In the beginning...
Every journey starts somewhere. This one starts in a strip mall in Annapolis MD.
I am here with my sons. James is 8 and Graeme is 6. We are doing something together. I am attempting to satisfy their newfound desire to be internet celebrities by promising them to put our sojourns on the internet in an effort to divert their concern from refreshing their YouTube channel to see how many subscribers they have (6 as of this writing) . My motivations are related to chile relleno, tacos al pastor, finding the spiciest salsa in the city, spending time with my sons, getting my sons out of the house to give my wife relief (by only having to care for the other 2 kids), having an outlet to write my innermost thoughts disguised as a taco blog, and, of course, continuing the never-ending quest to find the perfect carnitas.
We are embarking on our oft talked about quest to visit every Latin cuisine establishment in our city. Annapolis is the kind of place that is diverse, but to any given citizen that mileage may vary. You cannot buy a starter house in my neighborhood for less than $450,000. My neighborhood association gatherings are the opposite of diverse yet my son’s school (which is a 7 iron from my house) is about 80% African American and Hispanic. Like many places in this country we have made our city segregated. For the majority of Annapolis, the minority areas are hidden and can, for the most part, be avoided by the citizenry that is prone to want to do so. When I have excitedly raved to people about the incredible Mexican or Salvadorian place in Annapolis that I went to I have often gotten perplexed responses about where I am even talking about. These restaurants and trucks are blocks or even feet from where ‘my friends’ often travel but they go unnoticed.
I am not ‘discovering’ hidden gems nor am I thinking that my attention on them matters. I am trying to make sure that my sons encounter, celebrate, and enjoy the totality of Annapolis beyond khaki and quarter zip sweater crowd events. We are going to eat tacos and report on the quality of house margaritas, but we are also going to grapple with these bigger thoughts as we proceed.