Barbecued bologna is healthier, spluttered the Wizard of Westside.

A poster at the Louisville Hot Bytes restaurant forum passed this along:

My best bud and I played music and sang a wedding in New Albany. Upon leaving, I told her I was dying to try this restaurant. Nobody at the Methodist church had ever heard of it. The church secretary brought out 2 yellow pages books and could not find the address! Finally, we drove to a convenient store on State Street where I asked everyone there about it. Finally, one lady said she thought she had seen the sign, blah blah so we followed Market St until....voila!! At this point, I think even my best friend thought I was crazy!

Oh my goodness....the food was just amazing! I had the veggie enchiladas with green sauce. My friend had a shrimp quesadilla. You sure can tell the difference in homemade, everything from scratch ingredients. Our server was a friendly young lady who did a superb job. Water was always refilled, questions answered, etc. We were both SO impressed with the food, atmosphere and service! I will be back VERY soon. I just want to know why all the "New Albanians" have never heard of this place!!! VERY strange.

Certainly no one denies that New Albanians are, well, a bit behind the times, and occasionally even misinformed. How else do we account for the Gang of Four?

As we await the advent of a barbecued bologna quesadilla, here's an impromptu Top Ten list of why New Albanians don't know La Rosita's exists:

10. Many New Albanians have yet to concede that there is a Hispanic presence in the community.

9. Many of those who have noticed Hispanics are intimidated by them and persist in patronizing Taco Bell, since it’s advertised on television and as a result clearly must be the best choice.

8. Chef Israel got tired of hearing New Albanians ask for “enchilada style,” so now he refers all of them to whatever is left of Tumbleweed … and they actually go.

7. The people who work in mini-marts all commute from outlying areas, flee after dark, and consequently know even less than the natives about New Albany’s life and times.

6. New Albanians have been so busy removing the mufflers from their motorcycles that they didn’t notice all the cars lined up outside 1515 East Market Street.

5. Who needs authentic Mexican food when the chicken and dumplings at Harvest Homecoming are so good AND so cheap?

4. Cultural diversity is outlawed by city council ordinance, although residents are still required to maintain a parlor spittoon and keep a spare horseshoe in their buggies.

3. La Rosita’s has beer but not liquor, hence no dollar margarita night during the NASCAR race, as at Los Indios.

2. What? No burgers? How do you expect my wholesome, angelic child to eat in a place without burgers? Whaddya think this is, Tijuana? Big Buford, here we come.

1. The Yellow Pages remain useless if you were never taught to alphabetize, and besides, there are various religious injunctions against coveting your neighbor’s cilantro.