 "Photo: Brit Hackemack")
On the surface, tacos and break ups don't have much in common. Aside from being two things most UT students will likely encounter at some point over the course of their stay in Austin - hopefully more of the delicious former than the painful latter - the two could not be more disparate.
Each of my last three relationships has ended in varying degrees of hurt feelings, the most recent at the end of July. The result was that I ended up with a lot of "Alan Time" this summer - much of it spent playing Guitar Hero, by myself, in my underwear and eating tacos.
Recently though, my future UT Law classmates have been arriving in Austin and I've spent a lot of time getting to know them through Facebook-enabled get-togethers. Turns out "Social Networking" means more than just allowing potential employers access to incriminating photos from the "sleazy professors/naughty schoolgirl" party.
Saturday afternoon, after another web-enabled gathering that ran into the wee hours of Saturday morning, I called one of my new friends - I'll call her Lia - and invited her to lunch at the Taco Deli off of Barton Skyway.
As she got into the car, Lia told me that she had just broken up with her boyfriend of about 7 months. Having met both Lia and her boyfriend at almost the same time, and liking them both, I wasn't sure what to say. My first response was an incredulous and not all that comforting "Really?!"
Sitting on the patio at Taco Deli, we tried to talk about the food. I described my steak filled Taco Fundido as "moist" - for some reason most of what I eat seems to fall in to the categories of "moist" or "dry" - Lia offered that Taco Deli has "good tortillas."
Neither of us possesses the vocabulary of a foodie, and our conversation soon turned from tacos to relationships and breakups, something that we both had plenty to say about.
Lia had ordered a Happy Taco - I'm not sure whether this was a choice based on irony, ingredients or the hope that a cheerily named dish would lift her spirits. Regardless, Lia's taco looked sad - sitting by itself, half eaten on a sheet of wax paper. She told me that when I had picked her up, she had felt OK about her break up - it was something she had anticipated - but by the time she was halfway through her taco, she was starting to feel sad. Her Happy Taco had become a Heartbreak Taco
Though I too had recently experienced the many ups and downs of getting in and out of relationships, I was hungry and finished my plate of beans, rice and tacos. I tried to sympathize by acknowledging that, even if a break-up is "for the best," it hurts, it's lonely and it's sad. Kind of like when I found out that Taco Deli had already emptied out their salsa bar.
The Happy Taco was supposed to have cheese on it, but Lia's didn't. She did appreciate the fresh cilantro though, and mentioned that it's a key ingredient in many of Taco Deli's offerings. I told a story about how fresh cilantro played a key role in my last relationship.
So, is there some common thread connecting meat, tortillas and cheese and being with someone and then not being with them anymore?
Maybe.
As a recent episode of NPR's "This American Life" pointed out "breaking up with someone is literally the most common thing, like, everyone you know broke up with everyone they ever dated."
Living in Austin, people eat a lot of tacos. Sometimes they're outstanding. Sometimes, they end badly - the tortilla gets soggy, the ground beef tastes funny or you find a half-eaten band-aid. Eventually, one learns the ins and outs of the dining scene, where to go - Taco Deli - and where to avoid - Taco Bell. You learn what to order and what not to. It takes time and patience, but the experience is valuable.
Sometimes though, even a taco as delicious as the ones they serve at Taco Deli comes without the cheese you thought it would have on it when you ordered it.
In other words, sometimes a Happy Taco ends up tasting like a Heartbreak Taco. The next time though, we know to order something different.
Be the first to comment on this article!