Some favorite spots are worth keeping as secrets.
Every Friday morning I show up for breakfast at the same eatery. Sometimes, I dine with people I know. Often, I dine with people I do not yet know.
But it is a favorite because it is different than most places I eat. The only language I will hear is Spanish -- unless I am meeting one of my English-speaking friends.
Most of my guests will be locals on their way to work. During harvest season, truck drivers predominate. With a lumper here and there. In The States in the 50s, it would be the local coffee shop where everyone in a certain sector of town would meet to start the day.
And the food is not the usual hybrid fare served in most of the tourist restaurants around Melaque. Years ago, I devised a test to check the quality and consistency of food from restaurant to restaurant. Huevos rancheros is my constant.
When I first tried them at my secret spot, I knew I had a winner. The eggs are cooked at that magic moment between poached and solid. And because the eggs here are so fresh, you can taste every subtly that some hen put into her prized creation.
But it is the salsa that is the selling point. Chewy and filled with enough Serrano peppers to let your sinuses know reveille has sounded.
Top that off with a never-ending parade of homemade tortillas fresh off the grill, and you have a Friday morning that makes you a believer in long weekends.
I suppose almost everyone has a secret spot -- Food. Beach. People-watching table. -- that they would just as soon keep to themselves. And they should.
After all, some of the best things in life can best be enjoyed with a patina of selfishness now and then.
No comments:
Post a Comment