A table at Elijah’s, “because we can”

I hadn’t eaten inside a restaurant since June, more than two months. And to be honest, I wasn’t exactly itching to. But, the county decided dining rooms could re-open at 25 percent capacity, and I needed a place to sit and work while my car was getting serviced. I settled on Elijah’s, the Kearny Mesa restaurant, deli, and bakery.

Elijah’s has a decent amount of patio space, but I didn’t want to cope with glare on my laptop screen. Besides, it’s got a pretty vast dining room, with high enough ceilings that I could tell myself any airborne virus would probably dissipate before reaching my table. And it was uncrowded at breakfast time. I talked myself into it.

Or maybe another customer put it better. Asked whether he and his wife would like to dine indoors or out, they opted for in. “Because we can,” he said with a chuckle.

I wasn’t after much: a breakfast sandwich to go with my morning coffee. The breakfast bagel sandwich, made on a house-baked bagel, looked just right for $10.95. Better yet, it turned out to be a daily special from 8am til 9:30 each weekday morning, when it goes for $4.95. Just like that, I saved six bucks! Perhaps I would try a few cookies from the bakery after all.

From my seat facing the door, I watched as other customers began to trickle into the restaurant over the course of the next hour. Some stepped gingerly, as if they were walking onto muddy grass. The county tells us 58 community outbreaks of covid-19 this summer were traced to indoor dining establishments. So even though the state and county say we can, for now, it’s not surprising diners should feel tentative about returning to indoor dining, when it’s been forbidden five of the past six months.

My sandwich was a simple affair: a larger than average sesame bagel, with cheddar melted over a fluffy omelet and breakfast sausage links. I probably should have ordered corned beef hash or something — some type of breakfast plate that I haven’t been able to get while doing take out. But the ‘rona has gotten me into a breakfast sandwich habit I can’t seem to break. Psychologically, I must want something I can run away with, if the flight instinct takes hold.

Part of the emotional toll of eating out during a pandemic I suppose. Hence the cookies. Three kinds of ruglach, and a couple chocolate dipped macaroons. All fluffy, crumbly, and sweet. Something to nibble on while biding the time at my table, a luxury I have not indulged in for too long.

Will I again soon? I go back and forth. The weather’s nice enough to stay outdoors, and take-out orders are far too easy. I imagine restaurants desperate for that 25 percent dine-in service appreciate the quasi-normalcy, and I imagine some 25 percent of San Diegans are likewise eager to come back inside. If only because we can.