Fine Dining

Has anyone ever posed this question to you: Do you eat to live, or live to eat? 

If not, ponder it for a moment.

Someone asked me that back in high school, and my self-conscious self worried about what the correct answer was, and then shyly answered “eat to live” because somehow that translated to being of the ‘skinny’ mindset. Nowadays I would answer the other way with all the confidence in the world.

I live to eat.

I love food. It can easily turn the worst day ever into a brilliant moment. I look forward to what is for lunch or day dream about what I can make for dinner. And I absolutely love meeting up with a friend over a meal or some drinks. Food brings people together in the happiest of ways. I don’t save my money to spend it on the newest movie, gadget, fashion trend, or toy; I prefer to save my money and treat my belly to delicious meals. It genuinely has this drastic affect on my mood. Call it an obsession, addiction, disorder…whatever you like. I call it a love for the finer (tasting) things in life. I genuinely appreciate the infinite amount of flavors out there and how they can mix harmoniously in intriguing, exotic, and mouth-watering ways. In another life I would be a 300-pound chef with my own restaurant.

Honduras is not exactly a country that I would label as the “cuisine capital of Central America” or a “food-lover’s paradise.” I have acquired some unique tastes while living here out of desperation to maintain a full stomach or simply having no other options to eat. I have started experimenting in the kitchen and actually cooking for myself in an endless pursuit for a scrumptious meal. So if anything Honduras has really encouraged my passion for food because I constantly find myself drooling over imaginary meals. I am no Emeril or Julia Child, which is a huge shame that I can’t personally satisfy my taste buds on command. Instead, I have looked forward to long weekends to travel to bigger cities in search of delicious food. I critique each potential city and give preference solely based on what kind of food or restaurants I can find there. Please don’t feel bad for me or worried that I really am developing a serious condition; just imagine beans, rice, corn tortillas, and eggs every day of your life (more than once a day) and you would start admiring food the same way.

In anticipation of a recent long weekend I found myself weighing the pros and cons of a handful of cities, and trying to decided where was the best to go. Naturally food was at the top of my life. Molly and I settled on going to the Copan Ruins for our weekend getaway. I have already been there, twice, so there really wasn’t a need for me to go back. There isn’t even a need for me to blog about the city because there is nothing new I could write about the place. However, this time I will focus on one aspect of my weekend (with a few treasures peppered in there): food.

(If you are not interested in reading about all the food that I digested in a three-day weekend, I will not judge you and I encourage you to go ahead and stop reading. However, if you do wish to read on, proceed at your own risk: you may be drooling by the end of this blog. You have been warned.)

We chose to splurge a little and stay at this beautiful bed-and-breakfast hotel. We were the only ones staying there so the staff was particularly attentive to us. (And the owner mentioned that we looked like we were “from the boondocks” when we arrived, so maybe he felt a tad bit sorry for us.) We were greeted with ice cold water and tea – ice cold! Ice is not something every kitchen in La Unión has! For breakfast they offered buttermilk pancakes or scrambled eggs with cheese and veggies tossed in. Both plates came with a fruit plate, fresh-squeezed juice, and an endless amount of coffee and homemade bread with strawberry jam. Then every night they would turn over our sheets and leave a little chocolate on our pillows. We instantly fell in love with the staff. The hotel has an in-house masseuse who boasts “the best massage you’ll ever have!” We couldn’t just trust the words of strangers… we had to find out if the rumors were true! Molly and I both scheduled full-body massages. They lived up to our expectations in every way possible. That particular evening was heavenly as she worked out all my teaching-induced kinks, and then I lounged about afterwards drinking hot tea in a soft bathrobe. The tea was just the icing on the cake. The hotel was a great place to call ‘home’ for the weekend.

I, of course, had tagged some of my favorite restaurants from previous visits to Copan. One of those places is called Via-Via. We ate there for two meals. On the first stop I ordered chicken fajitas, Via-Via style. They stuff tortillas with cheese before cooking them to make something called a ‘papusa.’ Then they topped those with fajita-style chicken strips, onions, and green peppers. And a refreshing salsa, ‘chimol,’ to drizzle on top. I also indulged in a banana-strawberry smoothie. The second meal there I got the house sandwich with roasted potatoes. I’ve discovered that a sandwich is a very ‘American’ thing to eat. I don’t care if it was stereotypical, it was delicious.

