Day Seventy-One: It's So Hard to Find a Good Restaurant These Days...

One of the first things my boyfriend and I bonded over was our love of Mexican food and flavors. If it has some sort of cheese, diced tomato, and chilis in it, we will eat it and love it. But despite our love of flavors South of the Border, we are hard-pressed to find a really good Mexican restaurant near us. But thankfully, a lot of people love Mexican food, so there are plenty of restaurants near us...unfortunately, none of them are good enough.

My favorite Mexican restaurant is a staple in my life. My parents have been taking me there since as far back as I could remember, and I always loved it. I love the atmosphere, the delicious Tex-Mex flavors, the music, and the free mints they give you when you're done eating. And it makes it even better that it's a local, home-grown business, devoid of any outside chain influence. The best part about the place is that completely by coicidence, I will be living exactly one block from it in two weeks. Beautiful.

Unfortunately, my Mecca of deliciousness is a bit pricey for anything more than a special occasion. And, unfortunately, my beau has a stubborn streak with restaurants, and one bad experience is enough to scratch it from his list of eateries. He once went to the bar on the first floor (the restaurant is on the second) and was thrown a snide comment about tipping (which he always does more than adequately), which was enough to make him angry. Thus, my favorite restaurant is not somewhere we can go together. Lame.

We've had bad service at a few other places, and others are simply too far to drive to. But we finally thought we found the perfect spot for us to go when a new, large, very authentic restaurant opened up about ten minutes from us. So we've been there a few times now, and all has been well. We had maybe one bout of bad service, but the food is so good and so affordable that we set it aside. But last night, after a lovely meal, we got a free gift with our meal that is never welcome and lasts a lot longer than the lingering, delicious taste of guacamole and chipotle peppers.

So, do we go back?

I'm seriously beginning to doubt it. But if anyone knows of a good, affordable, independent Mexican restaurant in the area with a good track record and a nice reputation, PLEASE let me know. Because I'm getting desperate.

Day Sixty-Four: Bad Food is Delicious

Within this epic health-kick I have going on, I made a few minor errors. For one, I had a couple of Bloody Mary's on Saturday night and topped them off with a greasy, delicious, authentic Philadelphia cheesesteak. And yesterday, after making my peanut-allergic boyfriend some oil-saturatated Chinese food (because he'll die if he eats the real thing, more than likely), I bought a bag of Hershey's Special Dark Minatures. And although I felt guilty about the Chinese food (because I'm not a huge fan of Lo Mein), the cheesesteak and the chocolate were delicious, which just shows me that no health food, no matter how good it makes me feel, is a replacement for good, amazing junk food.

There's a reason so many people eat junk food: because it tastes amazing. Sure, it might make you feel pretty terrible and possibly gain weight, but it's so delicious, that every once in awhile it just absolutely has to be had. I still enjoy my Kashi products, and eating good, lean meals make me feel more energetic and lighter. But there's something about a juicy, greasy, cheesy sandwich at midnight that just makes you feel alive and happy about life. Would I want one everyday? Probably not, because I'd feel terrible. But eating delicious, greasy food while I'm having some fun just makes the experience a little more fun. I love granola, but I also love nachos. I love carrots, but I also really love dark chocolate.

So I came home from work, at a sensible, well-portioned meal, and then ate five pieces of candy. And you know what? I don't feel bad about it. Eating some bad food every once in awhile is not going to kill me. Eating it on a regular basis, however, will. But it's the little things in life that really makes it worth living. If I were fifty and diabetic, I might have to eat like I do. But I don't, and that's what makes it better. I have the youth and the freedom to choose how I eat without having serious consequences. So sit back and eat some chocolate and a cheesesteak every one in awhile.