Cotulla's

photo courtesy of my four eyes on Laredo

                                                                                                                                      

These are the kinda things I miss when I'm in my own lil world. Apparently, Cotulla's restaurant was torn down recently. I don't even know if any of it is still standing. My apologies, I don't pass by it often..scratch that, I passed by it yesterday but I didn't even bother to look at the place. I just took it for granted that it was still standing. Not anymore...at least I don't think. 

Cotulla's was a cool place to go and dine. When I was a kid, my mom would always take us there on Sunday mornings to have mariachis of papa con huevo, sausage con papa, or chorizo con huevo. Most often, it'd just be Mom, my brothers, and myself. We'd go to church in the morning then head off for brunch there. It's not that Dad isn't religious, in his own quiet manner he is, but my brothers and I were going through the process of completing our communion and confession. So, Dad would sleep in and we'd get to eat out. 

Sitting there at our usual table, I remember looking at all the head mounts of cows, deer, and various other stuffed creatures. Our 'usual' table was under this humongous head mount of a longhorn. My brothers would constantly worry about it falling on them at any moment. In my ten-year-old brain, I was never able to comprehend that such an animal existed out in the world. At this point, the only ranch I'd ever been on were the acres my dad had bought and there sure weren't any huge toros on it. 

Sometimes, my grandmother would also go along with us. The owners of the place would stop and talk to us, I don't really know who they were, but my grandmother knew a lot of people. Can't really say we ever got a free meal but we loved it there. 

The last time I visited the place was back in 2006. I went to have lunch with the ex. I had the brisket plate and that had been the only time I had ever ordered anything besides mariachis. The ex complained about the food, like he always did, and I regretted taking him there. I recall feeling like I had tainted the place with his presence. He always had a way of ruining happy moments.

Anyways, it was sad to see that the place had closed when I moved back home. It's even sadder now to see that it's completely gone. I guess when it was still standing, there was always the hope that perhaps maybe one day, it'd open its doors again. Pero no. 

But the memories remain, verdad...and the good ones are the only ones I have.

Farewell to a great restaurant that provided my family with awesome moments. 

Gracias.