Welcome to The Receipt, a series documenting how Bon Appétit readers eat and what they spend doing it. Each food diary follows one anonymous reader’s week of expenses related to groceries, restaurant meals, coffee runs, and every bite in between. In this time of rising food costs, The Receipt reveals how folks—from different cities, with different incomes, on different schedules—are figuring out their food budgets.
In today’s Receipt, a 30-year-old newsletter writer and pharmaceutical case manager making just over $90,000 in Washington, DC, cooks buttery garlic naan and Kenji López-Alt’s San Francisco-Style Vietnamese American Garlic Noodles, indulges in an all-you-can drink aperitivo hour, and forgets the Lactaid before a late-night cheesecake snack.
The finances
What are your pronouns? He/his/him
What is your occupation? I’m a case manager for a pharmaceutical company, which means I connect patients with resources that help them access their medication. I also write for a popular local newsletter.
How old are you? 30
What city and state do you live in? Washington, DC
What is your annual salary, if you have one? My base salary is $76,000 and I usually make about $15,000 in annual bonuses. The newsletter is a volunteer position, but I made a little over $1,000 writing it last year. My partner is a grad student with a stipend in the low $20,000s.
How much is one paycheck, after taxes? $1,781.77
How often are you paid? (e.g., weekly) Bimonthly
How much money do you have in savings? $1,000–$2,000. Most of my savings are in my 401K and IRA.
What are your approximate fixed monthly expenses beyond food? (i.e., rent, subscriptions, bills):
- Rent: $1,200
- Power bill: $40–$70
- Hulu (No Ads): $17.99
- Wow Presents Plus: $4.99
- New York Times subscription: $4
- Gym membership: $40
The diet
Do you follow a certain diet or have dietary restrictions? I don’t have any dietary restrictions but cook mostly vegetarian food at home and opt for some meat options when eating out.
What are the grocery staples you always buy, if any? Shallots and garlic, cilantro, lemons and limes, Cento anchovies, oat milk, a baguette, tofu. If I can make it to one of the Korean markets like H Mart or Lotte in Virginia, then Thai basil, bird’s-eye chiles, sauces like fish sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, etc. I also buy their halal chicken. (Not for religious reasons; it’s just great quality.)
How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home? I usually eat at home around four to five days a week and dine out two to three days a week.
How often in a week did you dine out while growing up? My family rarely ate out when I was younger; maybe a few times a year on birthdays or when I had good report cards.
How often in a week did your parents or guardians cook at home? Like many immigrant families, my parents cooked at home every day, attributable to a combination of pinching pennies as a frugal middle-class American family and a desire to preserve an important part of our cultural identity.
The expenses
- Week’s total: $377.72
- Restaurants and cafés total: $371.01
- Groceries total: $6.71
- Most-expensive meal or purchase: $94.91 (aperitivo hour for two with apps, pizza, and bottomless drinks)
- Least-expensive meal or purchase: $0.99 (Hazelnut Croissant)
- Number of restaurant and café meals: 9
- Number of grocery trips: 1
The diary
7:55 a.m. My alarm falls on deaf ears this morning. I am admittedly not a morning person, and my attempts to start waking up at 7:55 so I can say “I was up at 7” are, once again, futile. Muscle memory enables me to press snooze a few times and catch 20 more minutes of z’s before I finally stir and get out of bed.
9:15 a.m. I check my work phone to make sure nothing urgent has come up over the weekend. (Nothing has.) Next, I check the weather app—an essential part of my morning since I bike to the office—and layer appropriately for the increasingly cold weather. Sunny with a high of 55 today, meaning I can get away with a T-shirt, a shacket, and gloves. I pack my lunch, work phone, and work computer and ride the three miles to the office, arriving a little after 9:30 a.m.
9:47 a.m. I lock up my bike and head up to my office to set my things down. I’m not the biggest breakfast person, but as is tradition I indulge in the free Bullfrog Bagels provided by my office on Monday mornings. My corporate overlords don’t get everything right, but bagel Monday is an indisputable office-wide hit. I opt for an everything bagel (toasted, with jalapeño cream cheese) and manage to get a cup of the fruit salad that typically gets devoured by 10 a.m. I round out my meal by making a double oat milk latte using the complimentary office Nespresso.
10:22 a.m. I graze on my fruit cup while responding to emails and planning out my day. I work my way through my bagel, eating one cream-cheese-smothered half at a time. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but Bullfrog Bagels are definitively mid-tier on my mental list of the Best Bagels in DC. (It’s hard to beat the simplicity of Bagels Etc.’s bodega-style breakfast sandwich or the perfectly baked bagels at Bread Furst.)
