John Wise

Because desert, such as this increasingly rare bit of undeveloped wasteland, is so profoundly ugly and worthless, it is the goal of land developers in and around Phoenix to eliminate these boring sights. Look hard, can you see anything worth saving? That’s right, there is nothing here and so why not put cookie-cutter homes spaced a few feet apart so at the least all those people moving to Arizona won’t have to look at dried-up old cactus but will be able to look at their dried-up old neighbor. If you haven’t figured it out – I LOVE THE DESERT. I see tons of beautiful stuff out on this horizon. What I don’t see is property taxes offering politicians fat raises, or electricity being delivered to Saguaros and coyotes allowing local power companies to maintain quarterly profits. So, I am forced to accept that this is a fleeting view of nature that will soon be replaced by the short term greed and the desire of retirees to escape the crime of Detroit, the snow of Minnesota, the hurricanes of the Gulf Coast, and a vast midwestern swath of the population who are descending on Phoenix for jobs and cheap houses – yeah right, houses 65 miles from their jobs, welcome to your new commute.

Such is Life is a fourteen-year-old Mexican restaurant on 24th Street in Phoenix, Arizona. Better known by its Spanish name on the building, Asi es la Vida, Such is Life, was recently reviewed on a local food blog that sparked my interest. Gourmet Mexican cooking is a great pleasure but far removed from what most people know as Mexican food. Smoked jalapeno sauces (chipotle) to the classic spicy nut and chili sauce known as Mole, foods cooked or dipped in these savory flavors distinguish Mexican cooking from all others. We started with a melted cheese appetizer loaded with poblano chili and mushrooms which we rolled into steamed corn tortillas and dipped into the tomatillo and chipotle salsas. I tried a combo stew platter with a portion of pork slow-roasted in an orange-based sauce along with chicken slow-cooked in mole. Caroline tried the Pescado A La Veracruzana – unfortunately, Asi es la Vida is not very kindly towards vegetarians. For dessert, I had a very nice Tres Leches Cake (3 milks cake) while Caroline had the much better, even great, crepe with cajeta (goat milk caramel sauce). This cajeta we enjoyed especially as it was the envinada or wine version of the sweet sauce.

“I drive a Hyundai, I drive a Hyundai. I get 35 miles to a gallon – ha ha hah haaaa ha” – sung to the most annoying rhythm you can think of. Yeah, look who’s laughing now, Mr. Hummer Driver, Mister “It Costs Me $98 to fill my 32-gallon behemoth tank”. Ok, so you can still crush my little tin can and I still hate your headlights illuminating the inside shallows of my skull, but at $5 a gallon I’ll have peace from your obnoxiousness and you will have to pound, crush, and destroy that mighty ego of compensation to crawl into your new Prius – har har har – suckers.