Being made mostly of sadness and despair, I was going to delete my dating profile not too long ago and live a life of monk-like solitude when a message came through the ether as I slept one night. And, while most messages are from foreign women that want you to subscribe to their pornographic websites, this response seemed to be from a real enough person.
Even though I was mildly suspicious—and I probably always will be—I proceeded anyway to contact her anyway, talking for a few days on the phone as a slight precaution; things went well enough, so much so that we decided to try our hand at going out on a date, meeting for dinner at Oso Paseo, 603 NW 28th St., over in, of course, the Paseo.
After saying hello to the large bear that stands outside the window, we were seated at a table in the middle of the place that, for the most part, made me feel like a bloated ant trapped under an imaginary microscope; regardless, I still felt more at ease than I had in a long time. I guess that, after the last year I had, the fact that I basically showed up for the food was good enough.
We sat there, discussing the complicated structures of our lives through a series of gleefully perverted jokes, as the waiter came to our table and asked if any of the various starters tickled our fancies; we ordered the Street Corn ($8.00) that, while not a starter per se, was a communal experience that we both could try and definitely enjoy.
Now, as much as I like this free-flowing style of spiced corn, I’ve never liked the term “street corn” for various sociological reasons that you probably aren’t privy to or are interested in. That being said, as an appetizer, I thoroughly enjoyed what they’ve done here, mixing the loose corn, roasted right off the cob, along with chipotle crema, cotija, and, hot damn, Takis; it’s a plentiful dream of corn and cream that I was absorbed in.
Our main courses, already ordered, showed up around this point. I smiled on as my date had the delicate Fried Taco, as well as the earthy Mushroom Taco for vegan variety ($13.00). While she enjoyed both, it was the Fried Taco that, hands down, was a meal unto itself, the ample meat wonderfully combining the with crisp vegetables to make a great meal.
I had just as good a time with both the Brisket Taco and, much like my date, a vegetarian helping of the Fried Avocado Taco ($13.00). The brisket, as you’d expect, was thick and meaty, painting my insides sauce red with reckless abandon. But, to be honest, I liked the fried avocado a bit more; I’ve craved it over the past few days more than anything else, honestly.
As this dinner and the date was nearing the end, we decided on the Churros ($8.00), served with, apparently, Breyer’s Ice Cream, mostly to have a few more minutes of quality time before calling it a night. And while we may never see each other again, at least this pleasant date at Oso gave me some grand hopes for the future.
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