La aventura de "Los Amigos"

The "Burrito Amigo" at Los Amigos

Woohoo! It’s payday and that means that I was finally able to go to Los Amigos on Stadium Drive and do my restaurant assignment.
I wanted to go to Los Amigos because I have never really had authentic Mexican food before, I mean I’ve had Chipotle, Taco Bell and Qdoba but that’s not Mexican food at all.
I also wanted to try Los Amigos because I had read Like Water for Chocolate that dealt heavily with Mexican culture and Mexican cuisine, so I wanted to give it a try.

My friend, Domenica and I went around lunch time and was instantly sat and given a fresh basket of tortilla chips with probably the one of the best salsas I’ve ever had. 
Not wanting to spend a bunch of money, I ordered a simple, but large burrito called “Burrito Amigo” which I believe translates to “burrito friend…?”
Domenica was boring and wasn’t hungry so she munched on tortilla chips.

I was going to ask my server what it meant but he had already scribbled down my order and was off to give it to the kitchen.
Not 15 minutes later, he comes out with a piping hot platter of refried beans, fried rice, with lettuce, sour cream, tomato and cheddar cheese on top of a beef burrito.
I really had to pace myself throughout the meal, it was sooo good and you can totally tell that the ingredients were carefully homemade.

 
It wasn’t busy at all, but for some reason, the wait staff was always on the go. Nobody was standing around or making small talk with patrons.
When I asked for my check, I was still eating my burrito and when he dropped the check off, he picked up my plate and dropped it into the bus tub behind our table.

Damn.
And I had a decent sized portion left to eat too… Oh well, I guess I know what to order when I go back. It was delicious! They seemed to have a large selection of food too, so I may be brave and order something completely different next time!
I guess, I should just be more defensive over the food I’m eating before I let someone take it away from me again! Haha.

 

I Hope That's Kosher With You...

Lexie’s presentation on Monday really gave me a better sense of awareness of my attitude towards cultures and religion outside of my own. I thought it was really interesting how she mentioned the terrible murder that occurred at a Jewish Center in Kansas and she mentioned that two of the people who were killed weren’t even Jewish! Being raised Catholic my parents never told me that we were wrong for believing what we believe, however, they also never told me that we were right for believing what we believe and we should have the same attitudes when we meet people outside of our faith.  I don’t know how to describe it or why I feel this way, but I feel close to people of the Jewish faith, like we’re distant relatives. Like I said in class, It was taught to me in my catechism classes that the Jewish faith is the roots of Catholicism, so when Lexie brought up the incident in Kansas, it really struck a nerve with me.

Though I was moved by the topics she discussed in the beginning, in the spirit of the theme of the class, the focus turned to food, most importantly on the beginning of Passover and it’s food traditions on this holiday. First, she showed us a video of all the different food laws essentially outlining for us all what is “keeping Kosher” and “not keeping Kosher.” Before the lecture, I thought keeping kosher was staying clear of any and all pork products. That meant no bacon and no ham.

Actually, there’s way more.

Followers of the Jewish faith are restricted from also eating birds of prey, which Josh and/or Anthony pointed out that it made sense it was restricted for health reasons. I didn’t even know that it was a thing to eat birds of prey... like would it even taste good? (I’m trying not to think about it as I’m typing.) AND followers are also restricted from eating cheeseburgers because it goes against kosher tradition to eat beef and dairy in the same meal. Which isn't all bad because honestly, you can live without cheeseburgers... and I mean that in every literal way.

My favorite food tradition is sitting down to a Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Green Bean casserole and pumpkin pie at Christmas. My favorite part is the pumpkin pie… with whipped cream of course.

Great presentation Lexie! 

Response: Global Warming Lecture

Until our lecture with Dr. Karowe on Monday, I guess it was safe to say that I was definitely a “global warming skeptic.” I mean, before that lecture, I somewhat believed in global climate change but I felt like the term “global warming” was a term that the media hijacked and made out to be a bigger deal than it needs to be. In 2004, Hollywood played with this idea with the release of the film The Day AfterTomorrow where a scientist is forced to brave a global climate shift (due to global warming) in order to save his estranged son.
However, Dr. Karowe’s lecture on Monday seriously opened my eyes that maybe the media, including Hollywood, weren’t blowing this situation out of proportion anyway, and that maybe global warming is a bigger deal than I thought it would be.

