Crossover marketing works. Here I am in the Montrose Art Monolith, visiting Barbara Davis Gallery, Anya Tish, and Joan Wich, because I’m hungry, and they’ve got a cafe. TART.
Places like this make me feel like I’m in Dallas- two good-looking older couples share chicken poblano soup and Perrier in the cafe’s minimal black and white embrace. Two fashionable young women chat over a sandwich, and EVERYONES WEARING A TURTLENECK!!!
At the top of today’s lunch specials, a BLT. Chalked next to the to the sandwich’s catalog of trendy-ized ingredients, ("applewood smoked bacon", "baby lettuce", "roma tomatoes" on ciabatta, of course) is the illegible price. "Is the BLT $3.95 or $8.95?" I ask. The ninja behind the counter deadpans: "Nothing is $3.95".
But I’ve got to fulfill my mandate to sample and compare BLT’s at cafes attached to Houston art venues. I’ll put it on my expense account. It’s OK. The flavor is mostly toasted ciabatta and mayo: good, but it could just as well have been turkey inside. Lose the red onions and avocado. The essence of a BLT is simplicity.
