My Brain in Coconut Flan 02.25.2011

Seven years ago when Eric and I visited Cartagena, we ate at La Vitrola.  I recall it being a good experience, and this time I took notes.  The dinner at La Vitrola was the last official birthday weekend event and it could not have been more fabulous.  Good food and drink plus conversation with people with whom you've celebrated for more than 48 hours is a good combination.

 

La Vitrola is not a big space and there was a live band playing Cuban music.  The restaurant has a colonial look.  Our party was tucked away in a room with four large, round tables seating eight each    

 

For the appetizer, I had Ceviche de Corvina -- limey sharp and yummy bits of cilantro and mint.  Corvina is a grey-colored fish -- also called "croaker fish" due to the sound it makes when it pops its head out of water -- found off the waters of California and Mexico.  

 

For the main course, I ordered Filete de Corvina Jalepeno.  Yes, more corvina.  I could not get enough.  And jalepeno sauce?  My regular dining companions know that when my mouth is on fire, I am happy.  The jalepeno sauce was not fire-inducing but it was so good I had to close my eyes for a moment.  

 

One of the reasons I stay away from fish filets is because of the skin.  I don't understand:  It's slimy, it's gross -- take it off.  The wonderful chef at La Vitrola not only took the skin off, but layered the plate with thin slices of marinated cucumber -- it looked like the skin, but wasn't, and tasted so much better.

 

And finally, the dessert.  Yes, I had flan -- coconut flan.  I was so full after the corvina entre, and yet I found the resources within myself to finish the flan.  The coconut flakes were all over, and the rich flavors combined together were perfection.  There were a number of options for dessert and I saw other diners had ordered a chocolate dessert.  I don't know what to say about other people's bad dessert decisions.  

 

Every now and again, the taste or smell of something will consume my mind:  there is no part of my brain that isn't experiencing that taste or smell.  The coconut flan at La Vitrola was just such an experience.

 

Every night after dinner, we have walked, sated, back to our room through the hotel courtyard, with the end-of-day chirps and croaks of hidden bugs, and a slight breeze running through each entryway.  We are one of the few people heading back to our rooms as most are just sitting down for after-dinner drinks, or meeting up just before heading out for late dinner and dancing. 

 

Next trip:  more coffee and/or Red Bull.