What's Your Patatas Bravas?

My aunt and I were eating at Jaleo, my favorite tapas restaurant in DC last week. I ordered what has been my favorite dish for over 12 years -- Patatas Bravas. The waiter looked scared: "It's the 'new' Patatas Bravas is that OK?"

Jaleo is a smidge fancy and Patatas Bravas is simplest (potatoes and a tomato sauce) and cheapest ($5) dish on the menu. I couldn't imagine how it could be drastically different, but said "sure!"

Basically, the potatoes were just cut thinner, which throws the whole dish out of whack, because there isn't enough surface on the potato to catch the sauce. I said to the waiter nicely "These are OK, but I really like the old version better."

He sighed deeply and said in his sweet Spanish accent "Yes, sadly, it's Jose against the world. Everyone says this, but he refuses to listen.*"

And I get that. I'm an ENFP. I understand that even though you do something well, you get sick of doing it over and over. I abhor routine. But damn, that old version of the recipe was SO good.

My aunt, a politician and fellow ENFP talked about this after dinner. She sends birthday cards to every single supporter she has in her district. People love that she remembers their birthday it's the thing that people remember me her by** But she gets so tired of handling the same chore every single month. It's her patatas bravas -- her signature dish that she really wants to change.

Last night I went to see Savion Glover. It was an amazing show; he's quite possibly one of the greatest athletes on the planet. But what struck me the most about the show was the liner note about him in the program. It said simply: "Savion Glover, husband, father, hoofer, is thankful."

He's the very best at what he does and is thankful he gets to do it. I am constantly imagining how I want to reinvent myself, always thinking this or that needs improvement (sometimes low self-esteem, sometimes boredom) and rarely step back to say, "Hey, that was a crowd pleaser. Be grateful you do something well." ***

It's an interesting tension: balancing creativity, risk, and thankfulness of purpose.

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* "The potatoes talk to me, and they tell me that sometimes they would like to feel different."


** My own state representative, Winkie Wilkins, who runs unopposed, was sort of sexist and inappropriate with me at my polling station in 2004. Other than that, I've never gotten jack shit from him. He's technically a democrat but votes more conservative than I'd like, if he bothers to vote at all. I didn't vote a straight party ticket just so I had the opportunity to NOT vote for him.

** This blog is supposed to be about politics and heath care and instead I've written about potato dishes and tap dancing, which sort of illustrates my point of not sticking with things even if they are successful. Hopefully if you are a political junkie, Winkie will suffice for this week!