Taco Ballz Deep- Chapter Two: Oh Brunch Please!

Not more than an hour later did Una and Miro finish setting up for the small lunch rush they expected. Miro explained to Una during the process that by serving on their last day open the restaurant could use the remaining supplies. Miro even shared the recipe for their namesake Taco Ballz. It was one scoop of ground beef, a double sprinkle of salt, spread over nacho crumbles that were rolled into a ball and then fried. The trick was that once fried the taco balls were injected with sour cream mixed with powdered margarita mix.

Miro said his grandfather who originally opened the restaurant tried to sell the recipe to Taco Bell when the first franchise chains opened in the 1960s. Taco Bell had no interest, so he opened his place thinking it would be a business rival. However, the restaurant never took off as he had hoped. Miro chalked it up to the restaurant rebranding too many times before ever establishing a strong consumer base. Miro went on to say that his grandfather died just before the dead mouse in the milk carton incident, leaving his uncle to take over. Mr. Owens, Miro's uncle immediately had the place appraised and decided to sell. Miro had always assumed the restaurant would have fallen to him, as he had been running it since his late teens.

Una wanting to know more asked, "What do you mean 'rebranded' too many times?" Miro in the easy way that he spoke answered, "My grandfather at different points in time made this place a different theme. Like in the late '60s, it was a jazz lounge, in the '70s it was a gentlemen's club, '80s it was an adult mystery dinner playhouse, in the '90s it was an open mic bar, and most recently a place for speed dating." Una chuckled at the variety as she tried to picture each era. Miro led her to the office to hold up some of the nostalgic advertisement posters that he had set aside.

They were laughing together when they heard a knock on the drive-thru window. Una could see two men on pedal bikes who were wearing white short-sleeved collared shirts that had large print name tags with neatly pressed black slacks. Miro reassured Una, "Oh, that's Chris and Pete. They're missionaries, but mostly they snoop around the neighborhood." Una watched Miro open the drive-thru window to greet the young men. "Hi, guys what can I do you for?" Miro said. Pete replied, "There's a couple of hobos going at it behind your dumpster. Can you report it to the police? We don't have cell phones." Miro said he would and then went into his office despite there being a phone in the kitchen.

Una followed and asked, "Do you want me out there waiting for the cops or should I stay in here for when they come?" Miro once again with that devilish grin of his said, "Oh, I'm not going to call the cops. I don't care. How long can hobos hook up for anyway?" Una was confused but Miro continued, "Chris and Pete complain about everything. Yesterday they wanted me to write a letter to the congressmen because they saw a woman bend down in a mini skirt without the proper 'undergarments' whatever that means." Una chuckled in the office with Miro before they went back to work. It was almost lunch.