Chicken Hamburger

Chicken Hamburger

One bight Saturday afternoon, after spending the morning in the center, after a tough week of lesson planning, frustration, a few shed tears, I decided to take a trip to the “United States of America” – Cabarete Beach, the DR’s own Miami beach.

After a wonderful afternoon of solitude -- reading, sunbathing, people watching, and swimming, I thought I would end my trip with an all-American chicken sandwich. I approached the waitress at a bar-and-grill I frequent.

(In Spanish…)

Me: Hey, do you have a Happy Hour for food?

Waitress: Yes we do, 30% off the food.

Me: Does that include everything on the menu?

Waitress: No, here’s the happy hour menu.

Me: Ok, I just want a chicken sandwich.

Waitress: That’s not on the happy hour menu.

Me: That’s okay. I just want a chicken sandwich with fries.

Waitress: The chicken sandwich doesn’t come with fries. It comes with potato chips. See? (She takes out the regular menu and points to a picture above the sandwich section depicting a sandwich and potato chips.)

Me: Oh, I’ve ordered here plenty of times, and the chicken sandwich comes with fries. I order from this section. (I point to the hamburger section, which includes a note that for chicken, it costs 30 pesos more.)

Waitress: Oh, that’s because that’s a chicken hamburger. Chicken hamburgers come with fries.

Yeah, chicken hamburger. Isn’t a hamburger a sandwich? Isn’t a piece of chicken in a bun a sandwich?

Well, here in the DR, it’s a chicken hamburger!