The woman had scarfed down many chalupas
in the Taco Bell drive-thru at the ash end of 3 a.m.
She wolfed down the $3 dollar tacos with “chalupa” shells,
seasoned beef, a three-cheese blend, tomatoes,
lettuce and “reduced fat” sour cream,
with a robotic intensity and general incuriosity about its origins.
So she was shocked when she sat down with her kid
at the immigrant-run El Amigo restaurant
that served fresh salsa with freshly baked tortilla chips.
She had never actually tried an authentic chalupa,
a flat tostada-like deep-fried mold of masa dough
filled with meat, onion, chipotle and salsa.
The manager told her it was in fact
the kind of chalupa you’d find in Oaxaca or Puebla.
He told her he’d replace it, remove it from the table or take it off the bill.
She begged off but ultimately stormed out of the building
without paying the $12 bill, ultimately landing a felony charge
she appealed all the way to the state court of appeals.
The higher courts probably should not be adjudicating
Mexican cuisine, Tex-Mex and pale fast-food imitations,
but it was what is was; however it was served up, it was what is was.
