Tonight, I was in one of my I don’t feel like cooking and I’m bored with my food moods. I could have whipped up a Moroccan spiced lentil stew that would have cured that, but instead I decided to see if any of the food carts had set up for the evening.
Having been on a diet of corn tortillas for ages, I’ve been eating a lot of ‘Mexicany’ food for a while now and it’s pretty mundane for me. I’ve already had my fill of chips and salsa. There’s lots of wonderful options at sit down restaurants for seafood and the like, but when it comes to fast food, none of the options are super appealing to me.
So when I saw that the only cart that was up and running so early (Mexicans eat late) was the hamburger one, I decided to take a chance on it.
The cart was very new looking, better condition than many food carts I’ve bought food from in the U.S. I watched the lady work and she was very sanitation conscious. I hesitated to agree to lettuce and tomatoes, but eventually did so and saw her handle the veggies the way I would have handled mine at home.
The resulting burger had an absolutely forgettable patty of something unidentifable as even being related to beef, a nice thick layer of ham that gave me the protein feel I was craving, American-style cheese (both white and yellow and better than the stuff I get back home), really lovely fresh tomatoes and crisp lettuce, a wonderful buttered bun (bread is SUCH a treat!), and, most importantly FRENCH’S MUSTARD. I can’t believe I bought into the bull about mustard being AWOL in Mexico. There was no relish, so I used their very drippy Del Monte ketchup for a little sweetness.
Despite the hamburger patty itself being absolutely bewildering, having the texture of a veggie patty, the sandwich as a whole was just what I needed tonight apparently as it really hit the spot!
I had a nice conversation with the cook, who just prattled on at me and patiently repeated each time I apologized and said that I wasn’t understanding her. Her husband came by and was excited to find someone with whom he could practice English (seriously, he’s having trouble finding people with whom he can practice English?!) and in the end, I paid 25 pesos for a 35 peso burger.
I’m not convinced that I’ll be going back for another burger anytime soon, but I’m glad I ventured out tonight and took a chance. Next week, I need to find the ‘crazy potato’ stand…
An unknown fast-food shop is always a chance encounter. Glad that most of the sandwich satisfied your craving. I recently had a fantastic burrito at a mobile kitchen here in NM. Sounds like you’re getting settled in at your place there. Enjoy!
I have to ask, do you find that the corn tortillas stall your weight loss like flour ones do for me or did you not eat them while you were losing the bulk of your weight?
Pleinguy, I agree! And it was pretty dang good. I’m tempted to go back and order one without the patty. Just the ham and cheese and veggies and mustard and those buns! 🙂 I am settling in nicely, just missing internet! 🙂
Liz, I introduced the corn tortillas after I’d lost the bulk of the weight, but for a similar size tortilla (smallish, maybe 6″?), the corn ones I was eating were about 60 to 70 calories and the flour ones about 120 to 140 calories!!!
Moreover, I don’t really adore the corn ones, so I’m happy with just one or two. I could easily scarf down three or four of the flour ones! I’m also unlikely to raid the corn tortilla bag and slather one with butter as a snack!
Thanks! I’m down about 40 so far, but crave some of that food at times. Very hard to go without.
For me, absolutely nothing is forbidden now. But at the beginning, I gave myself about three months to ‘detox’ and then a lot of the cravings left and never came back, especially the ones for sugary treats. I’m much more able now to have ‘just one bite.’
It’s obvious that I still enjoy ice cream regularly. But instead of two scoops in a waffle cone, I go for a kids size (if they have one) or a small in a cup.
It’s really a mental exercise more than a physical one. My point wasn’t to ‘lose weight’ but to ‘get healthy’ with losing weight being the reward. Once I made that commitment to myself, I just didn’t want that junk stuff as much as I used to.