It’s a Food Town

　

She says it has always been a blues town

even when it was a jazz town

but she’s wrong it’s a food town

because I can’t choose between

costillas en chile verde up on Summit

or samosas piping hot on Lexington

scalding pho in the market

dumplings on 39th street

chicken spiedini on fifth

or gyros falafel and pizza at the curb

I don’t want to argue Gates Bryants

Jackstack LC’s Oklahoma Joe’s

or your granddady’s all night long

Italian and Austrian in the freight

peppercorns above the trains

peaches from the tree or double cheese & grilled onions

on Broadway or Baltimore

taquitos on Central or Independence Avenues

greens in Eden’s garden

strutting chickens north and south

pollos ricos shrimp biryani sashimi

roumalade ooh la la mix the bunch and bring me

iced sweet tea and bourbon on the side

-Jose Faus