Music, Meals and More
‘Night Divine‘ by CelloVoci is coming to Teatro Vallarta on December 29, for one performance only. CelloVoci is composed of Branden and James (tenor and cellist, respectively) and Effie Passero soprano. For tickets and more information, see VallartaCalendar.com. This will be a spectacular concert. I will have more on this outstanding trio, comprised of three superstars in their own right, whose combination creates divinely inspired music for your ears.
I had dinner with Alan Ross at Flavors of Swell on Pulpito a couple of nights ago. Grupo Swell has recently taken over the old Zumo location, adding some bold splashes of color to the walls, and has brought the ease and comfort of their famous beach bar, just down the street, indoors without the sand.
The menu is concise rather than extensive, offering enough vegetarian options to make me happy. After checking with knowledgeable wait staff that the clam chowder was of the New England variety and not Manhattan, we each ordered a bowl. Fitting now that our climate has dialed down somewhat, hot soup seemed like the order of the day, or rather, the evening. It is seriously too big a serving! We could, neither of us, finish this deliciousness. It is rich beyond compare and would be exactly right to have it on its own with the crunchy bread that came with it, or to have the option to order a cup only. We still had two large salads to deal with, and the dessert menu looked and sounded fantastic.
Our salads were fresh, lightly coated with dressing, and came with more of their must-be-baked-in-house bread. There was no chance for dessert; we were both stuffed. So, that means another trip to Flavors of Swell is in the offing. We were both surprised at how busy Flavors was, considering it was Monday. And, as you can see, Flavors of Swell is dog-friendly – that is Winnie, Alan’s dog, commanding floor space.
Another fine restaurant, Barcelona Tapas, took good care of Patrice and me yesterday afternoon. Barcelona Tapas offers one of the finest views in the entire city, and I have to applaud them on their background music, which was exclusively guitar, unobtrusive, low volume, perfectly lovely song choices, so bravo, bravo for that. Italian maestro Paolo was setting up his guitar to play live for lucky patrons after 6 pm. He is a genius, and we’ll have to return there later in the day and appreciate his mastery and the great food.
We were treated to potato salad and again, two types of homemade bread. The potato omelet was as beautiful to look at as it tasted. An enormous platter of grilled mushrooms and a beet and goat cheese tapa left us just enough room for homemade ice cream with a fried banana drenched in cajeta, which I adore!
Join me for coffee tomorrow morning for a rundown on the latest Gay Mixer and our day trip to Coapinole.