Wow, that was a long brunch! But I expected as much.
Juan and Pete and David, thanks for the wonderful reports!
Where to start? Sarah and I got there a little after noon because the subways weren't making local stops below 14th Street and we had to walk a bit further. But guess who got there the earliest? The people who live furthest away! Anke, David and JeffWrangler were already sitting at the bar when we arrived. It was so great to see them and know that the Broncho was at last a reality! We finally sat down around 12:30, still missing Juan, who appeared closer to 1:00 thanks to his taxi drama. We were nine altogether (montferrat and DeeDee didn't appear), but you could say we were 11, since Kirk and Pete called and talked with us for at least an hour. Amy, HobokenJeff and Jenny rounded out our group.
We sat at two tables pushed together, one round, one square, and a built-in wooden booth curved around two sides. It was cozy enough to hear most of the conversations with a little effort. Pictures of cowgirls and rodeo paraphernalia were everywhere. It was Lureen Land! We took lots of pictures. Mine aren't digital, so it will take awhile to get them developed and scan them, but Anke's should be viewable as soon as she gets to a computer. Anke also interviewed each of us (except Amy, who clammed up like Ennis when faced with a microphone
) and will ask Phillip to make the audio available onsite so we can all hear it.
The food was hearty, and everyone chowed down on eggs, grits, biscuits, pancakes, fried chicken and quesadillas, washed down with mimosas. JeffWrangler had an impressive looking Bloody Mary with an 'interesting' garnish, which you will see when I post photos.
Anke brought gummi candies, Sarah passed around miniature animals with Brokebackian significance--elk, mules, sheep, coyotes, horses, dogs--and I gave everyone bandannas. JeffWrangler had the best outfit--a black cowboy hat and a Western shirt. Very sharp! Amy gets kudos for organizing the reservation and doing the math on the bill. We missed John Gallagher terribly, but we felt he was with us in spirit. I saved some goodies for him which I hope to deliver soon.
After brunch we went across the street to Whiskey Dust, the Western store, and sorted through the treasure trove of cowboy clothing, gear and paraphernalia crammed into its two small rooms. We made the saleslady very happy--she had lots of sales to report to her boss. I told her to give the credit to
Brokeback Mountain. 
Juan and HobokenJeff had to leave, but the rest of us trooped over to the Leather Man to check out an incredible array of sexy attire--enough for several small cow & calf operations. We then went for drinks at Chumley's, a very old Village establishment that was a famous speakeasy back in the day. JeffWrangler and David left us eventually to wend their ways back to Philly and Connecticut, leaving Jenny, Amy, Anke, Sarah and me to walk up to Maracas, a Mexican restaurant on Greenwich Avenue, to eat, drink and gab yet some more. Incredibly, we bumped into HobokenJeff on the street (he'd gone to check out a big war protest in Union Square) on the way back to his car, and he rejoined the party.
So at last we're back home after a fabulous day of Brokeback goodness. What's better than making new friends (even though they're really old friends), eating great food, getting tipsy and having adventures? It don't get much better than that! Thanks to all my fellow Brokies for a wonderful day.
