After an early morning doctors appointment, in need of caffeine, and in a rush to complete a thousand little errands before a flight out of town, I stopped at a McDonalds downtown to pick up coffee.  I was just about to run out with it, dishing the depressing breakfast crowd, when I spotted an unoccupied cafe table with two big, fawn-colored Swan Chairs near the front door.  Enticed, I sat down, and then I stayed, watching people walk up and down Broadway for the better part of an hour.

I’m not big on the whole revival of “Mad Men,” mid-century modern style.  The furniture looks great but it doesn’t typically work great.  There’s something insubstantial and decorative about so many of the pieces.  But this chair is something special; it felt good to sit inside of.  A classic, designed by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen in 1959 for the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, and still produced today by its original manufacturer Fritz Hansen, it’s sympathetic with pop, postmodern, and eclectic, contemporary Jonathan Adler-type styles.  This is an inspired choice of seating for a fast food restaurant.  It slows things down.