Friday Night Bites

I am back at an old restaurant from a previous field note, number 3.  It try to sit in the same section as the last time in order to get a more repetitive perspective. I am sitting near the back of elevated seating area. The restaurant is more crowded than the last time. I am here at the same time and day of the week though. The area isn't as clean as the last time, perhaps the crowded dinner rush has left the establishment short staffed. Not incredibly unsanitary but there are dishes left on more than 3 tables near me.

The table at the entrance of the elevated section has a large family with two tables pushed together. There is a mother, father, three daughters and an infant that I believe belongs to the eldest daughter. The family appears to be Hispanic and from the vernacular used in the bits of conversation I can hear, they speak a Spanish-English mix. The father is balding with nice clothes on. The mother has her hair done and a fresh nail job; they are at least 2 inches long. They both appear to be in their late forties to fifties. The eldest daughter is talking to the parents about something that has to do with UTEP. The eldest looks like she is in her early twenties. The teenage sister to her left is consumed by her cell phone, she gives the impression of not knowing if anyone is around her. When the waiter comes teenage daughter barely looks up to respond. The final daughter is about 6-10 years old. She sits with pig tails and an El Paso Chihuahuas t-shirt. She is playing with what looks like her infant nephew.

The restaurant is clearing up after about half an hour of my note taking. The noise from the bar has significantly died down because of a large group of college football fans leaving. The kitchen has become slightly louder with the clanking kid dishes. But I could probably attribute that to the emptying of the store.

The table next to me that has filled up has a group of four. It looks like two couples. They both appear to be in high school because of their attire. Three of the four are wearing letterman jackets from a local high school. They are all talking about a football game that is being hosted the college stadium. Apparently they left the game at the half because they were hungry. The two girls of the table are talking to each other about something on a social media site. They are sharing each other’s phones and laughing.

My night here is over but people are still coming into the restaurant. The popularity may be from the family atmosphere and diverse American based menu, appealing to a wider range of people. This restaurant may have the most diverse ethnic audience. More than any of the other places that I have visited. 

Thursday Rush

I clocked in at 5:02. The restaurant is pretty empty with the exception of  three tables that have one to three people at each one. The smell of rice and cooking meat fill the air. Music plays in the background and people converse with on another.

At table one, a family is sitting enjoying their appetizer as they wait for their meals to be cooked. A father and mother, both covered in tattoos, both go through the routine of checking their phones every few minutes, while making minimal to no communication with one another. The child, around 5 years old, is making a mess and yelling, possibly wanting attention from one of the adults at the table.

There is a man sitting at the bar alone. An older man, early 50s. He has a book with him. He has a to go cup, meaning he is waiting to get his food to read. as I make my rounds around the restaurant, I get close enough to see his book, Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. I converse briefly with him about the author and mention my favorite reads by Stephen King. He shows interest in the fact that a young person is interested in such books.

Table three has a group of college students sitting together discussing their classes. Their english is not the greatest as they have heavy accents and are noticeably, not native english speakers. They have empty bowls on their table and are waiting for the server to bring them their checks, as they are ready to leave.

At 5:30 all tables leave and are bussed immediately. This time cars are pulling into the parking lot more frequently as people are off of work at this time. The restaurant quickly fills up, about a third of the way, as families come to have a nice meal. The rowdiness of the restaurant gets louder as people are sat at tables by the hostess.

The parties are bigger and the biggest table we have is an eight top (eight people at one table). I help the server as they take the drink orders. There are three kids and five adults. I notice that the 3 male adults, clearly over 21, all get an alcoholic beverages, while the women get iced tea or water. The children all get lemonade in child cups. I also notice something that this table is doing that I do not see with the other tables. They are communicating with one another. The adults invite the children to discuss what they learned at school. No one is on their phone at this table. They seem more cheerful than the other tables.

6:00. More and more people are arriving and pretty soon the parking lot is full and most tables are seated. There are maybe one or two tables left, not to mention the stools at the bar. I've noticed that another server has clocked in, as well as another cook. I have been asked to move to the back of the restaurant and help the dishwasher out as his dishes are piling up.