12:33 p.m. I head downstairs to eat lunch with my coworkers. I’m especially excited because I brought yesterday’s leftovers: homemade chicken vindaloo and garlic naan. My partner is not the biggest cook, whereas I love cooking, so I was really pleasantly surprised when he came up with the idea to make his favorite Indian meal and bought all of the ingredients for me to make it. This is the second time I’ve followed Meera Sodha’s naan recipe in Made in India, and I knocked it out of the park—the naan were tender, flaky, garlicky, and, of course, perfectly buttery since I cooked them in homemade ghee. There is more depth to the flavors of the vindaloo after sitting in the fridge overnight and I scarf it all down, wiping my final bites of naan onto the dregs of sauce in my container. I wash it down with an S.Pellegrino sparkling water (free, provided by my office).
4:35 p.m. The sun is shining and I’m able to bike home in just a T-shirt. I take my time heading home, taking in the foliage as I bike. It takes closer to 20 minutes to bike home since it’s an uphill return trip, so I make it home just before 5—right on time to have my late afternoon coffee. I brew a Nespresso Bianco Forte pod (previously bought, $12.50/10 capsules) and add a splash of oat milk and nurse it while checking my work phone for any last-minute tasks.
5:57 p.m. Feeling sufficiently relaxed, I head to the kitchen and peruse the fridge and pantry for some dinner inspo. Whenever I make rice, I always make a few extra cups so that I can whip up fried rice later in the week, and I have two extra cups of rice from our vindaloo dinner. I find some previously purchased onions, carrots, eggs, limes, Thai chiles, and a block of tofu and get started on dinner. The vast majority of effort for making fried rice is prepping ingredients, so I start off by pressing my tofu and move on to meal prep. Next, I dice one onion and one large carrot and set those aside on the same plate (they take about the same time to cook so I can add them together to the wok), mince about five cloves of garlic and six Thai chiles and set those aside, and then cut my tofu into cubes. I toss the cubed tofu in a combination of potato starch, salt, and ground black pepper, and then shallow-fry them in my 12-inch fry pan in two batches. While my tofu is frying, I whisk up four eggs with a splash of water and a splash of oyster sauce.
6:31 p.m. Time to cook! I turn my gas burner on high and set my wok onto the burner, allowing it to heat up before adding a generous amount of vegetable oil. I fry my egg and then break it up and set it on a plate when it’s just cooked through; next, I add a little more oil and cook my onions and carrots, keeping an eye on the tofu and removing the tofu from the heat once the cubes are perfectly golden brown. When my onions have cooked down and get some color and carrots are tender, I add my garlic and Thai chiles and stir until fragrant. Next, I add my day-old cooked rice, soy and fish sauce, and the juice of one lime. When it starts to resemble fried rice, I add my cooked egg and turn off the heat, giving it one final mix.
7:33 p.m. I serve the fried rice and fried tofu with a lime slice and topped with my homemade chili crisp in bowls to my partner and his sister (who is in the city for a concert) and myself, and we eat it with some Prik Nam Pla (Thai sauce consisting of fish sauce with chiles, garlic, lime, and palm sugar). The tofu is perfectly crispy but still nice and chewy but is otherwise unseasoned so it pairs well with the chili crisp and prik nam pla and is the closest I’ve gotten to recreating Beau Thai’s insanely delicious tofu.
11:04 p.m I ignore the writing on the wall from my very full gurgling tummy and agree to my partner’s suggestion that we eat the cheesecake that his sister brought over for us. The slices are truly enormous, probably a third of the cheesecake (each!!!) and I manage to scarf it all down in between dramatic scenes of Drag Race Philippines season two (truly some of the best reality television ever made). The cheesecake is rich and delicate with a caramelized graham cracker crust and it feels like I am eating spoonfuls of sugary ricotta. I fall asleep full and satisfied.
8:30 a.m. I snooze my alarm a few times but am forced awake by my very disgruntled tummy. I can feel (and hear) cheesecake working its way through me and I immediately regret the late night indulgence. I start off my day with three extra-strength CVS-brand antacid tablets (previously purchased, $6.99 for 96) and am yet again surprised by how much I enjoy eating my knockoff Tums Smoothies.
