Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Takeout

Pablo and Jan have been such great hosts since I arrived. I am paying room and board, but still feel like they are giving me so much by allowing me to stay in their home. They have had a ministry of hospitality for most of their marriage. Missionaries traveling through, work groups, pastors in town for a meeting and lots of extended family members have been welcomed with a meal and a bed with no questions asked.

Jan , her mother, Flo and Amalia had been working hard all day moving Amalia and her husband Albert into their new quarters and I knew the last thing Jan wanted to do was whip up supper for 8, so I suggest we go out to the local Tacorilla for supper, my treat. Jan gratefully accepted the offer, but Amelia was struggling with Pricilla, so she and Albert decided to stay home. We promised to bring them a takeout order of tacos.

We decided to walk to the restaurant that groups had visited during the summer. It is owned by a lady from their church, so they trust that she uses sanitary preparation methods, which one cannot assume here. There is no health department that comes around and grade restaurants here. We got there to find it closed, so we walked to one run by Pablo’s cousin. It is small, with plastic tables and an open grill where the cook prepares the meats that go on these tacos.

The tacos here are more like small open face soft tacos, not the hard shell variety we have back home. The tortillas are small, about 4 inches in diameter. They are served with various kinds of meat, beef, goat, pork, and chicken are the standards.

We ordered a couple of rounds of tacos and really enjoyed meal. We then placed our order to go which included a drink. They brought the meal in a plastic grocery bag and then came the big surprise. Since the drinks they serve come in bottles that require a deposit, the waitress poured the Fresca into a sandwich baggie, put a straw inside and put a twist tie around the top. I about fell out of my chair when she handed that baggie to Flo. We laughed all the way home because the drink had been refrigerated and Flo’s hand got really cold holding that baggie.

Many of the things we take for granted in the states just are not available here or they choose not to use them. But what the heck, it was a new experience, a great meal and I fed 8 people all they could eat for 181 pesos, about $18.

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