bodega cats: first in a series

this is sancocho:

he is the feline-in-residence at the bodega on dekalb between hall and washington, two doors down from mike's diner.

a "sancocho", in case you were wondering, is a meat-heavy stew that is the national dish of the dominican republic. the bodega owner's daughter told me that her dad likes to name their cats after food. works for me! (in my family we gave all our cats names that started with the letter m....) she calls him "ocho" for short, and says that he has a loyal following among their customers, some of whom have even brought him presents.

you can usually find him sitting on the big blue metal box outside the store, or in the bushes just beyond it.

ps - and if you want to whip up some sancocho, here's a recipe.