Thanksgiving in the city of Mexicans and Vietnamese

The first thing I noticed when the boy was driving me around on a hunt for coffee (turns out neither of his parents are coffee drinkers) are telltale signs of Mexicans and Vietnamese. From taquerias to banh mi and pho, san jose is comfort food heaven for me!! It also amused me that the boy had to go all the way to NYC to find a Vietnamese girl when he grew up in one of the largest communities of Vietnamese in the states.

Breakfast was cooked by the boy’s dad who turns out to be a foodie and great chef . . . hmmm . . . chorizo scrambled eggs served with the best homemade chili sauce and greasy yet crisp home potatoes. We were stuffed but luckily had 7 or 8 hours to recover our appetites before Thanksgiving dinner.

While I chatted with the boy’s dad and step-mom, the boy and his step-brother attempted to fix his mom’s backup car. Apparently, the car gets infrequent use and every time the boy visits his mom he has problems with it. This visit proved no different- from windows that refused to roll up to doors that temperamentally locked up! Having grown up driving used cars, I just took it in stride.

The rest of the day was a haze of introductions and chitchatting with the boy's family, napping, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and overeating. . .