Always Believe El Camarero

I'm not sure if years of playing guitar have given me tough fingers, or if every waiter/waitress I've ever had thinks I look like a wimp. But every time I'm told "Careful, that plate is hot", it only turns out to be mildly warm. At the most, it's hot, but just cool enough for me to scoot across to my corner of the table.

I'm used to that by now. Every time they caution me to be careful, I nod and say thanks, and reach out for my plate. I don't even think twice now. Silly them.

Today, my family and I visited a local Mexican restaurant called El Torito. A family favorite that we've been visiting since before I was born. As we walked through la puerta, a Mexican gentleman showed us to our mesa. He said "Buenos dias, can I get you something to drink?" Which, if my college level Spanish is correct, means "Good dias, can I get you something to drink?"  What a friendly guy! But then, I learned a valuable lesson just a few moments later.

That lesson came when el camarero brought my cheese enchilada and chicken flautas to the table. "Muy caliente!" he cautioned. My college Spanish kicked into gear and I understood that he was telling me my plate was very hot. I grinned as he set my plate on the table. I'd heard this one before. Sensing a possibility of warmth coming from my plate, I played it safe and used my very strong pinkies to scoot my plate a little closer to where I was sitting.

Ouch.

When you have nerves of steel like I do, it is easy to hide any feelings you might have, or any emotions that may come. Somehow, though, el camarero figured out that I was in seething pain. Or at least my pinkies were. He stood at the end of our table and shook his head. "I told you so." he quite audibly scolded.

I laughed. My parents laughed. My siblings laughed. The table behind me laughed. El camarero laughed. My enchilada probably laughed too. We all had a good time.

So let me give you all this word of advice. When you go to El Torito, and your camarero says your plate is muy caliente, believe him. He's not kidding.