Brunch: just another advantage of downtown living

Our brunch pal Daniella Cracknell

Of course people in the suburbs go to brunch. But, I’m telling you from experience, nothing beats rolling out of bed, making yourself moderately presentable, grabbing your newspapers and taking a two-minute stroll to meet your regular Sunday brunch buddies. That’s just one little thing that living downtown offers.

Our brunch yesterday was bittersweet, though, because we are losing one of our regular attendees. Daniella Cracknell, who lives on Market Square, is setting sail after Thanksgiving and heading to the D.C. area. Daniella has been in Knoxville for the past four years working in public relations for Scripps Networks Interactive. She got caught in a downsizing there several months ago and feels like she will have more business opportunity in a larger market.

She said yesterday that the brunch group has meant a lot to her. “It’s been one of the best things about living in Tennessee,” she told us over a mimosa. “I wouldn’t have stayed here as long as I have if I hadn’t met you guys.”

Wow. How sweet is that?

Alan and I have been involved with this particular group for about two years and we’ve noticed a few key elements for success:

Controversial cheddar-chive biscuits

• Find a restaurant that is accommodating. We meet at the Bistro on Gay Street. Owner Martha Boggs and her great staff don’t mind us putting a few tables together and getting separate checks. We used to go to another favorite restaurant on Market Square. But after some unpleasantness about combining tables, we left that establishment. In return for being accommodating, the restaurant gets some guaranteed regular business.
• Find a group of people that meshes — but that don’t always agree about everything. Our group tends to thrive on debate. Believe it or not, even this innocent basket of biscuits was controversial as one group member (Brent) refused to eat them, claiming they had too many transfats. Only after Martha, the owner, promised him that she had searched high and low for biscuits without transfats, did he relent. (He ate two yesterday!)
• Invite people who are well read and who thrive on being up to date on events and circumstances, both local and national. A small sample of the subjects we covered yesterday: Stacey Campfield, Sarah Palin, research at Oak Ridge that was responsible for advances in touch-screen technology and aerosal, Bill Haslam, the pros and cons of Sequoyah Hills, the current mayor’s race, plans for the upcoming “Strollstice” walk in downtown Knoxville. Oh, and one other thing: wasps that can sniff out explosives!
• Invite people who are funny. Best line yesterday was from Stephen Dupree: “What do you call a guy surrounded by musicians? A vocalist!” Well, maybe you had to be there.

In addition to the brunch group, I’m a member of several other informal clubs. There’s a women’s movie group, which also met yesterday, as well as a Bunko group, which I previously discussed on this blog (click here for info on that). And Alan also belongs to several separate groups.

Of course we also belong to several professional organizations, but we were discussing yesterday the importance these informal, ad hoc social groups have come to have in our daily lives. Though they don’t have many formal rules or attendance requirements, we find ourselves more committed to them than to civic clubs, church, or work-related organizations.

Are you a member of any similar groups? Why are they are important to you?

Brent Minchey. He always tries to steal my New York Times book section!

Art Carmichael. They call him the mayor of downtown. He is recognizable by his trademark flip flops and short pants.

Art poses with Laura Still, the only regular church-going member of our group. We are happy to save her a seat 'til church is over.

Patricia Benton and Art Medcalf. They are engaged.

Stephen Dupree. Hilarious.

We always vote on which is our favorite cartoon in the NYT's Week in Review section.

Charles Finney and Daniella. He's an engineer with some kind of secret job. He'd have to kill us if he told us.

Brent and Alan

Another good thing about brunch downtown is that you usually run into other folks you know.

Lindsay and John Duncan III. He's the new county trustee.

Special friends Georgiana Vines and Gideon Fryer.