Lola’s Cafe — Poughkeepsie, NY, Monday September 11, 12:44 pm

The typical lunchtime rush is almost over, but Lola’s Café is bustling with activity. Customers scramble to get the next open table in the crowded restaurant. Behind the counter a cashier takes orders with a “You got it.” The bass from the stereo thrums, but the song is unrecognizable over the chatter of the crowd. Taking phone calls, the cashier places one hand over his ear.

If you live in the Poughkeepsie area, you know Lola’s. The hidden gem can easily be overlooked with its residential street location, tucked in next to the Walkway Over the Hudson entrance. The small café contrasts wood floors with a metal ceiling and industrial-looking lights. Fresh flowers in mason jars sit on top of the tables. Various awards and newspaper clippings hang behind the counter, and chalk drawings of farm animals decorate the walls.

Today’s crowd differs from the usual abundance of college students headed to their favorite lunch spot. Groups of adults file in to place their order, possibly locals, or tourists enjoying the sunshine on the walkway. The man sitting next to my friend and I inquires about how to get his food — does he place the order at the counter and it will be brought out to him? When we confirm this, the woman accompanying him asks what I was eating. I point it out on the menu, and she decides she too will have that.

After finishing our food, we exchange our goodbyes with the couple and leave them to enjoy their first taste of Lola’s. Still juggling the number of people placing phone orders, another cashier puts someone on hold to take care of us, then gasps at my friend’s change — $6.66. “I can’t give you that,” she says, and hands my friend an extra cent. We leave satisfied from our meals with an additional penny in pocket.