I must have been around eight or nine years old at the time. Our class was having a potluck party- maybe for Christmas or something- and all of the students were encouraged to bring one or two items of their choice for the lunch buffet. I knew immediately what I wanted to bring because these items were super fucking delicious and how could anybody NOT like them and I knew all of my classmates were going to swarm my treats and I would be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Best Buffet Item in Mrs. Stallone's 3rd Grade Class.
Excitedly, I told my mom what I wanted.
"BUNUELOS AND HORCHATA!!!!!!"
For those of you who did not grow up in a town that's basically the equivalent of Little Mexico, bunuelos are lightly fried flour tortillas, topped with cinnamon and sugar.
And horchata is only the best fucking drink on the planet unless you're weird and don't like the best things ever. It's a sweet beverage that looks like 2% milk, but it's actually rice milk with cinnamon and sugar. (I'm beginning to notice a pattern here.) It's similar to those fancypants rice milk drinks you buy at rich people stores, only about a million times better.
I remember stopping at Taco de Mexico on our way to school the morning of the big party. I remember seeing my mom lug two gallons of heaven-juice back to the car. I was so excited. I mean, I WAS SO EXCITED. Just like, Ralphie from A Christmas Story, when he's sure his essay is so great, it will cure blindness. (Or whatever.)
Have I built up the bunuelos-horchata combo enough for you??
Can you tell where I'm going with this?
Of course, fucking NOBODY wanted my treats.
Those pre-tween jerks didn't even know a good thing when it was placed right in front of their picky little faces. And you'd think with a class full of children who had probably all had these items before, they would have been clawing each other's faces off to get seconds. Jerks. Double jerks.
To this day, I still can't believe my south-of-the-border delicacies went unappreciated.
Also, I still LOVE horchata.
Disclaimer: If you have never tried horchata, do NOT buy that crap at the grocery store. Trust me. Go to a legit Mexican restaurant for it. The more "hole-in-the-wall," the better. But if the horchata has cantaloupe and walnuts in it, turn back- you've gone too "hole-in-the-wall."
4 comments:
I had a similar experience with dim sum. Took some of my high school friends there, because who doesn't like steamed awesomeness? High school guys, who apparently need name cards on every item that say: Stuffed with pork, just like you.
Anyhoo, I feel your pain.
That totally sucks! I would be heartbroken and crushed. I have never tried horchata, but I am putting it on my list for next time I am at a hole in the wall Mexican place.
This sounds like 90% of my dinner parties. I make something I think everyone is going to think is awesome, and it turns out not to be. But this is usually because a new recipe is a flop and I wasn't smart enough to try it out beforehand. I would eat the shit out of your bunuelos and horchata.
God I would have been ALL OVER THAT SHIT. I am seriously salivating just thinking about it.
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