Missing The Heat

When I started preparing for my new adventure in Michigan in the summer of 2010, I had no idea what to expect. I was not familiar with Midwestern life nor the drastically different weather. It was not long before I realized that a lot of the things I took for granted in Texas (and Houston) were no longer accessible to me.

Of course I missed the various hole-in-the-wall and mainstream Tex-Mex restaurants that you seem to find on every corner in Houston. I also missed the small cafes in the Montrose area: brunch on the patio at Empire Cafe. Outdoor cafes are not common in Michigan. I assume it has to do with the abusive and brutally long winters, which I had the opportunity to experience from September 2010 to what seems was the middle of April 2011. I also missed Beaver’s, in particular their fun cocktails and one of my favorite menu items, the macaroni and cheese.

Eating “barbecue” in Michigan was a particular disappointment. There was nothing smoky about the cooked meat that was obviously mislabeled. I yearned for the Texas taste. Another good dish gone wrong was enchiladas. In Michigan they were always runny and bland. In the end I just gave up looking. To me, nothing compares to the cheese enchiladas topped with jalapeños at Cyclone Anaya. And I missed the house margaritas and mixed fajitas from Lupe Tortilla, which are served with tortillas just the way my grandmother makes them. On my first visit back to Houston, I couldn’t wait to eat “The American” – scrambled eggs with cheese, Cholula hot sauce, buttered toast and diced potatoes with bits of bacon – at Goode Co. Taqueria.

The Houston lifestyle is quite different from East Lansing, Michigan, and it would be an understatement to say I was homesick. The city of Houston has such a variety of food, which the Midwest lacks (except for, I’m told, Chicago). Besides diversity in cuisine, I missed our museums, The Heights, the parks, festivals, concerts, sporting events and, of course, the people I had left in Houston.

Last semester I transferred from Thomas M. Cooley Law School to South Texas College of Law. I’m eating well once again.

In this short SideDish series, Hungry For Home, we’ve asked a few native Houstonians who have been relocated (dislocated?) to share their cravings for Houston dining with our readers. Cassandra Garcia is a graduate of The University of Houston and a sorority sister of mine — who I am glad to have back where she belongs. — Taylor Byrne Dodge, SideDish editor