The Greyhound bus had more riders than it had seats, and the Plains rolled by endlessly outside the hermetically sealed windows. We’d been a long time on the road since Amarillo, and everyone was getting fidgety. The weather-beaten young man sitting next to me stuck his legs out into the aisle. His stomach growled. He glanced my way, grinned apologetically, and struggled to find the words he needed in a language that was not yet his own: “We stop soon, no?” He nodded at the crumpled schedule in his hand. I glanced at the tiny print and shook my head. “No,” I replied, “not for a while.” His stomach growled again, and mine soon joined in. Still, things could have been worse. The next stop might be many hours away, but I’d come prepared.

I gestured to the young man, pointing at the overhead storage rack. He moved aside, and I stood up to grab my rucksack. I found it, more by touch than sight, and hauled it over the rail. Inside, right on top, was a grocery bag. It held a thick plastic envelope of flour tortillas, a large block of jack cheese, and a jar of salsa. Using my flattened rucksack as a table, I laid out the feast, then invited my seat mate to join me. A broad smile creased his face, and the next few miles passed quickly as we made a simple meal of sliced cheese and salsa rolled in tortillas. In between bites, my companion told me about his mother in Mexico and how she made tortillas, how the family ate tortillas at every meal, and how he and his brothers would tuck folded tortillas into their pockets whenever they went out to work in the fields. “You know,” he concluded, “you will never go hungry when you have a tortilla in your pocket.” And the broad smile once again creased his face.

Appearances often deceive. Tortillas may not look like much on the HyperMart shelves, but they can mean a lot to a hungry traveler. They’re sturdy, for one thing. They’re also versatile and delicious. Fill them with a few of your favorite things, then roll them, fold them, or stack them. Eat them cold or hot. Fry, bake, simmer, or toast them. Ring the changes. Whatever you do with them, and however you eat them, you’ll never go hungry as long as you have a tortilla in your pocket. And that’s alimentary. Read more on preparing and eating tortillas…

Tags: tortillas