Meet Carlos:
He is the owner of "La Casita Mexican Cuisine" in rainy Mt. Vernon.
We ate there today and had the best time...
Why? Because the food was both authentic and flavorful with every bite! As self-proclaimed, secret salsa taste-testers -- their homemade salsa is both spicy and "muy delicioso". The chips were hot, the guacamole was fresh and Bill loved the secret sauce on his shrimp burrito. But wait...
This was not an easy day to be around me. I have not slept well all week. I am moody from inventory preparation at work. I spent 4 hours today training a (delightful) new employee. I am having a bad hair day. I missed breakfast and then skipped lunch. I had to go grocery shopping (and I HATE grocery shopping). All of these factors together were a Sherri-Disaster in the making. This was NOT good. Poor Bill.
Smart Bill. He volunteered to go grocery shopping with me. He said I could pick out anything I wanted at the store to make me happy again. I was indecisive. I could not decide what to get which was frustrating to Bill. So then he offered to take me anywhere I wanted to ease the Sherri-No-Food-Monster. After a little argument in the parking lot, we settled on this cute little Mexi restaurant near our neighborhood where we have had a previous good experience.
Brilliant Bill. He suggested we order some nachos to take the edge of my hunger. Within minutes, we were digging into a satisfying heap with all of the works. Perfect! Again, I was indecisive and was torn between two choices on the menu. Deluxe taco salad? Or a combination plate with taco & tostada? I asked Carlos, our friendly waiter, whether their tacos used fresh corn tortillas or store-bought shells. He said I could have it any way I wanted... Sold! (I LOVE corn tortillas.) Carlos disappeared after taking our late lunch/early dinner order. From my viewpoint, I could see Carlos in the kitchen and he looked busy. Soon he re-appeared with our plates and I couldn't help but ask if he was the chef too.
Turns out that for this afternoon, Carlos was the host/waiter/chef/busser/owner of the place and is prone to both firing himself (from these jobs) and rehiring himself all the time.
When he came back by our table to check on us, we had big smiles on our faces. Bill LOVED his meal and I LOVED mine. I had to tell Carlos. And this is was the frosting on this fictitious cake: he was charming and appreciative of our compliments. He explained his role in his restaurant and why he felt it was important to get involved with the cooking. We talked about his family-- how his dad incorporates many of their authentic secret recipes into the menu; how his tech-savy brother promotes his restaurant with social networking (they are on Facebook!) and his other brother designs new menus for the restaurant each season. We met his wife on our last visit and she was both sweet and sassy. I commented that I loved her "sass" and Carlos commented that it was because of her "sass" that he was host/waiter/chef/busser/owner and on his own this afternoon (said with a laugh).
FAMILY. That's what it is all about. And I am a big fan of FAMILY.
This culinary experience not only confirmed our love for authentic food (in this case, Mexi)-- but reinforced our belief that it is important to support local businesses within our communities. If you live near us, visit La Casita soon! If you are on Facebook, look up La Casita and join their friends list. Carlos has a daily special for Facebook Friends; all you have to do it "check in" via phone or computer and you will find yourself enjoying a fabulous meal with freshly-prepared ingredients and savory flavors. We joked with Carlos that if enough customers told him that they were sent by "Sherri's (Never A Dull Moment) World" that, perhaps, he might consider giving us our own daily deal. :)
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