I guess I'm not really a towny after all

So welcome back Jim. It's been awhile. I guess there just haven't been too many milkshakes to drink...

I have recently moved into an apartment that is currently fulfilling all my dreams of walking to all the things I want to go to. Last year, I was unfortunately about .7 miles from making this dream happen. Then I had to go and get a dog and if you know my dog, you'll understand that .7 miles is a marathon to him. Now I live practically next door to a coffee shop, a snobby beer store, a wine bar, a Subway, a burrito place, and one of those trendy organic grocery chains that pretentious vegetarians love. I can go everywhere with my short legged dog now. Add to all this that I am not a college student and all those other "elitist" interests of mine, and you would be sure to bet that I was a towny.

Well folks, that apparently is not the case. There has been an established restaurant down the block from me that in all my years in Athens, I only tried once. All I remember from that experience was trying to be as cheap as possible and not enjoying my meal at all. Seven years later and with a competing burrito place just next door, this local eatery still appears to be going strong. This is a mystery to me. Athens is quite often a revolving door for restaurants so how this towny place has stayed alive baffles me...especially after today.

I had actually just been to the store, but had one of those irking desires to go out to lunch anyway. I coaxed my roommate into going with me and of course my lazy dog, so we could finally experience the mysterious allure of ...The Mean Bean.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were welcomed by a couple of class act townies (the dirtier kind). There were only two people sitting in there to eat and I'm still curious if they knew how the menu worked beforehand. As I searched the walls for some sort of direction, the taller towny guy pointed us toward the menus on the counter. As I scanned the descriptions and prices, I immediately began to recollect the first time I ate there. There was still nothing cheap on the menu, just cheap in how things are prepared. This time I opted for a burrito that cost 5.25. Now don't go running over there to grab one. Let me finish.

How about the toppings you ask? Well, I got beans and rice. Yes. Just beans and rice were included. Oh and I must not forget the store bought chips and store bought salsa, which was probably just some kind of mixture of tomato paste and well, tomato paste. Now I don't want to go on being super negative guy. Maybe they are just so good at making salsa and chips that they taste as good as the store brand. It's a real possibility. No really.

Moving on...As I waited for my food and my roommate's order, I had a peak at how things were done behind that massive wall next to the cash register. To my betwixtment, I noticed the less skinny towny guy tossing my burrito in a microwave, immediately followed by the tall skinny towny telling me I could go on outside and that he'd bring our food out. Hmm. Highly suspicious if you ask me. As we waited for our food, we saw a few other things of mention, but then again having to wait for food at all with no one else around was a little strange.

First, we saw what appeared to be the same guy who haggled my roommate for money just last night. He went in and out and appeared to know the workers well. After getting our food, there was another interesting character. A man with glasses walked in, took about 2 minutes, and walked out with a brown bag, which didn't appear to be large enough for a whole burrito. Shall I put another hmm here? Meanwhile, the two employees vacated the restaurant for a few minutes to talk bikes maybe? They came back and all, but really why should they? Finally, upon leaving, there was nothing resembling a trash recepticle except for a couple of crates full of random paper and napkins. Who needs trash cans when you have a couple of crates?

So why did I use this as my return to the blogosphere? I'm not trying to be mean towards the bean or anything. I just wanted to share this rather humorous experience with those who might appreciate it. I guess the Mean Bean has its loyal customers who keep it alive. Customers of what I'm not sure, but if it can survive, more power to it. As far as I can see, this neighborhood doesn't need two burrito joints. The one just next door is just as local and flat out better. Mean Bean just doesn't seem to be necessary and I am all that's important here right? How about someone buys up Mean Bean and makes a Mean Pizza joint. That's what I really wanted for lunch, but I thought I'd try to make a full towny conversion to the Mean Bean. All I really wanted was pizza and maybe, a milkshake.