A lot of people make the argument that making the switch to alternate energy would be incredibly expensive, however, according to Dr. Karowe’s lecture, it would actually cost us more money if we didn’t do anything at all.
This is a really serious point that I had not taken into consideration. When you factor in the cost of alternate, green energy and compare it to the damage done by the amount of CO2 emissions we pump into our air, it’s only logical that the cheapest solution would be making the switch to clean energy and start the phasing out process of coal.
I also found out that 40% of earth’s surface is used for agriculture, which is a little less than half however, 25% of the land is too dry for agriculture.
I believe that when you factor in issues of global warming, it will only compound this problem. However, my biggest fear is seeing the price of gasoline and food increase over the next few decades because people are refusing to think about alternative ways of getting our energy.
I was pleased to see that he had mentioned that buying a more fuel efficient vehicle can help you reduce your carbon footprint on the planet. When I get my first big job, I hope to find a newer and more fuel-efficient vehicle to drive.
It’s not much on my part, but I’m really hoping that my generation can start to turn this problem around.

Everyone Loves Some Lard Lad Donuts!

In the spirit of our discussion on food parodies and ironic representations of food in our society, I took a look at one of America’s most popular televised comedies…
Many of you are aware of the show called, The Simpsons. Currently in their 25^th season, The Simpsons have redefined comedy animation television with its slapstick humor and almost controversial character dialogue. If you have never watched The Simpsons, the show focuses on The Simpson family, residing in Springfield, USA. Possibly an allegory for a type of “Main Street, USA”  Homer, who tends to be a little dense, Marge, who shows unconditional love for her family, Lisa, who is a straight A elementary school student, Bart, a wise-cracking 10 year old and Maggie… who really just likes her pacifier… a lot.
The show pokes fun at popular culture and well-known symbols of our American society. They parody Burger King and McDonalds with “Krusty Burger” endorsed by a depressed, temperamental celebrity clown, and they even make a point in pointing out the use of lard in baking things such as donuts.
Lard Lad Donut shop is found in Springfield, complete with a giant-sized man holding a giant donut with the words, “Lard Lad Donuts” painted on them.
The police chief, Chief Wiggum, loves visiting Lard Lad, even when he is on duty. This perpetuates the stereotype of how cops love donuts.
The term “Lard Lad” implies that the ingredients that they are using in these donuts are literally lard or lard based. According to Wikipedia, Lard is pig fat and can be used in cooking as cooking fat, shortening or a spread, like butter.
Personally, the name “Lard Lad” doesn’t set well with me, which is probably why the creators and writers of The Simpsons have named it, possibly, to poke fun at the idea that donuts are incredibly unhealthy for you and ARE actually being cooked, fried, baked (whatever) in lard.
Much like Grand Theft Auto, I believe that The Simpsons follow a similar agenda in making a satire out of American culture and specifically our consumption of donuts.

A Place at the Table: Response

I always thought that I struggled with paying for my groceries and I was feeling a little hungry from time-to-time because I’m in college and that’s what’s expected.
Everyone knows that I’m busy all day and all night and working is hard to do.
That leaves me with a really tough question:

Does that give me a hall pass to feel hopeless?

Today, I grabbed a friend of mine and went to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in downtown Kalamazoo to watch a film called A Place at the Table. It was a documentary that lasted about an hour and a half long.
The film covered a plethora of different topics from food inequality, food justice, welfare issues, political issues, etc.
As I’m watching, I’m starving.
I got up this morning at about 8:00 to walk the 2 miles to campus to start my day.

I hadn’t been able to feed myself all day… but even if I did get a chance to grab something to eat before I headed out the door what would it have been?

One bowl of cereal to last me for 9 to maybe 12 hours or more?
Then what? Instant pasta, bread, protein mix and spaghetti noodles inhabit my pantry.
I’m watching this film as people place orders for deep fried food, cheeseburgers, popcorn and fries.

I look over and shake my head… How ironic is it that we’re watching a documentary about people starving, food inequity and national hunger and just 40 feet away from me, some fat bastard is chowing down on his hamburger.

Then the realization slaps me across the face.

Am I in this category? Am I food insecure?
Sure, I have money in the bank and food in the cupboard but not much… and there are times I have gone without eating dinner to help me save money or save food.

I don’t think I’m food insecure and I don’t think I’m in as nearly as a difficult situation as the people featured in this documentary… though some days, I feel their pain… both physically and emotionally. I definitely know where my next meal will come from, but it still isn't easy...

But then again, whoever said this was easy for average Americans.