The departed

Out of nowhere, a few weeks ago, Mehfil restaurant bore a sign saying "We had to shut down because of a fire. We will be back." There was no warning, it just shut overnight. As a main source of lunch, I was disappointed (How many times can a human eat a sandwich or baguette?)

The sign, written by pen, was so casual that I assumed it would be back overnight. Three weeks have passed, it is still shut, and I'm worrying it will never come back. It's the only lunch place I cherish South of Market. Time to investigate just what went wrong.

I called, but nobody answered the phone. Lunch vendors are known to be gossipy, so I checked with a lady two blocks down as she made a tomato melt over foccacia bread.

"There was a fire in their kitchen," she said. "I think some kind of oil pan caught fire."

That seemed not too bad -- consider flambe -- so why was it was taking so long to reopen?

"The authorities have to inspect everything again," she said. Authorities investigate how it happened, whether the place is a threat to consumers and building residents, if it meets health standards, if it's a future fire hazard and what not. She couldn't stop rattling.

"It may be a little while before they reopen," she said, with a slighted look of pity as she looked downward to the sandwich, cutting it in half. "The restaurant business is difficult in many ways."

"But as long as it's shut, I'll get more business," she said, with a cheeky smile.