9:13 a.m. Why didn’t I take a Lactaid last night? Would it even have made a difference? I am in the bargaining stage of my five stages of tummy pain grief. Luckily, I work from home on Tuesdays since I have therapy in the mornings. I consider reaching out to my therapist to cancel but decide against it.
10 a.m. Therapy is a welcome distraction from my tummy woes and the stresses of daily life.
10:58 a.m. I finish therapy and walk five minutes to the newly opened Lidl by my house. Nutrition is not the priority for this trip. I purchase: two Rustic Baguettes (usually $1.99 each, on sale for $1.49), one bag of romaine hearts ($2.74), and one hazelnut croissant ($.99) for a total of $6.71.
11:18 a.m. Fresh air does a tummy good and I am feeling (mostly) back to normal when I get home from the store. Like most millennials, I need a Little Treat™ to feel alive so I make an oat latte ($3.99 Oatly oat milk, previously purchased at Lidl, and $12.50 Nespresso pods, previously purchased from Nespresso) and pair it with my hazelnut croissant from the Lidl bakery. I am a pretty avid amateur baker and I find myself coming back to Lidl’s freshly baked goods time and again because the price is right and the Germans know a thing or two about a baked good.
12:55 p.m. I decide to make lunch five minutes before my one o’clock meeting so I cut one of my fresh baguettes in half and make a sandwich with sliced turkey breast (previously bought at Lidl, $4.99), Swiss cheese (previously bought at Lidl, $3.99), Dijon mustard and Kewpie mayo (previously bought, $6.99), and a few pieces of romaine. I love a simple turkey sandwich and needed something that wouldn’t upset my tummy any further.
3:03 p.m. Our bowl of leftover Halloween candy is still pretty full and, despite my morning tummy tribulations, I eat a few pieces of chocolate and gummies to tide me over.
5:06 p.m. I’m craving something salty before dinner so I have a small bag of Cheez-Its (previously bought from Costco, $17.99/45 count).
7:17 p.m. Dinner is a Caesar salad and last night’s leftovers. I make a mean Caesar salad, and by that I mean Samin Nosrat makes a mean Caesar salad (I usually add extra anchovies and lemon juice to her recipe and I always use home-emulsified mayo); I have some leftover dressing in my fridge that I use for the salad and my partner makes croutons using the remaining half of my baguette from this morning. I top the salad off with plenty of grated Parmesan, which I never buy pre-grated—I always buy the Costco Parmesan ($10.99/lb.) and grate all of it in seconds using my food processor, leaving me with extra fresh Parmesan grated with no additives. The salad is nice and fresh, but the fried rice and tofu fill my partner and I up and satiate our appetites for the night.
9:08 p.m. My sweet tooth needs one last treat before bed. I opt for a cheeky Stroopwafel (previously bought at Lidl, $3.99 for 10) and then decide to call it quits for fear of reliving this morning’s tummy pain again.
10:45 a.m. I have a slow start to my day and I don’t have my coffee until later in the morning. I’m in the office again today, so I make an oat milk latte with the complimentary office Nespresso machine and Chobani oat milk (extra creamy, of course).
12:10 p.m. My diet this week hasn’t been as veggie-forward as I would like, so for lunch I walk over to Beefsteak, José Andrés’s plant-based fast-casual spot (one of his many restaurants DC). I rarely order the same thing twice when I eat out, even at my favorite restaurants, but I always get the same thing at Beefsteak: the Mushroom Mapo bowl ($6.60 after taxes and after using a $5 reward). Entirely vegan, it consists of white rice, spicy tofu and mushroom, bok choy, pickled daikon, cabbage slaw, sliced cucumber, pea shoots, miso dressing, crispy onions, and sesame seeds and hits the spot every single time.
3:30 p.m. I bike home from the office a little early today and squeeze in a workout before the evening’s happy hour plans. Feeling adventurous, I pregame my yoga class with a serving of Beyond Raw LIT Gummy Worm–flavored pre-workout powder ($39.99 for 14.56 oz./30 servings, previously bought by a friend and gifted to me when I helped them move). The pre-workout powder is violently green and the flavor is upsettingly reminiscent of actual gummy worms, but I feel incredibly energized and breeze through my yoga class.
