This morning, I stopped by my usual street cart on 57th Street to get my usual bagel, en route to my usual workday office.

When I stepped up to the window opening, I saw a brown-glassed bottle of Budweiser Select, on display with the usual coffee, tea and juice selections. Definitely looked out of place on that tiny, precious shelfspace.

I ordered my bagel, then asked the guy, “What the hell? Does anyone seriously order a Bud as a morning pick-me-up?”

I was imagining some commuters who routinely down a couple of beers during their evening trainrides home to Connecticut and upstate, and wondered if they hadn’t started demanding breakfast beers…

He laughed and said no. Someone from a nearby building gave him a couple of bottles of the beer, and he put one on display as a joke. Apparently he’d been getting plenty of reactions similar to mine (in fact, now that I think of it, the woman who’d been in line just before me seemed to be commenting on it as well).

This particular vendor is kind of a wiseguy — he sometimes makes me wait a few seconds so he can check out the chicks walking by behind me. So it’s completely in line with his usual mode of business. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn he did this just to spark conversation with customers. Obviously it worked.

Now I’m thinking, though: I’m betting it’s against the law to sell alcohol from those street carts. Even if it’s just a joke with no intention to sell, he could be risking a fine. That’s his problem, I guess; but I’d hate to have to find a new source for my morning bagel.