Elementary School Cafeteria Meals We Miss

With the coronavirus pandemic making a mess of everything including the upcoming school year, it got some friends of mine and me thinking about our favorite elementary school cafeteria meals. I went to grade school at Cielo Vista Elementary School and one of my favorite things to eat were the tapatias. A flat fried corn tortilla slathered with refried beans and topped with chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and that delicious yellow school cheese. Pure heaven.

A friend of mine says her favorite thing to eat were the rolls at the a la carte window at Burges High School. They were delicious and they were made from scratch as far as I know and if they weren't I don't want to know. Soft, fluffy pillows of angel wing light dough baked to golden perfection and dripping with butter. Oh my.

The red enchiladas at El Paso High got high praise from a couple of friends who said that they've never had better enchiladas in their lives and they wish they could hire the señoras who used to make them. Every former El Paso student probably thinks their school lunch ladies made the best enchiladas but knowing what a connoisseur my friend is, I'll have to give the best school enchilada title to El Paso High because she knows what she's talking about.

Another favorite of all of my friends were the little ice cream cups with the flat wooden spoon. I think it was the spoon that made it taste so good. We usually got those on special occasions but sometimes the cafeteria would sell them at Cielo Vista and they went fast.

This year a lot of parents will be the cafeteria ladies for their kids. I hope in all the craziness of online learning and working from home that your family makes some good lunch time memories this semester.