4:57 p.m. My partner and I walk over to Little Coco’s, a local Italian joint with arguably one of the best happy hours in the city, with a pep in our step. For $30, you can partake in their aperitivo hour with bottomless cocktails, beer, or wine as well as family-style apps for the table. My partner and I both start off with a negroni, but he switches over to prosecco for our second round while I stick to the gin. We share the garlic bread (served with whipped ricotta, incredible) and Little Gem lettuce Caesar (not my favorite Caesar but it could be because I prefer romaine?), and I eat both of our portions of meatballs with polenta (because he does not). For $8, you can add on a full-size pizza so we add the Dr Pepper, a simple pepperoni pizza. At some restaurants, ordering drinks during bottomless can feel like a Herculean task; at Little Coco’s, our server grabs us a fresh drink before we can finish the last one. We each leave the restaurant with full stomachs, some leftover pizza, and five drinks deep (I know, I know, I know…). Our bill comes to $94.91, including tip, and I pay for both of us.
7:36 p.m. My partner (who also tried the virulent pre-workout) and I realize that the pre-workout had 250 mg of caffeine in it and it has decidedly worn off and been replaced with a drunken soporific stupor. We decide to “rest our eyes” just for a little 20-minute nap.
11:01 p.m. I wake up in a daze. Where am I? When am I? Who is this man next to me? Why do I feel drunk? I spend a few moments contemplating the actions I took to get myself here, sigh, drink some water, and watch an hour of TV before going back to bed for big sleep.
8:45 a.m. I step into the kitchen and instantly lock eyes with the gummy worm pre-workout. Rather than returning it to the pantry, I put it in a more fitting home: the trash. I skip breakfast again today and bike over to the office.
10:07 a.m. I get my coffee fix from my office bestie the Nespresso machine and water my dozen or so office plants before settling into my workday.
11:42 a.m. In classic corporate fashion, our office has a variety of LaCroix sparkling waters, and this week a new (to me) flavor made its debut: passionfruit! It’s refreshing and tasty but doesn’t compare to my favorite flavor, orange.
12:50 p.m. I budget to eat out for lunch once or twice throughout the week, and most days when I don’t pack a lunch I head over to Falafel Inc, one of my favorite spots to eat when I’m at the office. I am constantly in awe of their business model: None of their items cost more than $6 and they still manage to use some of the proceeds to donate aid to refugees around the globe. Beyond their good ethos, they make an incredible falafel sandwich that reminds me of the falafel and shawarma wraps that are commonplace in my native Baghdad. I opt for a falafel sandwich, which comes with veggies and pickles and I top it with their signature Habibi (tahini-based) and Invisible (jalapeno-based) sauces ($5.40 with tax and tip!!!!).
5:07 p.m. I grab a mini Almond Joy from our stash of Halloween candy as a little predinner snack. Still hungry, I decide to heat up the remaining slices from last night’s pizza to tide me over until someone (me) decides to make dinner.
6:33 p.m. I am feeling a bit lazy and decide to revisit Kenji López-Alt’s San Francisco-Style Vietnamese American Garlic Noodles. The definition of a pantry pasta, I can almost guarantee that anyone who cooks Asian food has the ingredients to make this at any given moment. I peel and mince 20 (20!!!) cloves of garlic (previously purchased), which I cook in half a stick of butter (previously purchased) in a wok until fragrant. Meanwhile, I cook a pound of spaghetti (gifted from our friends who moved last week). I add fish sauce, oyster sauce, and soy sauce (previously purchased) to my wok and remove from heat. Once the spaghetti is done cooking, I add it along with some pasta water and freshly grated Parmesan and stir to combine.
8:22 p.m. A cheeky Halloween mini-Snickers.
8:40 p.m. Another Halloween mini-Snickers.
10:07 p.m. My partner and I are craving a late-night snack so he toasts some frozen naan that I made last week and covers them with homemade tzatziki (partner made it last week, ingredients previously bought aside from the dill, which he got from our Aerogarden) as well as Maldon flaky salt and sumac (previously bought).
8:47 a.m. My work schedule is relatively flexible so I work from home today and my partner and I decide to grab breakfast from one of our favorite bakeries in town, Rose Ave Bakery. They offer Asian American fusion treats like Filipino ensaymadas and ube cheese kouign-amanns, as well as Hawaiian-influenced Spam musubi croissants and Taiwanese-inspired garlic scallion buns. We both get a garlic scallion bun ($5.00 each) and a passionfruit doughnut ($4.75 each). and I get the ube iced coffee ($5.75) while my partner gets the brown sugar latte ($5.50). The garlic scallion bun is perfectly savory and flaky (you can get it with egg plus cheese for a whole breakfast sammy) and I save my doughnut for later; our total is $38.90 with tip, which my partner pays.