An extremely close contender for ‘best meal’ goes to a lunch at Café San Rafael. This place will forever live in my memory as the wine and cheese place of Honduras. I would live in Copan just to get a weekly wheel of cheese from this place. Molly and I both ordered milkshakes with paninis. I sipped on an oreo and coffee smoothie, and savored a bagel with brie cheese, apple slices, bacon, and strawberry jam. IT WAS AMAZING. There are not enough words in the English language to describe how happy this sandwich made me. The entire wait staff watched as we eyed our sandwiches, let out gasps of excitement, and let drool dribble down our chins – we were a spectacle. I did not care, my eyes were on the prize. That sandwich will go down in history as one of the best that I have ever eaten. I will not even attempt to duplicate it because I do not want to ruin the memory of this brie-and-bacon dream.

The title of ‘best meal’ belongs to the 5-course, authentic Mayan meal we ate at Hacienda San Lucas. This ranch is tucked into the hillside of Copan and offers breathtaking views with exquisite experiences. The price of staying at Hacienda San Lucas was out of our price range, but we did drop the Lempiras to enjoy an evening at the ranch. Molly, Rachel, Kate, and I all decided it had to be worth it. We started with a yoga session in their pavilion that overlooks the whole valley. Our instructor was very patient with our uptight teacher bodies and immature giggles over the positions. She led a very simple stretch session to calm us down and release all the built-up tension harbored in our muscles. It was the definition of peaceful being surrounded by nature in its most beautiful state and relaxing my whole body. I am considering leaving the field of teaching to become a yoga instructor.

We changed out of our yoga gear and into something a little more feminine to enjoy a romantic dinner together. We sipped on wine while watching the night crawl over the town and all the lights come to life. Then we got in our ready positions for the feast:

The first course was a salad of cantaloupe, green beans, carrots, onions, olives, nuts, and cheese drizzled with Jamaica vinaigrette. It was sweet and tangy at all once. (I did not think that I liked olives but I decided to give them another try – it is confirmed, I do not like olives, green or black. One olive was the only crumb left on any of my plates throughout the entire meal.)

The second course was a maize soup. It tasted very similar to creamed corn, but a fancier version. I do not generally like soups but I can tolerate them if they are creamy. There was no need for ‘just tolerating’ this soup, it was quite yummy!

The third course was a tamale covered in mole sauce. They cook tamales in corn husks and with chicken hidden inside. The mole sauce on top really brought a typically bland food to life.

The fourth course, and main course, was the highlight. We were served the typical sides of rice and corn tortillas, but both were accompanied with delightful foods: there was this creamy chicken concoction cooked and presented in a corn husk, carrots sautéed in orange juice, and green beans smothered in sesame seeds. I have never tasted anything like this course so I cannot compare it to anything human.

The final course was the desert. It was a type of short or pound cake dipped in a ginger liquor sauce. On the side were bites of candied papaya in the same ginger sauce and cloves. (This was probably the group’s least favorite part, but I enjoyed it and was going to successfully say that I ate every single plate placed in front of me.)

I’m not sure how authentically Mayan the meal was because it tasted far too delicious for such simple ingredients. But I will not question the validity of it because I would recommend the restaurant and eating experience to anyone visiting Copan – it was simply to die for. It certainly was a lot of food but every bite was appreciated.

Are you wiping the drool off your cheek yet? Have I successfully shared my passion for great food and converted you to a “live to eat” kind of person? If not, well then I personally feel like you are missing out on one of the greatest joys life has to offer. I hopefully have at least convinced you that if you ever do find yourself in Honduras, do not despair, there is good food to be found!

On a more serious note, please be praying for the safety and peace-of-mind for my roommates and myself. This past week we had a visitor creeping outside of our house many nights. Since my window goes out to the porch, he mainly bothered me but there were a few occasions when he woke everyone up. We had to call the police and start putting a lock on our gate. So far we’ve been able to keep him away but I sincerely hope it’s a permanent change. I did not enjoy waking up to his shadow in my window, his hand coming in through my window, and the sound of him jiggling the door handle or trying to kick the door down. I had quite a few high anxiety and sleepless nights, and the added stress is the last thing this girl needs right now! I’m now uncomfortably on-edge whenever I hear the gate open or see a shadow pass by out front. Pray that he stays away from us and ceases to bother our house. I am confident that the Lord is constantly watching over and protecting us here.