86. Eat at authentic Mexican restaurant

Linares on Central Ave. in Charlotte. For those who don't know anything about Charlotte, the Hispanic population is growing. Central Ave. is one of the pockets in Charlotte that is becoming increasingly Latino. Ever since I've lived here (since 2001) I have seen many Mexican restaurants up and down Central. I've always wanted to go, but also always got the feeling that I'd be the only Gringo (and non-Spanish speaker) there. As much as I like Mexican food, there's no way it will ever entice me to make a fool of myself.

 
Enter Trish Jackson, a sweet friend of mine. She speaks Spanish fluently. She teaches a bunch of high schoolers Spanish (crazy!). We walked in and were greeted in Spanish. The server didn't even attempt to talk English to us...she just assumed that one of us knew what she was saying. Thank heaven for Trish. She ordered my drink for me (still can't remember the annunciation of the name. But, I do know you spell it with an H even though you pronounce it with a O). I thought she'd need to order food for me, but thankfully, they had English subtitles.

So Trish - this post is dedicated to you. Thanks for making it happen and I had a great time!