Hot Dogs and Tacos

I moved to Beijing 20 years ago today. It was to be a two year stint, a life experiment. I didn't know at the time that "two years in Beijing" was something of a foreigner cliche. It closely associated with another - you come to Beijing for two years and stay for 10.

In those early years, hot dogs and tacos were hard to find. Sure, we had Peter's Tex-Mex at Jianguomen which "did the job" but couldn't hold a candle to any of the Mexican restaurants/markets on my hometown's main street. I tried to make my own, tacos and chili with mixed results despite getting supplies from Jenny Lou/Wang's. Beans and tortillas were especially bad.

We took wins were we could find them. There were nights at John Bull pub when people from the Mexican embassy set up shop and made the real deal. We were in heaven. Later, say 2008, a Mexico City chain opened in the new Wanda Plaza and made excellent the small tacos. I found many foreigners did not appreciate the kind of tacos that I did. I could say, I like authentic tacos but prefer to say I like really good tacos.

In 2006 there were rumors of hot dog shop owned by two women from Berkeley. It was hard to figure out where things were at the time. If you had the right copy of That's Beijing (later The Beijinger) you could kind of get directions. Otherwise you had to, gasp, ask someone. I finally made it to the Wudaokao location of their shop in 2007 and the hot dog was "ok". Truth be told, the only time I really miss hot dogs is on July 4th. On July 4th, 2015 I took my kids for hotdogs at Slowboat's hutong location (RIP). It was amazing especially the buns.

Last weekend, my now 16 year old daughter Elisa worked at Beijing's Sausage Festival and I decided to check it out. Stalls and stalls of hotdogs for sale with a massive line for a new place, NYC Deli I think it was. I settled for a smaller line and brisket sandwich.

For most of my time in Beijing, I was lucky enough to have a job that would take me back to the states three to four times a year. I would spend a weekend with my parents, then later just my dad. Having seven siblings, it was the most alone time I had ever spent with my parents. They would pick my up at the airport, and my dad would declare "Vin, how about a hamburger", my dad thinking I could not get a decent burger in Beijing. We'd stop at In-N-Out and I'd get a chocolate milkshake with the burger. During weekends with them, my real treat was tacos from La Tapatia on Grand.

If I was a cliche, and who isn't, I would end this story by highlighting how I've adapted to local cuisine and no longer crave tacos and hot dogs. But, if my time in Beijing has taught me anything, it's not an either or question. I can like tacos and local food. I can be a cliche and totally unique. And maybe in the next 20 years, I can find some El Salvadoran pupusas.

A flashback to what I wrote after five years in Beijing