This blog post should have been a follow-up to my previous post about Becoming a Mexican. I have been working on it since last week and it is called “A Survivors Guide to Becoming a Mexican Citizen” Essentially it deals with the nitty gritty of submitting your citizenship application with helpful tips so that others will hopefully have a much smoother experience than I did. BUT…..Life happened (as it so often does) before I could complete that post.
So tonight’s post is about seizing the day or carpe diem! I am all about sucking the marrow out of life whenever I can and I especially believe in spontaneity. These types of opportunities seem to present themselves less and less as the sands of time seem to slip away faster and faster. Today; however, was one of those glorious days when an unexpected opportunity fell squarely in our laps.
A lot of my work deals with social media marketing and today while I was scrolling through my Facebook updates I came across a post by Grupo Cenacolo saying that the first person who sent a message via inbox to reserve a table for Monday (tonight) would receive a free degustation of their new menu (drinks not included ). Of course, I jumped at the opportunity….it was a foodies dream come true. Miraculously we won (I never win anything)! After several messages back and forth with Daniela, the social media manager for Grupo Cenacolo, we booked a table.
From the get go we had a wonderful experience. Daniela, in advance had advised the restaurant that we were coming, so we avoided the potentially uncomfortable situation of having to explain that we there because we won a free meal. We were greeted warmly by Karina (the hostess-it was her second night on the job). She took us to a table lagoon-side and introduced us to Israel, who would be our server for the night. We were thoroughly impressed with the décor of the restaurant. The lighting was soft and inviting and as we were seated we caught the remnants of another beautiful Cancun sunset. We ordered a bottle of wine…recommended by Javier…the wine expert and sat back with eager anticipation for what was to come.
What came next was a true foodie extravaganza! Six small plates of exquisite seafood dishes that included lobster, seared tuna wrapped in prosciutto, squid, white fish bathed in black squid ink, and Carpaccio. Then two dishes of succulent meat prepared two ways. One of which was covered in a silky, pale yellow, rich, melted cheese. Oh my!!! Thank God we didn’t skip our Pilates class today! Then Chef, Mauro Amati, stopped by our table and graciously sent us a divine glass of red wine to accompany our meat dishes.
Our final dish provided a perfect ending to a marvellous meal. A martini glass filled with a mixture of assorted fresh berries folded into an impossibly smooth mascarpone cream. Truly a dessert fit for the gods. We washed it all down with a sweet anise and ordered the bill. It had been a thoroughly enjoyable evening especially since our plan for Monday night had been to work –out and then channel surf. It was an unexpected, spontaneous night and it reminded me that though my life may seem more ordered and tame these days that there are and still will be many more surprises in my future!
**** I would like to thank all of those responsible for making tonight possible—Daniela (Social Media Manager), Karina (hostess), Israel (our server), Javier (wine expert) and Chef Mauro Amati. GRACIAS!!! And I almost forget to mention the freshly baked Foccacia bread….amazing!!!
A SUPER Blog Ash! You sure do have a talent for writing and your food descriptions are the best that I have ever read!! No doubt Grupo Cenacolo will be very please with you too :0)
The restaurant looks beautiful! We have an anniversary coming up and now I think I know where to go 🙂
Well……aren’t you a lucky girl Ashlie :0) A very well-written blog with mouth-watering food descriptions! The décor and surroundings
looked impressively de-luxe. Definitely a restaurant to try on my next trip to Cancun!
Sounds like a dream! and free! love when life throws something like that at you, feels too good to be true, right? The restaurant looks beautiful! I look forward to your follow-up “Survivor’s Guide” post too!
Lisa-Yes, almost too good to be true! It was a beautiful spot and what made it even better was how kind everyone was to us.