ZZZipi

As I sit, beer in hand, back where it all started, I can’t help but have mixed feelings. This is the third time I have dined at Barbaro. But the first, where I wait with anticipation and fear. Because you see, the first lunch I had in Buenos Aires, was at this very same place. And it was here that I had the most wonderfully delicious steak sandwich of my life! The sauce they used on the tender and perfectly cooked slab of meat melted on my taste buds. The melted cheese on top oozed over the sides onto the bread making it look picture perfect. The lettuce was even fresh and delicious. The fries were greasy and salty just the way McDonalds makes them back home. And to top it off, a cold corona with lime. It put me in a state of euphoria for the rest of the afternoon. When lunch time rolled around everyday for the next 2 weeks I longed for my delicious Zipi! I speak of this Zipi like a starving cast away that hasn’t eaten in weeks. But no joke, that’s how good it was. But then the temptation got the best of me, and I just happened to find myself in the neighborhood of Barbaro during lunch time one sunny afternoon. The gravitational force pulling me in was stronger than any other universal force combined. My mouth began to salivate. My legs and feet where moving in the direction of the sandwich without my mind even telling it to. The body knew what the mind needed. But to make a long story short and to get to the point of why I'm writing this… the second sandwich did not live up to the hype. I was completely unsatisfied. The sandwich was nothing like I remembered it. And maybe it was my fault that it didn’t taste as great the second time. The hopes, expectations, and the way I had put it up on this pedestal, I think I might have over hyped it. Even the corona couldn’t save this lunch. So here I sit, writing, wearily waiting for my waiter to bring my order. I have tried to convince myself that it won’t be that good. Maybe that way when it is ‘rico’, I will be pleasantly ‘not’ surprised and enjoy it that much more! The time has come, my throat is dry, my hands are cramping, and my heart is pounding, my stomach aches and groans, my eyes judge. It looks good. The first bit… excellent! The first fry… excellent! A gulp of corona with lime… eureka. Lunch was a success. The zipi is back!!!