Wednesday we took Mr. Nelson out to the Texas Embassy for his 25th birthday. When the Great State of Texas was its own sovereign country (1836-1845), the Republic set up an Embassy in the Berry Brothers wine store on St. James Street in London. The Brits made a generous offer to defend Texas and help Her remain independent forever (they didn’t want the Yanks to get their sticky fingers on it), but alas, the Texans decided to cast their lot with the Americans and the Embassy closed in 1845 when Texas became the Lone Star State. The restaurant sits next to the now defunct Embassy building and occupies the former home of the famous White Star Shipping line, owners of the Titanic. This is the very building relatives came to when news of the sinking hit the British press. That infamous tragedy has long since been forgotten; its memory replaced with the joy that comes from a Tex-Mex Cantina. Having contracted various tropical diseases over the years, I can tell you that none compare to the horrors of salsa-deprivation disorder (SDD). I cannot describe to you how painful London has been culinarilly – when the British label something as “spicy” it means they have used extra sugar in the tomato ketchup base… my kingdom for a jalapeño! The salsa and fajitas we consumed at the Texas Embassy were twice as expensive as they would otherwise be back home, and only half as tasty, but it was absolutely wonderful. It’s actually been really easy to eat healthfully in London – the food is that bad. When Sam came down for the UT-OU game, he bought some crisps and wanted me to try them. I have a special weakness for crisps and had been purposefully avoiding them, but it turns out I was unnecessarily cautious, since crisps are really disgusting here – I ate one handful of “Lamb and Mint” crisps before swearing off British flavors for good. Beef Stew also seems to be a very popular crisp flavor here. I love the British, but I don’t understand how a people could straddle the globe with their Empire, and not gleefully abandon their domestic cuisine. Painful. Oh, and a short note on homesickness. You never feel so much a Texan as when you leave Texas. I have always been critical of my State and Her people, and indeed there are many things we must change about our society if we are to meet the challenges of the Texan Century… but I digress. Traveling Europe and living abroad makes me appreciate what we have in Texas. Brothers and Sisters of Texas, please don’t take it for granted. Apart from missing family, friends, and food, I suppose I miss Hispanics most of all - seriously, there aren’t any Hispanics over here and I really miss their language, music, food, and culture… Texas would be pretty lame without them. Grace & peace y’all, and enjoy the jalapeños.
5 comments:
Te estrañamos tambien. Espero que tenga un buen tiempo en Londres. I still can't see you as governor of Texas, but I suppose if Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura did it you may have a chance. The whole coronation in the Alamo with the white Stetson and a purple robe may be a bit much however.
Tu eres la marica mas grande que he conocido en mi vida.
Nunca votaremos para ti! Jamas!
Gracias por el español, él calienta mi corazón. Usted nunca votará por mí? Mi madre dijo que la misma cosa... mi futuro político es mala. And I would like to set the record straight about the coronation dream: I was standing in the Alamo when a gloriously bright white Stetson descended from on high and settled on my head, while a voice declared me king of Texas. There was no purple robe. If I remember correctly, this dream occurred during senior design project, so it was either prophetic or an act of open rebellion by an egotistical superego – perhaps the id had a seizure. Solamente el tiempo dirá. Tolerancia & Paz.
mmmmm.....habinero peppers.
hey mr matt. I wanted to say, i havent looked at your blog recently, and today i have looked on the texas entry for the first time, on the eve of UT's greatest comeback in football history. We won, after being down by 28 points to Ok. St.
it was so incredible. Also incredible, the movie the incredibles, if by some chance it crosses your mind to relax, and see an american movie, i highly recommend it.
SO, i dont speak much espanol, but what i can say about habinero peppers, is...muy caliente en la nalga. We had our first HSL guy retreat, and to my horror, during our "fear factor" team competition, Drew A. and myself both scarfed down a habinero, the hottest pepper on earth.
so, we are now experiencing life threataning pain when going to the loo, and we did think we were going to pass out during the eating.
peace, i hope to talk to you soon. Gabe.
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