The time is now 7:00 and we are still busy as ever. I walk out to help clean a few tables and restock the ice at the beverage stations. The families there at 6 have now left or are getting ready to as they finish their dessert.

Let's go shopping!

Ranchero's Market of El Paso Texas

For this first week of field work, I chose to observe customers at the Ranchero's Market in El Paso, Texas. This is a Mexican cultured market located in the lower valley part of town.  The demographics of this market were quite interesting. There were mostly middle to elderly women shopping. Most of these women appeared to be from some type of Mexican/ Hispanic decent. Many of them had children with them. It appeared that most of them were shopping for either a feast or dinner due to the size of their purchases.

When I pulled up to the market, there were people in the parking lot selling all types of Mexican food: Tamales, Tacos, Enchiladas, Burritos, Flautas, Chimichangas and so much more. The prices of the food being sold were very reasonable between $1 and $6.  There was a man who was roasting Jalapenos on the side of the store. There was a small local band called the Los Amigos playing instruments outside. As soon as I entered the market I heard Mexican music such as: Ranchera, Mariachi, Bolero, Banda, Cumbia, Sones and classical traditional Mexican music.

There were all types of vendors within this market. I found that to be quite interesting due to the fact I am use to the “American” style stores. There were booths that sold clothing, electronics, Mexican candy and deserts, beverages like Horchata and Jamaica juice, and so much more. The atmosphere was very relaxing and intriguing due to the fact it was all so very new to me. I smelt scents I have never smelt before, I tried foods I never eaten before and heard things I never heard. The main language that was being spoken was Spanish. I have taken Spanish before but this was on a whole different level! These people were speaking so fast it was remarkable I couldn’t even begin to grasp it.

I continued to walk through the market and explore. Most people were dressed in modern day clothes except this one elderly woman I came across who was dressed in a traditional house dress and sandals. To some this might have seemed normal but to me it caught my eye. I felt like I was literally in another country! I really enjoyed observing and exploring. This experience has helped me to remain being open minded and accepting. I will always remember this opportunity and share it with others. I am looking forward to more discoveries such as this. It was truly a culture shock that occurred right in my own city of 20 years. What an excellent experience!

Caffeine Fix

It’s about four o’ clock on a Saturday evening and there is activity going on all around me. I hear the bustle of a waitress as she scrambles to fill orders of patient customers on the other side of the cash register. Within the first hour of my stay, the foot traffic going in and out of the decent sized coffee shop stays at a consistent level of calmness. As time goes on, there are less and less people there.

There is one family that is sitting across from the table that I occupy. The family is accompanied by four children all around elementary school ages. While the kids huddle around a table not too far away from their parents, the mother and father converse in a language that is native to me. The kids seem to be in their own little world, however, the oldest keeps going back and forth to check in with the parents. Whenever there are words exchanged between the little girl and her parents, it is in English. I cannot help but wonder why the parents do not speak to the kids in the same tongue that they were using to speak to each other.

Once the pastry that both her and her husband were sharing was finished, the wife pulls out her smart phone from her oversized purse ad begins to scroll down the newsfeed of what seemed to be a social media site. The father turns his attention towards his kids to see what they were up to.

A male and a female come through the doors side door of the shop with two little boys. The older male is wearing a Texas A&M shirt and so is one of the boys. The couple order several pastries and coffee for themselves before sitting down. The boys automatically begin to converse with the group of four kids around the table. They only stay for a very short time before they bustle out of the shop. Were they stopping by the shop before the tuned in to cheer their football team on?

After ordering a couple of pastries to go, the father of the four children lets his kids know that it is time to leave. The youngest looking child stays in her seat and begins to protest this action although the rest of her party is leaving. She stays for as long as she can until she realizes that they were not going to wait on her. She reluctantly gets out of the chair and follows the rest of the family outside of the coffee shop.

The other tables around me are being occupied by folks who I assume to be college students. The three young men wear what seems to me to be hipster style clothing. Each of them are facing each other with their eyes glued to their laptops. There are words being exchanged between the three people but I cannot hear them. I observe that one student, a male, seemed a little bored as the other two males are in tune to whatever they were doing on their laptops.

