The Charlesmead Pharmacy

You know those old school drug stores where they have soda fountains, a long counter, and a man wearing a red and white apron just waiting to smile and help you?

Well, it was rumored that we had one of those just down the street from us. We often pass the place. It's located next to a "gourmet shop" (that really only carries wine) and sells mice I think. It's a really nice, old building that seems pretty inviting from the outside. The windows are cluttered with big cut-outs of pill bottles and Rx graphics made from construction paper about 30 years ago. So, it's hard to see inside without walking by. They advertise that they have the best milkshake in Baltimore. I'm not sure where this honor came from, but who wouldn't want to find out. They also advertise a bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich for $3.50. This was really the lure for Trent. No one appreciates a BE&C more than that guy.

So, last Sunday we decided to try it.

We get there at 8:45, and it doesn't open until 9:00. I'm thinking, for a place specializing in breakfast with all kinds of signage outside, it's odd that they don't open early. The guy waiting outside suggests that they will open soon, but he seems uncertain. He may have also fallen asleep mid-sentence. We take a spin around the block, and return for the opening of what I think will be our new retro place to eat. However, I am fairly certain after our visit, we won't be returning.

We enter to a small space with stock of just one item per shelf of inventory. One nasal spray, one bottle of aspirin, one calculator. Everything, not only the building seems old. Trent looked for dental floss, and came back shaking his head that we couldn't use the kind they sold. What the?

Lyla enjoyed the fact that they had a counter with stools for her to spin on and admire the never-ending supply of one-candies. This part was kinda neat, but it also left very little room to eat. It also ignited Lyla's burning desire for a lollipop. There were four varieties right in front of her. We reluctantly gave her a tootsie pop before we ordered since we knew this was one situation we weren't going to get out of easily. The spillage of chocolate juice from chin, to neck, to arm was dripping at an alarming rate, and we had to quickly replace the tootsie with a dum dum (we didn't see them at first). That was much easier to control anyway. That, and a Wonder Pets coloring book kept Lyla pretty satisfied.

As we were taking in the interesting atmosphere the guy who was waiting outside rolls on the scene again. He's the pharmacist! He's outside acting like he doesn't know anything, falling asleep and such, and then he's running the show on the inside? He couldn't have been nicer, which I loved, and Lyla didn't cry when he spoke to her which is a first. He also knew the people coming in, which I also liked. At CVS, they don't even make eye contact for fear you might ask a question. They also do that at every Home Depot, Michael's Crafts, and Target. Essentially, anywhere you really need help from a salesperson.

Onto the meal. We were expecting a flat grill warmed and ready for frying eggs, toast, or whatever our breakfast pleasure. Instead, an akward 14-year old kid nervously backs in behind the counter dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. I swear he rolled right off his skateboard into the store by accident. I didn't think he even worked there. He seemed like he didn't know where he was--like some kind of shape shifter who was a dog, then shifted to become a human and ended up in the Charlesmead drug store. Actually, it was like an episode of Lost for all of us. Like time put us all there without reason.

The menu is very limited, and most of it is taped up with paper. We ordered a bagel for Lyla, a BE&C for Trent, and a grilled cheese for me (right, odd, but after seeing Trent's prepared, I couldn't do it). There is no cooking mechanism except a household microwave. The kid goes into the dorm fridge, and pulls out a pkg. of Lender's frozen bagels, which ends up being Lyla's meal. For Trent, he gets an egg out, which he cracks for approximately one minute before putting it into what appears to be one of the bowls from Lyla's play kitchen. It's small and orange, and old. He pauses. I know he doesn't know what to do next. We agreed later, that it was his first day. He finally put it into the microwave and cooked it. After that, he toasted a Thomas' english muffin. After that, he put two slices of bacon that I think he brought with him to work into the microwave. After about 20 minutes, all the ingredients made their way onto the muffin and was served. Only at that point was he able to start the next order. Mine seemed to be a lot easier for him. Two slices of white bread were toasted. Then, two slices of American cheese were added, and microwaved. Voila! Grilled cheese sandwich.

The poor kid. A short order cook he was not, but he was sweet.

All in all, our experience was comical and entertaining. However, I don't think we'll be frequenting it for breakfast.
I did include a shot of Lyla living it up though.