|
| Café
des Artistes
Delicately exquisite and
a most pleasant surprise!
|
| By Jesús de Avila - May
11, 2003 [versión
español] |
 I
had not visited this restaurant for over six years.
My last experience there had left me disillusioned.
Back then I had felt that the place was nice but cold,
and expensive. I had promised myself never to return.
Last week, my friend Laila advised
me that she was organizing a birthday dinner for Abril,
a mutual friend of ours, and that we were invited to
dine at Café des Artistes. Although I remembered
the promise I had made to myself, I just couldn’t
refuse her invitation. So although I was against it,
I told Claudia that we would be going to dinner on Saturday,
at 9 o’clock, at Café des Artistes.
We arrived a little ahead of time
so Claudia and I sat down in the bar and waiting area
on the restaurant’s terrace that overlooks the
street. The evening began very pleasantly as that particular
corner is indeed conducive to intimate conversation.
Laila, Abril and her husband Rafael arrived a few minutes
later and we all went in to the restaurant together.
In order to reach the table that
had been reserved for us, we had to walk through the
entire restaurant, which gave us the chance to see all
its different rooms, listen to the chattering of the
diners and inhaling the aromas of the dishes. It whet
my appetite. Our table was outside in the garden area
right under some gigantic ferns, surrounded by huge
bamboo, next to a little stream filled with multicolored
little flowers flowing downstream. The attention we
received was warm -and proper- from the outset. Everything
was going very well but in the back of my mind, I still
had the feeling that I would be disappointed once again
by the size of the servings and the high prices I remembered
paying the last time.
While everyone was perusing the menu,
I waited till the very last minute to decide what I
would order. I did not want to focus on the prices so
I concentrated on the description of the dishes. It
is important that I tell you what each of us had:
Abril had the traditional cream of
pumpkin and crayfish, followed by the fillet of sea
bass covered in potato “scales”. Laila and
Claudia both ordered the same cream soup and the fillet
of red snapper broiled in a pistachio and coconut crust.
Rafael ordered the fish soup “Capuchin”
with saffron and the shrimp bathed in red curry as a
main course. I too had the cream of pumpkin and crayfish,
but I ordered the fillet of charcoal-broiled salmon
zarandeado..
We were all in awe at the flavors
of each of our dishes. We eat out often and I can tell
you that I have not enjoyed anything so refined anywhere
else. And the servings were what I least expected …enough!
So much so that I could easily have left over a reasonable
amount of salmon, but I would have kicked myself if
I had not enjoyed it to the very last, so even though
I thought I would not be able to …I finished it
all.
Coffee was served and we celebrated
Abril’s birthday. The restaurant treated us to
a spectacular and exquisite “mirror” of
delicious desserts of varied colors and flavors. All
simply marvelous!
 |
Claudia,
Abril, Laila, Jesus and Rafael. |
When the bill was brought to me is
when I got the biggest and most pleasant surprise of
the evening. Including our non-alcoholic drinks, it
totaled $1,585.00 Pesos! Or an average of $317. pesos
per person! When you take into consideration the quality
of the food, the exquisite recipes, the spectacular
presentation of each dish, the place, the ambience and
the service, I can tell you that dining at Café
des Artistes is worth it! And it is worth even more
when I think of other restaurants who call themselves
top class and where we have had to pay much more. There
are many other good things I would like to share with
you about our evening at Café des Artistes, but
as they wouldn’t allow me more space, I’ll
have to do it another time.
Following that visit I have renewed
my promise to myself, except that this time it is to
return to Café des Artistes. It gave me great
pleasure to erase the poor image of the restaurant that
I had been carrying in my mind ever since that last
visit, and I have confirmed that its owner Thierry Blouet
is most deservedly recognized worldwide for his creations
where he combines Mexican ingredients in his own very
personal style.
Congratulations and many thanks for
the extraordinary evening, Thierry! Until next time.
Jesús de Avila
editor@pvmirror.com
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