To my left, there is a girl around my age that is typing away on her laptop as well. She had headphones in both ears cancelling out the noise of the shop and replacing it with the music of her liking, she was very focused on what she was working on. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes focused on the words that were being formed with the tap of the keys on her keyboard. Papers littered the space around her computer. Highlighters and pens were scattered among them as well.

The main items being consumed at this time are hot beverages and pastries. The menu does offer more filling food items but they are not being ordered at this time. I received a very relaxed, easy going vibe from the coffee shop itself and its patrons.

Taco Thursday

As my girlfriend and I walked into a familiar place on a warm and humid Thursday night, looking forward to our 50 cent taco feast, we were expecting the nice quiet atmosphere we have come to enjoy. But that is not what we encountered this particular Thursday night. This Thursday night was alive, noisy and had a celebratory atmosphere. At first, entering the restaurant I found myself feeling somewhat disappointed but that quickly changed as I realized that this was a good change in that it was a family atmosphere still with celebration alive in the air almost so thick you could smell it.

As we found our seats and the waiter came to get our drink and meal order, I observed that there were mariachis playing but not only were they just playing but a large family sitting at one of the tables found in the center of the room had joined in with the mariachis. Some of the family members were singing different songs which the mariachis seemed to enjoy, which they were, providing the instrumentation while one of the family members of this certain table belted out a Spanish love song.

Sitting there throughout my enjoyable 50 cent taco meal with my lovely girlfriend, I started to observe the other tables with other families. I began to wonder whether these families were enjoying the mariachis or whether they were annoyed by how this family seemed to have taken over the song list. What I observed was that some of these families did not even seem tainted or phased by the mariachis in the room much less the family that had joined in the song list. These families continued on with their meals and conversation, taking a bite of 50 cent taco madness, savoring each bite while drinking down a Mexican imported beer or a bottled coke imported from Mexico, with breaks of conversation or laughter within their family circle. Other families I found were very much enjoying and staying connected with the mariachis and family that had connected so well with the song list. I observed these families tapping their feet to the rhythm of the Spanish beat, with large smiles of enjoyment.

I walked out of this place with my girlfriend in arm and belly full of tacos and imported Mexican beer as well as my heart full of happiness, and recognition of the need of family and socializing with others in the spirit of celebration.

McCallan's Ambiance

With such a nice evening during the day, the smell of warm tea, and a fresh sent of sandwiches bring quite a bit of students to the restaurant, much more than the number of non-college students. As I wait in line for my cup of tea an older couple, Dan and Mary, walk in as to observe the dining area. “There is a lot of college kids out here today, did you notice that honey?”  Dan assures his wife that it isn't unusual, but more as an excitement to notice more students attending the local university. As Dan and Mary await in line I've come to presume they are visiting their daughter as she slowly approaches them.

As the line moves slowly, more and more students walk in, to order their free cup of tea. McCallan's offers free tea to any student with their school I.D. I notice that the majority of the people who dine in are non-college students. As the line gets smaller and smaller the ambiance starts to calm down and the workers seem at ease.

Art work of an older time during the early cultivation of the city Las Cruces fill only one wall that is made of brick and decorations of dried fruit throughout the entire restaurant. The radio plays in the background ever so calmly and relaxing. A group of girl basketball players leave the dining area as to be in a rush for practice or an activity which they all might partake in.

Thirty minutes into my observation the dining room starts to fill up again with more people and the lines lead all the way to the door as it did when I first ordered my tea. There are two people to my far corner texting the night away. Conversation between the two doesn't seem to arise until three more of their friends arrive to the table. Cell phones are placed on the table and they engage in conversation.

A couple Eric and Lisa and baby daughter Annie are dressed as super heroes for the comic con event. An older couple with their granddaughter seem to be enjoying the evening with good food and a peaceful ambiance. The older man rises here and there and makes a walk to the parking lot for a cigarette as to enjoy the weather of the day as the clouds move west and the sun beaming gently. Two big gallons of hand sanitizer have been placed on the front two counters for the employees and is in use every other order taken, which I've noticed that the employees are on top of their cleanliness during a busy day. As the day progresses more customers are coming in for pick up I presume by the way the come in alone that they have made other plans to enjoy their meal on the go with family or friends.