8.308 Chicken Burrito

8.308

9 (Thu) November 2017

Chicken Burrito

3.0

from Chihuahua

(International School Manila – Bearcat Cantina)

-BGC, Taguig, Manila, Philippines-

with IZ

I had to pick up the boys from school. While waiting for the older one to finish, the younger one and I got snacks in the middle/high school cafeteria.

fullsizeoutput_8648 — Not sure how this compares to other school cafeterias these days, but it’s so much nicer than what I had.

fullsizeoutput_864d — My kids go to a school where they sell sushi.

fullsizeoutput_8652 — DJ was most looking forward to the sushi when he became a middle schooler – on the way to school on the first morning of 6th Grade, he declared in the car that he was having sushi for lunch – only to report after coming home that the sushi turned out to be pretty crappy. While I’m very proud that my kids have sophisticated palates, I worry sometimes that they’re becoming food snobs.

fullsizeoutput_864e — After school, the cafeteria seems to be filled with as many parents as students.

fullsizeoutput_8650 — Among the various offerings, the cafeteria has a food stall operated by my favorite Tex-Mex chain Chihuahua (see most recently 8.176 Burritoes).

I’d noticed that DJ was putting on weight.

Then, I discovered in his ID wallet – the one that he wears on a lanyard around his neck all day – a loyalty card from Chihuahua that had him collecting stamps for purchased burritoes towards getting the 20th free. I tore it up. “But Dad, I only needed 6 more!!” I tried to explain to him about food marketing tactics and how kids are most vulnerable. Students aren’t allowed to pay directly for their food – the IDs work as a debit cards that parents top up – so the only point of the incentive scheme is to make eating feel like an achievement. “You can have a burrito whenever you want, but never because you’re trying to win a bogus award.”