Food 04 Oct 2005 05:19 am
Cheers
As fond as I am of breakfast foods, I’m even more endeared to plates of heavy dinner food in the morning. I think Country fried steak with milk gravy and veggies after coffee was a great idea. Or steak and eggs. Fajitas make an EXCELLENT breakfast, with little slices of avacado and thick cheddar thrown in. Quite nutritious too. In fact, Mexican food as an entire genre makes me happy in the morning. It must have something to do with the steamy warmth of it, the zesty intensity of the flavor.
Mex done well, that is.
On Saturdays we’ve become “soccer parents”. The folks we used to laugh at, getting up early on the weekend to sit in canvas chairs beside a parking lot full of minivans are now the faces we see in the mirror each day. Instead of our Happy Saturday pancakes for breakfast, I make muffins and juice for the chickens and off we go. All I have is coffee, which means before the whistle blows for the half, my tummy is communicating loudly with my brain.
Forget angels and demons on my shoulder. Mine are organs and quite manipulative voices at that!
All it takes though is ONE hint of Los Amigos and it’s over. Our lunch fate is sealed. And if I’m particularly hungry, I’ll say it out loud, which means all of our friends begin craving plates of tacos and refried beans from the favorite mex haunt in town. They, of course, have full days planned after the game and can’t just dash over.
I actually meal plan our lunch out, which means there’s only one way our van drives at noon on Saturday.
Los Amigos is a typical looking place across from the library. It’s run by a Mexican family and very authentic; but not so spectacular to be much different than probably mex places in most other cities and towns. At some of these places there is cause to wonder about food safety and cleanliness. Not here. It’s clean, well decorated, kid friendly, and happy.
I need to move onto the food. Ah…the FOOD. Their refried beans are so good that Wheaton orders just a bowl of them. They aren’t pasty or tasteless, a bland backdrop to what is suposed to be the grand feature of the plate. They are a star in and of themselves! They are layered with flavor. Warm and topped with queso and the ultimate in Mex comfort food.
I order something that will have a side of cold toppings, loving the combination of the two extremes. This week it was the beef Chimiganga, which came drizzled with a heavenly brown mole sauce and topped with chuncky guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, and tomato. Oh my gosh! The steamy plate with all the very distinct smells and the evident textures was just too much to entertain much restraint! My chimichanga was very lightly crisp on the outside with hot shreds of marinated beef inside. The mole sauce offered a little kick of spiciness, that when mixed with the rich guacamole was very nearly bliss. It’s so hard to put into words the complete satisfaction, right down to the pores, a craving completed gives. I was eating with a smile on my face, cleaning my plate, trying to stay composed enough not to lick my plate in public!
There are other reasons to love Los Amigos. We’re weekend regulars there now and they know our names. Hence, the title of this post. Jacob is our waiter; he looks for us to come in. He is a dad with a daughter Wheaton’s age and he loves to talk to our kids. He asks about thier games and how they did. He brings them free oranges and bowls of mints. He makes sure the warm and fresh chips keep coming and water glasses are full. He even sits down and chats for moments at a time. He asks us about parenting.
This Saturday a retired man came up to us and told us what a great family we had and what well-behaved children! I tell ya…friendly adults in public places makes a huge difference in how kids behave. Kids who are invisible, or are treated like they are, will definately act up much more.
Later, as we walked around the green belt taking in the new changes in the fall scape, I thought about how fun it is to live in a place for short a time and already be “regulars”. To see a service staff decked out in Tennesee Vol shirts and be happy the team is playing that day. To be able to walk through the park in the middle of town, cross the street to the library, and bump into homeschooling friends all along the way.
That night we hiked up Look Rock, which has an overlook of the whole area. Blue hills, folded mountains, pristine farms, lakes and rivers were panoramically displayed. It’s an “on a clear day you can see forever” kind of place. How can someplace that is really still so new to us feel so endearingly familiar?
What happens to the round peg being fit into a square hole when she’s finally placed in a round one? I’m finding out.
on 04 Oct 2005 at 11:25 am 1.Banner Granny said …
Ok now I’m drooling…we will definately have to visit this Mex. resturant when we come up. How wonderful, you “fit” into the place where you are… such a blessing. I think we will fit that way in Hilliard as well….I hope so. Mom
on 05 Oct 2005 at 12:32 pm 2.Gina said …
Great blog Tia. For some reason, I too have a love for Mexican, but just the mild stuff. We don’t have a good Mexican place here, which I miss about G.R. Have fun in your round peg- I’m so happy for you.