Ferry Street at Golden Hour

Every evening around 6:30, something shifts on Ferry Street. The lunch crowd has cleared. The dinner crowd hasn't arrived yet. The florista on the corner is closing up and the churrascaria two doors down is doing its first seating. This is the hour I go to Fernanda's. The cheese bread is fresh because Fernanda makes a second batch in the afternoon. She does this because she grew up in a house where there was always food available when people came by, and she runs her shop the same way. I've watched people stop in the doorway and just stand there, holding a warm pão de queijo, like they needed a minute before they went back out into the evening. I understand the impulse. Some places make you want to slow down without explaining why.