3:15 p.m. I spend the morning and early afternoon checking emails, returning calls, and getting through my work to-do list, not feeling the urge to break for lunch until late afternoon. I heat up some leftover fried rice and garlic noodles and eat those with some homemade chili crisp (made last month).
5:20 p.m. We made some last minute plans to have dinner with friends tonight at one of our local go-to spots so I have my 20th Nespresso of the week as an afternoon pick-me-up, opting for a full size drip coffee rather than a latte or shot of espresso.
5:50 p.m. Carrying on with the Asian fusion/Filipino theme for the day, we walk the 12 minutes to Purple Patch, a very popular restaurant offering classic Filipino fare (think lumpia, adobo, longanisa fried rice) and American comfort food (dishes like miso Caesar salad, fried chicken wings) located in the aptly named Mount Pleasant neighborhood. I start off with the miso Caesar ($8.00, it’s soooo good and a fun spin on a Caesar). My partner shares the salad with me and gets the spicy Calamansi Margarita ($12.00), which is, as the name suggests, quite spicy. To drink, I get the Ghost Face Manila ($15.00), a very fruity, boozy cocktail made of Mijenta tequila, Kasama rum, Chinola passionfruit liqueur, guava, lime, calamansi honey, and oloroso sherry.
For the main course, my partner gets the Pancit Bihon ($15.00), thin rice noodles with veggies and soy sauce. Purple Patch is one of the only other occasions where I always order the same dish: their Sizzling Sisig ($18.00). The sisig is pork belly and shoulder sautéeed with soy sauce aioli, lemon juice, onions and chili peppers, topped with a raw egg on a sizzling platter (like fajitas), served with garlic rice (extra $1.00). It’s incredible—crispy and chewy, perfectly seasoned, brimming with umami flavor but cut with the right amount of acidity, and beautifully spicy thanks to its use of Thai chiles, which I’m partial to since I lived and worked in rural Thailand for a few years after college. I pay for both of our meals, which is $92.00 with tip.
7:29 p.m. We decide to skip dessert at Purple Patch (even though their brownie and ube ice cream are to die for) and walk to another Mount Pleasant locale: Mount Desert Island Ice Cream. I get a single scoop of the Sugar Pill (basically s’mores flavor) and Pain Perdu (French toast inspired) with a black vanilla waffle cone ($7.75), which comes out to $10.23 with tax, tip, and a 10% “Ice Cream/Coffee” fee.
8:30 p.m. Our friends live nearby so they walk back to our apartment with us for a nightcap. I drink a dram of Maker’s Mark (previously purchased at Costco, $44.99 for 1.75 L) and pass out beers and sparkling waters while we chat about how nice it is to spend our Friday evening enjoying each others’ company rather than buying overpriced drinks at a bar where you can’t hear yourself think.
10:51 p.m. I have an insatiable sweet tooth and, now that my ice cream has digested for all of three hours, I’m ready for dessert number two. I eat my passionfruit doughnut from this morning, savoring every moment of the sweet and sour passionfruit curd and the soft, chewy brioche bun. A perfect Friday night.
8:30 a.m. Like clockwork, I wake up after 8 but before 9. My only plans for today are in the evening, so I take my time getting out of bed.
10:03 a.m. My office brings fresh fruit on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I remember that I grabbed an organic Fuji apple earlier this week, so I eat that along with a double oat milk latte, brewed with the Nespresso (pods and oat milk previously purchased).
1:02 p.m. Lunch is one third of the baguette from earlier this week, cut in half, toasted, and topped with homemade tzatziki, sumac, and flaky salt (previously purchased). I generally have a pretty packed social calendar, so it’s a bit unusual that I didn’t spend a lot of time out this week but my social battery is still recovering from proposing to my partner last month (he said yes, if that isn’t clear!). I take advantage of the quiet Saturday afternoon by revisiting my Baldur’s Gate 3 campaign and reluctantly fighting off goblins and trolls (can’t we all just get along?!).
3:20 p.m. I’m craving some protein to round out my lunch from earlier so I pop open a tin of Fangst Faroe Islands salmon ($9.99 per tin, previously gifted to me), which I eat with Asturi black pepper bruschettini ($4.49 per bag, previously purchased) and fresh dill from the AeroGarden. There are some food trends I have a hard time getting behind, but tinned fish are en vogue and between the beautiful design, convenience, and variety of seafood available, I am borderline obsessed with hoarding tins from around the world.
