全国人都在吃的午餐

刚过中午，街道就安静了下来，店铺的卷帘门放下了一半。你想去的那家办公室关着门，旁边那家小餐馆却突然挤满了人。

It is just after noon and the street has gone quiet. Shutters are half down. The office you wanted is closed, and the small restaurant beside it is suddenly full.

在多米尼加共和国，一天中真正重要的一餐是午餐，而不是晚餐。端上来的那盘饭是白米饭，浇上炖红豆，配一块肉，通常是鸡肉，旁边还有一点沙拉，运气好的话还会有炸青香蕉。这道菜叫la bandera，意思是“国旗”，因为盘子里的颜色正是这个国家国旗的颜色。人们一周里大多数日子都吃它，却从不厌倦。

In the Dominican Republic lunch is the real meal of the day, not dinner. The plate that arrives is white rice, stewed red beans poured over it, and a piece of meat, usually chicken, with a little salad on the side and fried green plantain if you are lucky. It is called la bandera, which means the flag, because the colours on the plate are the colours of the country. People eat it most days of the week and do not get tired of it.

真正值得了解的不是这道菜的做法，而是吃饭的节奏。如果你饿着肚子在下午三点才出现，好的餐馆早已人去楼空，饭菜也卖完了。要和大家一起吃饭，吃完之后再站着要一小杯浓咖啡，然后重新走进外面的暑热里。

The useful thing to know is the rhythm, not the recipe. If you turn up hungry at three in the afternoon you will find the good places empty and the food gone. Eat when everybody else eats. Then ask for a small strong coffee afterwards, standing up, and go back out into the heat.