No joke.

A coca cola a day and I am only a Mexican away.

Four days a week, I bring my lunch to work. Besides being cheap, I try to eat delicious and healthy food. I make enough dinner to have a lunch the next day, and I bring that. Also, I have a Coke with every lunch. Everyone does. No, not just the people in my office but ALL of Mexico. Seriously.

The numbers. Mexico has the highest per capita consumption of coke in the world. No joke. These cats drink them like water. About two months ago the Wall Street Journal published an article that elaborated on this addiction. Apparently it is so intense that there is a huge underground network bringing Mexican coke illegally into the U.S. No joke. “The underground trade is costing Coke's 75 U.S. bottlers millions of dollars a year in sales to a motley crew of wholesalers, distributors and mom-and-pop retailers who are beating the bottlers to a lucrative market with their own brand.” No freaking joke.

The sweet goodness. The difference between U.S. coke and Mexican coke is sugar, or more specifically, syrup. Pure and simple. Pure and deliciousness. Mexican coke is manufactured here and has a distinct flavor. When Mexicans migrate to the U.S., they miss that good home taste. So, apparently, it gets brought over the border.

Addiction. As I walk by the hellacious smelling taco stands in morning on my way to work, I gag and watch hungry Mexicans chugging down cokes. This is not something I could ever do: eat tacos and chug coke in the morning. And you know I’m not joking.

Torta de Tamale. Have you ever wondered what a piece of corn bread sandwiched between two other slices of bread would taste like? Me either. That’s just foolishness. So welcome to the land of the foolish. The “torta de tamale” is a Mexican breakfast delicacy. It is a corn tamale sandwich. No tomato, no avocado, no nada…no joke. It’s a carb-lovers dream come true. For breakfast. Don’t forget a large glass of water because you’ll need it to get through this bad boy. Or perhaps, chug a coke.