Sunday, August 27, 2006

Does Tzatziki go with Lemon Chicken?


Sergio and I took the bus and then the Max downtown to the Saturday Market this morning. The Saturday Market runs throughout the summer and fall and is a large street market with everything from handmade wooden toys to Henna tattoos to tie-dye thongs. The atmosphere is lovely and it was full of people today. We had been exploring for a few minutes when we were accosted by a woman who gave us two stickers, an american flag and a peace sign, and asked us for a donation for some organization or other. Sergio gave her $5 and we went on our way. I tell you this not to impress you with our generosity, but to point out that we had given 1/3 of the money we had with us. This became a bit of an issue when we came across the real draw of the Market, the street food. It went beyond the regular corn dogs and funnel cakes to Chinese, Mexican, Thai, Greek, Polish, African, and English fare. We could have noodles and pasties, or a burrito and a kielbasa. The possibilities were endless, however the money was not. We had to agree on something.
We ended up in line at the greek stand for a gyro even though I knew Sergio would probably rather have had anything Asian. Out of nowhere a girl came up and offered to buy Sergio lunch. He turned her down immediately without waiting for an explanation. Do we look that destitute that strangers want to buy our food? I don't think so. But she seemed normal and well-balanced so we were understandably confused. But she persisted and explained to me that she was on a church scavenger hunt and had to buy someone lunch. And so, I let her buy me a gyro and take my picture. I felt sort of bad about it. On one hand I was helping her, but on the other there are plenty of panhandlers that might have enjoyed the free lunch.
Just as I was feeling low, Sergio pointed out that we had donated $5 dollars not an hour before and walked off to the Chinese cart. Karma, people. Never underestimate it.



3 comments:

Shelley said...

This reminded me a lot of the Mexican Market in San Antonio. All kinds of food, homemade and imported items. I could spend loads of time in a place like that.

Sergio and Dawn said...

Retha: The Saturday Market runs on Saturday and Sunday. I don't know why the misleading name.

Iggy: Stop being dirty minded! They are British meat pies...I think.

Sergio and Dawn said...

Don't worry about it Louisa, I have done that many times. Thanks for the clarification, I was just guessing at what pasties were. I plan on trying one the next time we make it to the market, though.