5 days of 21

Here it is. A blog entry weeks in the making. In August we discovered that the little Café 21 around the corner not only delivered good pizza, but also had a cheap daily lunch special available for take-out. This was my chance to check out and document some typical lunch cuisine for our readership. I’ve been trying to go there once per week, on a different day each time, until I completed the project. The following is the Menu del Dia from Café 21.

Monday – Bife a la criolla. Some thin steaks in a tangy gravy with carrots and onions. This might be my favorite of the five days. Like a pot roast. Heavy, savory and home-style. Simple and elegant. The cashier was really appreciative that I paid in exact change.

Tuesday – Pizza de carne. They should call it carne de pizza. It’s like a slice of pizza, but the dough has been replaced by a spicy hamburger. You still get the sauce and cheese and an olive on top. In Minnesota it might be called a “hot dago.” Mine came with mashed potatoes.

Wednesday – Pollo asado with papas doradas. People like to squeeze lemon on their grilled chicken. Today’s lunch was a little more expensive. The lady told me that chicken prices had gone through the roof. Also, she didn’t have any coins, so I owe her 50 cents next time.

Thursday – Pastel de papas. Similar to shepherd’s pie from your school lunch menu. A layer of thin dough, a layer of seasoned ground beef with onions, hard-boiled egg and green olives (with pits!), covered by a layer of mashed potatoes and baked. I always thought that the special of the day should be fast, but for some reason I had to wait 30 minutes for it to be ready. But it was nice and hot with a slightly crunchy top. It might have been a family-sized portion because I’m really stuffed.

Friday – Actually Fridays they make canneloni, ravioli, noqui, spaghetti or lasagna, according to the menu, but I never get take out on Fridays. So in its place is a picture of a tarta de jamon yqueso they had on a Thursday when they ran out of pastel de papas. The ham and cheese pie tasted a little like my mom’s Sunday brunch egg-bake. Tartas like this seem to be a popular, easy way to make dinner. You can just buy the crusts, fill them with whatever and pop them into the oven.