6:15 p.m. My fascination with German culture doesn’t stop at their affinity for tasty breads and pastries: I love Kaffee und Kuchen, the German tradition of having coffee and cake in the afternoon. Today is no exception: I brew an espresso and eat a Lidl hazelnut crème wafer (previously purchased, $2.99 for a 12 pack) because my beige flag is I love a wafer. I think there are very few problems that can’t be fixed with a cute lil’ coffee and cake.
7 p.m. We have dinner plans at Pappe to celebrate a friend’s 30th birthday. Pappe, a term of endearment which means “brother” in Punjabi, focuses primarily on northern Indian cuisine, with a few dishes from the south. Three of us shared a bottle of the 2020 Pedroncelli Zinfandel ($38.00) and the five of us each got a vegetable samosa ($22) and shared the naan and chutney flight ($18.00) to start. I got the Big Shrimp Coconut Curry, which had huge head-on shrimp with black mustard, curry leaves, ginger, and green chiles, served with basmati rice ($30.00), and my partner, who likes what he likes, ordered the Shrimp Vindaloo ($30.00). My curry is spicy, savory, and full of flavor; the base seems to be made up of a ton of slow-cooked minced onion, and I suck out every last drop of curry from the shrimp heads. We split the check four ways as our treat to the birthday girl ($321.10 total with tax and tip; $80.28 each).
8:45 p.m. We’re feeling great post-dinner and ready to keep the night going at a bar or another restaurant, but our friends are feeling tired after hitting the Four Seasons spa all day (poor things) so we decide to call it a night. My partner and I walk home up 14th Street and settle in for the newest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
11:47 p.m. A day without a sweet treat is a day wasted, so I end my night with a trusty stroopwaffel from Lidl (previously purchased).
9:15 a.m. Like most mornings, today starts off with a coffee and tidying up around the apartment. I water the plants, do some sweeping, and organize the kitchen and living room while nursing my Nespresso drip coffee (pods previously purchased).
10:47 a.m. My partner and I drive to Georgetown and head straight for Yellow, a café offering Levantine pastries and cuisine owned by Palestinian chef Michael Rafidi, who also owns Michelin-starred Albi. We’re greeted with a line that goes out the door and seeps out onto the sidewalk, a regular occurrence in the mornings for the wildly popular café. After a 30-ish minute wait, we make it to the register and order two Za’atar + Labne croissants, an Orange Blossom croissant, and a Baklava croissant.
The Za’atar + Labne pastries are coated in “almost too much” za’atar (their words not mine) and are exactly what I want in a savory breakfast treat. The orange blossom croissant is light with fresh, fruity, floral notes, but the real star of the show is the twice baked Baklava croissant, with real baklava filling between delectable layers of buttery, flaky goodness. Their unique espresso drinks tempt us, but we prefer to spend our dining-out budget on food and make our own coffees at home. I pay for our meal, which ends up being $31.89 with tax and tip. We spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon walking around Georgetown, perusing the shops and getting a head start on our holiday shopping.
5:15 p.m. We head to a bar in Petworth for what was described to us as a casual birthday happy hour only for us to discover on our (late) arrival that it’s actually a surprise birthday party. Neither of us is really close with the birthday girl, and neither of us recognized any of the fellow partygoers when we walked in, so we quietly turned around and Irish exited. We realize we’re pretty hungry so we beeline for the array of restaurants in upper 14th Street that serve a variety of delicious and affordable South and Central American cuisines.
5:49 p.m. There are a lot of good options to choose from, but we end up going with a classic, Taqueria Habanero, which advertises its food as “99% Mexican.” Taqueria Habanero is my ideal restaurant: delicious food and an unpretentious menu with cozy seating and the nicest staff. The agua fresca del dia is pineapple, which we both order ($4.00 each) alongside our mains: a birria torta ($15.00) for me and veggie enchiladas ($14.00) for my partner.
6:01 p.m. Our food comes out in record time. My torta is chock-full of perfectly cooked beef, cheese, avocado, onions, and pickled jalapeños; I dip it liberally into my side of birria soup. The pineapple juice comes in a cute jar with little pineapple bits floating around, and it’s incredibly sweet, just how we like it! My partner forgets to order extra rice to replace his side of beans, which he doesn’t eat (his loss), so I eat his stewed black beans before paying for both of our meals, which is $49.70 with tax and tip.
6:47 p.m. We contemplate grabbing dessert on our walk home but decide against it, our tummies still full and satisfied from the Mexican food and extra-sweet drink.