Dorothy was Right!

Photo by Melanie K.

Before I moved to UB many of my friends and family asked what I thought I would miss most about the U.S. I have a memory of my friend and fellow FVS colleague, Dorothy, telling me that I would miss Mexican food the most. At the time I thought that an odd thing to even consider. Food wasn't even on my radar. But it should be noted that Dorothy wasn't the only one to predict this--there were a handful of individuals that said the same thing. 

So I wanted to take a moment and say it--Dorothy, you were right! Though we have a couple of restaurants in the city that claim to have Mexican food--it is NOT the same as what I was accustomed to in Colorado Springs, CO (which has a representative Mexican population--my favorite place was 3 Margaritas). While I have been disappointed by the restaurants in UB, I have NOT been disappointed by Rosewood Kitchen & Enoteca's once-or-twice-a-year "pop up restaurant," La Rosa. This restaurant is co-owned/operated by an American-Mongolian couple and it's a favorite haunt for Expats and Mongolians alike. I enjoyed the Cinco de Mayo pop-up last year in May for the first time with my Mongolian gal pal, Doogii. Knowing how good the food was I made a strategical plan this year to enjoy it to its maximum. I scheduled myself for two seatings (there was a full menu to choose from)--first at 17:30 and then again at 21:30. 

Completion of La Rosa, Round 1

At 17:30 I was joined by two ASU colleagues as well as some of my fellow American Wives. In UB it can be easy to get stuck in fairly small circles of expats. This mix was a blast because we did not get trapped in talk about work nor in the minutiae of our family lives. Because different circles were mingled we talked about bigger topics. About gender identification, about racism, about our childhoods and coming of age stories. We talked about our mothers and our siblings. We shared funny stories and talked about trips and plans for the future. 

As our tummies filled up on margaritas and good Mexican food, it was time to depart and allow the 19:30 reservations to roll in. We went a couple of blocks down the street and continued our conversations over cocktails. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to La Rosa for our second seating. I had only made a reservation for two (they all thought I was crazy to book twice!).....but thankfully the manager squeezed in the five of us that were still going. And, as I predicted, hungry for another go at that menu. We ordered pitchers of margaritas--how did we miss strawberry on the menu the first time around?!?!! The place was packed and it was after midnight before we made our various ways home. Onne friend dubbed it best: "Round 2 was the best idea of 2018"!