Tuesday and Wednesday were in full panic from my team due to a slipping work deadline. Not me though because I have done my part. Still, I was pulled into various meetings and have to sit through second guessing and passive-aggressive blame games. It also meant that my personal plans fell through. For both days, I only had time to go out for dinner.
On Tuesday, I was hankering for some cheap eats. I had soured on Pam's Roti since the lunch debacle. But then I remembered that Dosa Mahal also offered reasonable-priced snacks. Also, I haven't visited the Bloor and Lansdowne area since my sublet. The 40-minute loop gave me a chance to clear my head. I ran into an elderly indigent who wished me a happy life, like our previous encounters over the years. But this time, they added "instead of like me because you are smart". I guess a life of precarity eventually kills even a sunny disposition. I gave more than usual as I haven't seen them much since I moved back to Ottawa. Dinner was left-over rice with samosas (5 for $4.99) from Mahal and a beef patty ($4.50) from Caribbean Queen of Patties as appetizers.
It was even later on Wednesday, a whole day of sunshine missed, that I went to La Mexicana (Sabor A Patria) for dinner. This new spot took over from Mazz Sushi but it never seemed as busy as other Hispanic restaurants in the neighbourhood. They had removed the partitions that enclosed the private "tatami room" so the space felt more spacious. On to the good and the bad of La Mexicana. Good stuff included larger selection of tacos including items like tripe and sesos (beef brain) and tonight was 3 for 2 deal (not as good as Pastorcito but that was almost too much). But the bad was that instead having your own sides, you have to bring your tacos to a buffet-style set up for additional ingredients like onions, cilantro, and various chili sauces.
Because of the deal, I ordered 2 Pollo ($6) and 1 Pescado ($7) taco. Again, with the savings I also got a "Jamaica" drink ($5.50). I liked the first two with the soft and tender pieces of chicken. The breaded fish was also good although it could use better seasoning. Its bed of lettuce with a yellow dressing was a miss for me. The hibiscus drink was less sweet than a horchata, but I wouldn't order it again. A long time ago, I had a tropical concoction from a Jamaican Bar (now Boom Breakfast). I have never been able to find it again and a "Jamaica" in a Mexican cantina wasn't it either. Unfortunately, La Mexicana has some stiff competition so unless you were looking for a specific taco, it wouldn't be first choice.
In between those tensed meetings (where it was decided to create "phased" deadlines with the first being Friday), I played around with the numbers on a retirement tool. If I trusted the projections (within reason given our increasingly crazy world), I could pull the trigger as early as next year.
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