Weekend Ritual

Michael and I have had a weekend ritual for the past 22 years-going to the Frontier. The Frontier is right across from the University, known and frequented by all sorts of Albuquerqueans. A long time ago I was afraid to frequent the place. I thought it was a dive filled with all sorts of weird people. It is filled with all sorts of people, but I have ceased thinking of it as a dive.

We started going to the Frontier together when Michael was living on Vassar, near the University. At times we walked the mile from his house. Being older and lazier now, we drive all the way across time later in the day to avoid the lines.

Michael usually orders the same- Breakfast Burrito. I'm guessing he's eaten over 2000 of them in his tenure as Frontier regular. In my gluten-eating days I'd share, ordering fresh orange juice and my own tortillas. The soft, fragrant flour tortillas are made at the Frontier, where they place balls of dough in the tortilla machine, which flattens and bakes them. That's still what I consider one of my greatest losses since starting the gluten-free diet. Michael douses the burrito with the Frontier's warm, homemade, fiery salsa. Some of it invariably ends up on Michael's shirt.

Nowadays I have a salad or an enchilada. but in the good old days, we used to share a Frontier cinnamon roll. I can honestly say I've never had anything like them (and superhonestly, I haven't had one in almost 10 years!) As I remember, they're soft and sugary-cinnamony and wonderful.

The people watching at the Frontier is good as well. You see it all. University students and staff, of course, younger wannabes, young and older families, older (than us) couples, people attending performances and those performing at Popejoy Hall across the street, the extremely dressed and the conservatively dressed, and two people who have been coming together for 22 years, or approximately 1500 times!