Friday Night Eats

[I was just too busy all weekend to write this, so I'm writing it now.]

 

We went out to eat on Friday. It's a favorite Friday night dinner, lately. I drag myself home from school about 6:30 or 7:00. We're hungry. I'm tired. We realize the solution: Rubalcaba's Taco Shop. Please go to the link and read the comments.

 

I had driven past their cafe many times since I moved here, and then on a staff development day last year, our principal ordered us lunch from there. Apparently, the wife of the owner was once a teacher's aide in our school, and then quit to go to work with her husband when he bought this restaurant. In the comments, it points out that "it isn't in the best part of town..." and "it isn't the nicest place..." B.U.T.

 

The food. Yes, the food. It is superb. After we'd had our lunch at school from this little taqueria, I encouraged CoolGuy to stop there one day for our lunch. The carnitas tacos won his heart. Or at least his taste buds. They really are super-duper yummy. How can you go wrong? Slow-cooked pork butt that is then shredded and grilled in a bit of lard until there is a crispy crust on many of the pieces. Then, the tasty bits are tucked into fresh warm corn tortillas. You then slather them with your choice from the delicious salsa bar and enjoy. Myself, I vary my order between carnitas, chile rellenoes and----the best thing on a brisk autumn night---caldo de res. It is a beef soup that takes some tough old cut from the cow like neck bones, or shanks, and simmers it until the meat falls off the bones. Into this simmering broth goes a whole peeled potato, chunks of carrots, pieces of Mexican squash, cabbage and small corn-on-cob pieces. You then dump into this steaming bowl of deliciousness fresh pico made of chopped onion, cilantro and a bit of tomato. The scorching broth cooks the onion, and then you can also spoon Spanish rice into it for an extra bit of tastiness. Of course, it is served with a fresh, hot, homemade flour tortilla.

 

This is definitely not a fine-dining experience. It is squeezed into a corner lot next to a car repair garage and a dollar store. It borders a very busy street that has city buses chugging up and down, and along which people who are down on their luck shuffle along, hoping for a hand-out. The interior is furnished with cracked vinyl booths with tippy tables. The jukebox is filled with ranchero music and narcocorridos (gangster ballads). It's a little warmish in the summer, but quite cozy in the cooler weather because of the steaming kettles of delicious food and the ever-busy grill.

 

But the owners are so pleasant and friendly. And by now, CoolGuy has stopped by for enough lunches and we've come in on so many Friday nights, that they greet us like old friends and just know that I'll have horchata and he'll have an orange Jarritos to drink.

 

Last Friday was especially colorful. We pulled up on the bike and as we walked in the door, a neighborhood fellow smiled at me and said, "Kinda cold for a motorcycle ride, ain't it?" I told him that if I lived any further away, I'd have definitely needed my jacket. I was wearing a long-sleeved sweater with a t-shirt under it, my leather vest, and a wrap-around neck scarf. We ordered and then sat down and ended up chatting about the weather some more as those people waited for their take-out order. The guy who sells pirate DVDs was there with his big binder full of discs. A Spanish language dubbed version of "Incredible Me 2" was playing on the flat-screen T.V. that is hung on the wall over the vending machines. You can put in two quarters and get a chance to test your grip. Or you can get some fake tattoos. Or you can get any number of little plastic thingeys. No music was playing because of the video, but when we go in for lunch, we usually play a three song rotation of something with "Corazon" in the name. It's bound to be heartfelt and earnest. 

 

There was a steady stream of take-out customers who filled up small plastic dishes with salsa while waiting for their styrofoam boxes of dinner. Other tables were filled with pairs of men who were dressed in clothes that showed they'd spent the day working hard, and were now ready for a really filling burrito before they headed home for a shower. Then the door swung open and a fellow in a cowboy hat strode in, with his spurs jingling on his boots. He had on his suede half-chaps that are very distinctly Mexican. He ordered something, then purused the DVDs and finally picked up two drinks and strode back outside. I watched him leave and realized that he had come on his horse! His buddy was waiting on a horse in the parking lot, standing right by our motorcycle, holding his partner's mount. I watched them sipping their drinks as their high stepping caballos pranced off down the street behind the restaurant. Umm..yes, it's that part of town, too. There are still properties in our area that have corrals and are zoned for horses, goats, chickens, etc. Sadly, not my block.

We finished the last succulent morsels of our dinners, cleaned off our table and put on our helmets. We waved good-bye and thanks to our hosts and went out into the chilly evening. We live about a mile and half up the hill from our homey little food spot, and I cuddled tightly up behind CoolGuy to ward off the cool air. Another excellent choice for Friday night dinner after a really crazy week of 4th grade.