. The shop was full of all the same goodies on a smaller scale, and all around a good place to check out if you are in the area. I learned however that they didn’t have George Howell Coffee! Instead, I picked up some medjool dates, and we headed over to the South End Buttery for tea. (It’s been so long since I last visited!)

The iced tea here is delicious – I believe it’s iced earl grey.

After our lovely afternoon, Caroline dropped me off at home, and left to Providence.

I headed out to Trader Joe’s to pick up some fixin’s for dinner. Usually I make a meal for us to share, but I’ve been making sure not to impose too much lately with my food choices. We each got our own meals – Devon got hot dogs and beans, and I had a complementary fresh gazpacho, topped with fresh pork sausage from M.F. Dulock’s. The same, but different!