bien

Fernando, the Dominican Republican owner of Don Fernando, a restaurant at 2805 38th Avenue North in St. Petersburg (FL), let me know that bien is Spanish for "good." Ditto French. And all that was in my original entry that got lost, about which I shall seethe until the bovines meander back home ...

You locals should check out Don Fernando if you haven't already. It's at the site of the original Saffron's, which is long gone, both from that location and from the epicurean scene in St. Petersburg. The daily special at Don Fernando is affordable, which is always nice, and the food is good. It's one of the few places I can get Malta, that intense molasses-flavored soda. I first had it in Ghana (do I have to add West Africa or does everyone know where Ghana is?). It's the only soda pop I like.

I love being surrounded by languages other than English, and you'll find that at Don Fernando. When I've tried my clumsy Spanish on the employees, they're entirely good-natured about it. Well, wait a minute! What do I know? My Spanish isn't good at all. Maybe they're saying, "Listen to this honkey-ass old woman spewing Spanglish like a two-year-old! She should be hung by her thumbs and flogged with plantain peels!" I suppose they'd say, "gringa-ass vieja," though ...

Go eat there. You'll like it.

Hmm ... I had to change the time again in the Post date and time window. I wonder what I'm doing wrong? As you know if you've been paying attention, all mistakes here are mine.