Someone suggested a place in Monrovia for Mexican food but after learning of the location I was pretty sure I had already been there. Then I looked it up and it turns out I went to the place next door! I even did an HR review of their red-carded plate. Hmm, maybe I’ll let Monrovia redeem itself. Fuck it, let’s go!
Continue readingI was around before Day of the Dead festivities became a marketing strategy that lots of American corporations have signed on to. Even Mexico has latched on to this new version of DOD, doing a yearly parade based off of a movie scene. It’s a bit hard to remember that time when Día de Muertos was a very simple act of thinking about your dead and hopefully visiting them at their graves. I think Self Help Graphics were the first to bring public attention to this yearly ritual in the US, doing it with some really cool and thoughtful events out of their old space in ELA on Brooklyn and Gage.
But that horse has now left the barn. Now DOD has become a calendar event divorced from traditions and largely based on sugar skull motif designs, a Disney movie, and tons of cheap plastic products that you can find at your local retailer. A bunch of institutions that you wouldn’t associate with this ancient funeral practice want to create their own version of this meaningful custom. Why? I have opinions but I will keep them to myself. ¿Que se la va ser? Because of that, I thought I would share this very simple video of a family from Culiacan, Sinaloa practicing the old and simple traditions that I know of in regards to Día de Muertos. (I follow them on youtube for food recipes!) No face paint, no sugar skulls, not even the beautiful Papel Picado that I love that is more common down South. Just the act of visiting your dead and paying your respects, that’s all.
And that’s enough.
I usually try to improve my cooking skills, I am not always successful. I still cannot make an amazing omelette like Jacques Pepin, but I no longer feel bad about it. After seeing this amazingly bad way to make a quesadilla, I feel more at peace with the world. He doesn’t seem to care that he uses a shitty looking tortilla de harina, some months-old jar of “hot salsa”, shredded Vons cheddar cheese (trust, I know!), and some canned corn for his oily ass lunch. So why should any of us get upset about some recipe not coming out perfect? We all have our own skills that make our lives unique, maybe interesting, hopefully better. But Jacques, a world famous chef with incredible talents, has none for making quesadillers. And that in itself is a point of relief, an exhaling, a sense that we are all on the right track.
Happy Cooking!
You may not know this about me, but I am a major fan of Biscuits and Gravy. No, I am not joking. This might seem like a stupidly unnecessary statement but if you live in Los Angeles you are just outside of the terrain I like to call Biscuit Country. It took me some time to figure this out but if you take enough road trips just a few miles out of LA County, you’ll soon be in the enchanted land of biscuits and gravy. Alas, even while being in BC, you will be hard pressed to find some vegetarian biscuits and gravy, that’s like some exotic bird that only migrates through a territory for a few days or so. But I know of this place in Flagstaff that I’ve given squatter rights in my mind (down with rent!) because I do want to be reminded regularly about their fabulous biscuits. Since I was planning a trip in this direction my magnetic compass pointed towards this stopover where I would be assured a nice breakfast.
Look at that beauty! Some nice warm biscuits smothered in a rich, thick, and satiating gravy which has me puzzled as to what it’s made of. Flour, black pepper, and who knows what else? Add some of their steamed eggs and it’s a big breakfast to fuel you up for that long drive. Did I mention they also have great coffee? Yeah, they do.
I don’t know when, but I will be back to have these again.
Macy’s European Coffeehouse & Bakery
14 S Beaver St
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
macyscoffee.net
Hola amiguitos! Aqui les traigo otra instalacion de mis babosadas en forma de un HR review!
As you all may have noticed, HR reviews have been few and far between. One obvious reason is that blogs are dead. Every time I start working on a post it feels as if I’ve pulled out the ol’ Selectric to write a letter of complaint to some outfit or other. I used to really enjoy the blogging days before social media. For a brief moment it really felt like people were open to online discussions. I made a few friends and so many enemies, it was great! Nowadays I can’t be bothered to engage. Basically, Me Vale! The other reason for the dearth of HR reviews was my avoidance of eating out since the pandemic hit, which I am still doing. Why hang out amongst potential sick people when you can probably cook something tastier at home? Nowadays I mostly order out when its just easier to pick something up rather than think ahead and do all the prep work to make a meal. But maybe Recreational Eating is about to make a big comeback in my life, quien sabe?
Wait, none of that has anything to do with HR’s, sorry about that! On to the show!
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Yay, we made it! Despite it all! Wot a crazy year that 2022 was, que no?
Did I travel? No! Did I get Covid? Yes! Was it a year full of anxiety and stress? Claro! Were there moments of joy and peacefulness? Possibly! Was shit still falling apart all around? You know it!
Bah, whatever, I’m not going to think about the year that was cuz I’m just looking into the bright future, nothing can stop us now!
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