A Friday Dinner-date
Frankie attends his first after-school trip. Mira and I take advantage of this to go to dinner by ourselves. A short drive to downtown Suffern, and we walk from the commuter parking lot in the center of town up to our favorite Mexican Restaurant, Hacienda de Don Manuel.
We’re early enough to be immediately seated, for a change. We order seafood entrees¬—Camarone Fajita and Enchilada Cancun—along with a small pitcher of red sangria. Then we relax in the casual ambiance, glancing around at the décor: colorful mosaics of traditional pueblo life, Mexican artifacts on the walls like sombreros, and the Mariachi, who has already begun to play for a house filling up fast.
Our entrees arrive. I savor my first bite: sautéed shrimp, mixed with melted cheese, green peppers, onions, and soft taco. It has a velvety texture that teems with flavor, balanced by the suitably bland refried beans and brown rice. I wash it down with a sip of sweet sangria as the Mariachi serenades us. He sings a song about the meaninglessness of a life without love.
How apropos!
chips and salsa
dim light glinting from
her closing eyes
Photo by Roberto Carlos Roman
