back in time.

this weekend is three-days-long and i am blissfully alone. my kids went to visit family in the campo and i stayed behind - threat of rain, long bus ride and just in need of a break. i spent saturday in the supermarket (so much easier with no little hands throwing things in the cart), and treated myself to a sweet frog. then i went home and did four loads of laundry. FOUR LOADS OF LAUNDRY. at night.

with no drier.

on sunday, my friend deborah and i had plans to visit the rousculps. we were to meet at church and then head out - but poor rebecca has dengue fever, so those plans got squashed.

(a tangent: i've been visiting different churches each sunday, in hopes of finding something that i can deal with. today's church was... a bit reminiscent of new life covenant church in chicago but less warm. and a bit staged. it was also really long.)

around noon we got hungry. really hungry.

so, we went to eat. close to the church there is a little chain-style bakery and a asian-fusion vegetarian place. both are decent, but deborah had a better idea. she took us to casa bader, what was once a men's only club/lounge, but is now a quaint, little place tucked into the historic-colonial zone of center city. the outside is non-descript. i would never have imagined this little gem from the front - a run-down bar looking place, with wooden doors and a tin roof.

we walked in, and walked straight to the patio in the back.
it was like walking back in time - the original, old-school advertisements for quisqueya beer (complete with farah faucet haired model) were still painted on the walls.

the food is just simple, dominican chucherria (junk food) like empanadas and quipes. they also served a bulgar wheat salad, stuffed eggplant, ninos envuelto (like stuffed cabage) and lasagnas.

it was early on a sunday, so the place was empty - but i'm told that some of the older couples from the area - probably men who belonged when it was still a boys club and their wives - come and drink, smoke cigars, dance merengue and play dominoes in the afternoon.

we were talking and deborah said that this place isn't mentioned in any of the tourist guide books. but it really is a place to sit down and take some memories. the food is decent, the people are friendly - and it's like a throw back to a different time.