Chips

Before moving to Dallas I didn’t know what Mexican food was.  I didn’t know what chips were.  Not potato chips, but tortilla chips.  You know the ones that are served in Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants.  The ones that come in baskets with salsa on the side.  The ones they keep bringing you as long as you keep asking.  The ones that are free.  I remember having tried these in New York at some whatever sort-of Mexican restaurant, but don’t recall even liking them.  But Dallas has, as of last count, 591 Mexican restaurants.  I have done no research and cannot attest to the authenticity of these restaurants, or whether they’re made up of Mexican, Tex-Mex or taco joints.  But that’s an awful lot of restaurants serving free chips and salsa.  In Dallas alone.  Way too much temptation!

We relocated in the spring and the weather was nice.  We went out a lot and tried several Mexican restaurants.  Fell in love with the chips.  Then summer arrived and I was just not used to the Texas 100 degree summers so mostly stayed indoors during the day; eating chips and salsa.  I didn’t just eat them, I devoured them.  That was the summer I developed a deep and abiding love affair with chips and salsa – and it showed.  I went up a few sizes in a couple of months and my family started to make jokes about filling the pool with hot sauce, getting me a job at a Mexican restaurant to save money, and lastly, breaking my jaw.  But I didn’t care.  My devotion for the chips knew no bounds. 

Happily I got my bearings and put the brakes on.  But to this day I cannot go to a Mexican restaurant and abstain or just eat a few.  Chips and salsa are comfort food.  And the more comfort the better.