Systems Overload!

There is this little restaurant in my town that I have been curious about for a long time. The name of the place is “Beana’s ” and the décor outside the place - brightly colored watering cans, a big flower box with huge fake sunflower plants, a huge cactus plant cut-out, some multi-colored flags and some neon lights - have always fascinated me. So I decided the other day to feed my curiosity and go in. This was an experience and a half! I think I have moved up a notch in my multi-cultural education.

Now the moment I walked in my eyes were overwhelmed! I did not know where to look or even when and where to sit. It was a small place with two seating areas and the whole place was crammed with stuff! There was stuff hanging on the walls and from the ceiling that made it look like an overloaded Christmas tree. The place looked like a bird’s nest (some birds, like magpies and crows, love collecting stuff especially shiny things). There were different types of Crosses hanging on the wall, many religious pictures and a few portraits of some guys in some traditional garb, there were shiny Christmas-like décor hanging off the ceiling. It just seemed to me like the there was not an empty space on the walls and the ceiling. Many small tables filled the place – each of these tables had a different colored and flowery tablecloth! The chairs were mismatched too. Two Mexican flags hung proudly in the room as were the sombreros on the wall. On top of the half-wall partition that divided the two seating areas, there were vases of plastic dark blue flowers and multicolored animal figurines. There were glasses and mugs hanging from a lowered part of the ceiling that ended at what look like the entrance to the kitchen. On the floor near a table at the entrance of the restaurant, sat the top sewing part of an old “Singer” sewing machine. This was fascinating to me because my mother had one those a long time ago – they usually came with a specially designed table that had a foot pedal for sewing. I wondered what it was doing on the floor, almost under the table – was this part of the décor? Was it deliberately placed there? Did it have some cultural significance or was it a sentimental one?

In this restaurant, you just walk in and seat yourself wherever you fancy. Now, then, just as if this was a movie set, in walks a gentleman… (Senor) to be precise! Coming from the kitchen area. He has on a sombrero, a bandana, a moustache and some cowboy boots (for lack of a better description here). The old man fit in perfectly with the whole atmosphere. Now honestly, I expected him to speak to the waiter in Spanish but he spoke in English, with no trace of an accent whatsoever! I concluded that he was part of the establishment there….maybe even the manager. There was no clearly designated place for a sales counter. The only thing that made me realize where it was, was the phone hanging on the wall and the papers near an old cupboard with distressed paint with a lone padlock in the middle (the kind that we used to call “Kabati” at my great grandmother’s). This ambiance was topped off with some mellow Mexican music that seemed out of place in this setting of clashing, loud colors, millions of hanging paraphernalia and mismatched furniture.

What about the food you ask? I wish I could say that it was as unique as fascinating as the place but alas, it was disappointing! The chicken quesadilla that I ordered looked like some left over chicken that had been shredded, with a hint of bean soup – salsa and sour cream together with Doritos chips came on the side. Honestly I have eaten better quesadillas at Taco Bell and Baja Fresh – and cheaper too. My impression of the food there was not helped by the fact that I had noticed when I came in that one of the tables had a Dunkin Donut paper bag on it. I concluded that it most probably had brought in a donut, maybe by one of the workers there (I doubt they would allow a customer to bring in food from outside). So if someone working there buys food from elsewhere, would that inspire a lot of confidence in the food there for me?

So would I go there again? Maybe for the appreciation of the cultural décor or to take pictures if they would allow me……