Pepino's

What's better than people watching? A good spot on Hawthorne with good food, personality and location. Pepino's delivers this for me and I sat there this afternoon. Eating my Thai Chicken wrap with tortilla chips. I squeezed lime over the orange colored wrap, then poured a brown sauce over the top of that. I settled into a booth and placed my Grisham novel on the table next to my meal with good intentions of finishing my reading. The best part of a book? The beginning, the middle and the end. I never got there. I took my first bite of a meal I used to have from Pepino's once a week. I figured my endurance to spicy food must have worn thin as I felt my head get warm, my lips start to get warm and some mild perspiring began to settle in with my chewing. Maybe I got the wrong sauce, but it was hitting the spot on this rainy afternoon. The booth was situated facing the window and I watched in wonder as the people trudged up and down Hawthorn. Not many, maybe just a smattering but enough to keep my curious eyes occupied. Sometimes the best companion for a meal is a good book. It was. It sat there quietly on the table taking in the same sights I was taking in. We saw a man sitting behind and above us in those big thick Buddy Holly glasses, his face unshaven, wearing a v-neck sweater with a hoody underneath it. I think I could guess his overcoat would be plaid and probably green. Another man outside caught my eye because he had a funky umbrella that was probably a kids umbrella. I realize that you may be waiting for the food report, but the sights were as catching and as fetching as the food. I am thinking to myself Gypsies! Gypsies are walking the streets of Hawthorne. I love them. They are a mix of hipsters who buy clothes from second hand stores or possibly from a high end store all in the interest of sticking out in a crowd? Expressing their individuality? You tell me. I do not know but it's a piece of Portland I hope never changes. Beyond that? Go try one of their wraps. It's on Hawthorne by the theatre and across from Freddies. Oh and if you need a Freddies with the best people ever? It's on Glisan. Even better, if you need electronics from a Freddies? Go to the one on Glisan and look for a lady named Eileen. She is amazing and defines what good service is. I guarantee it. Bye for now.