.png)
By: Camyrn McPherson
What’s the one thing we can all agree on? Chips & Queso is the BEST part of going to a Mexican restaurant. You sit down, order a cold beverage of choice (mine is always Coke), and immediately ask “can we get an order of queso please?” When the Chips & Queso hits the table, you say “I’ll only have a few chips,” but before you know it, the second bowl of chips is empty and you’re wiping the queso clean. Just me? I refuse to believe in such atrocities.
When I think about my long-lived love of Chips & Queso, I can’t help remembering some of my favorite moments in life.
My first ever soccer team was supported by the local Mexican restaurant. The El Toro Bulls didn’t win every game, but we did love Thursday night Karaoke Nights served with a side of Chips & Queso. I remember first realizing how extroverted I was at these El Toro Karaoke Nights. With my small town Mexican restaurant filled with family and friends, I’d sing a High School Musical song off pitch and laugh with my friends the rest of the night. When I think of Chips & Queso, I think of the El Toro Bulls.
My best friend and I built our relationship over Chips & Queso. I’ve shed tears over Chips & Queso. I’ve had hard conversations over Chips & Queso. I’ve fallen in love over Chips & Queso. From soccer celebrations to awkward first dates to family catch ups, Chips & Queso has been by my side for many memories I don’t want to forget.
Today, as I sat down for Chips & Queso, I recounted these memories to my best friend and realized that I have often missed the moment. I didn’t realize then what Thursday night karaoke would mean to me all these years later. I didn’t recognize that I was forming lifelong friendships each time I sat down at Louisville’s El Nopal. The moments flew by and now I look back and wonder what else I may have missed. In the middle of the mundane (and delicious) Chips & Queso meals, I was experiencing things I’d never want to forget.
Maybe to you Chips & Queso is mundane, but to it I owe so much. May my silly little reflection on Chips & Queso be a reminder that the small moments can have big impacts on our lives. May it help us all remain a little more present when we’re eating that first round of chips.
Camyrn, of Union, Ky., is a member of the McConnell Scholar Class of 2025 at the University of Louisville where she studies psychology and political science.