Cravings

While I was recuperating from my broken ankle, a friend came over and brought me delicious Taquitos.  Since then, I have craved them and asked her where she bought them. "Near 72nd and Federal. A man has a stand and is not there all the time. He sells them from a cart in the parking lot!" Today I decided to go and see if I could locate the man with the delicious Taquitos. When in Mexico I was warned not to eat anything being sold from a cart so I thought it was ironic that I was looking for a man with a cart . I would hope it is different here in the United States!

When I couldn't locate the man with a cart, I opted for my second craving.  Green chile. Not too long ago, a friend and I went to a place in Old Town Arvada called Santiago's for chile fries. Her son had recommended the dish to her so we thought we would try it. The restaurant is old and did not look super clean but the food was tasty and the cooks were wearing hair nets. In my estimation, that is a good sign. An odd thing about the booths and tables is that they face every which way with no rhyme or reason. The room is large and the adjacent room looked as if it might have been a bar at one time. As my friend and I ate the fries smothered with green chile I realized that the potatoes were a bit much and thought that the next time I went to Santiago's I would just order the green chile.

"Whenever I met someone who

does not consider chile a favorite dish, then

I've usually found someone who has never

tasted good chili."

Jan Butel, Author of "Chili Madness"

After my futile attempts at finding the man with the cart, I drove to Santiago's. I was brought a huge, steamy and spicy bowl of green chile.  I ended up ordering a side of beans to make the spicy chile easier to eat. I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch of green chile and beans. I liked the price even better.  $4.00 for the large bowl of chile with two tortillas and $1.75 for the beans. I brought home enough chile and beans for another meal.

Do cooks put something into the food that makes our taste buds crave the food? I know that since my friend and I tasted the chile, I have had an urge to eat it again and today I satisfied my craving for green chile.

"Wish I had time for just one more bowl of chili."

Alleged dying words of Kit Carson (1809-1868)