Gifts Show and a Taco Mojado at Cinco de Mayo

Photo above...Found: cozy, intimate, charming little eatery; "Cinco de Mayo".

Last Saturday my calendar had two events marked that I wanted to attend, both were gift shows and both had friends of mine participating. Artist and crafters in general tend to support one another and try to make an appearance at an other's show, exhibition or gallery opening. Perhaps it is an unwritten law but I prefer to think of it as moral support.

Photo above...Another find, stain glass trinket/keepsake box by stain glass artist Sandra French. This photo was taken in my home, as this little treasure now sits atop my dresser.

Unfortunately Saturday was not a very pretty day, though it was decidedly better than it's predecessor Friday with it's dark storm clouds, gale force winds and torrential downpours. Saturday insisted on remaining gray and dismal, but the gale winds had lessened to brisk breezes and the torrential rains lightened to a constant misty drizzle. This would have prevented many from venturing out to join in the reverie of a gift show, however it wasn't sufficient to thwart me. I even managed to cajole my reluctant hubby into going by saying that we could start out at the event closest to home, then head way across town to the other show and either before or after that show we could scout out a nice little downtown restaurant and enjoy a bite of lunch. It was definitely this last part that interested John. He is not a big fan of the arts but he does enjoy food and eating is always high on his list of priorities.

Turned out that the show closest to home didn't start until 12:30 p.m. Rather late it seemed, but no matter, the other show started at 10:00 a.m. and it was an easy enough process to reverse the course of our route.

With camera in tow I had every intention of taking lots of photos at the two events, but was unable to so as both events were held in tight quarters with not enough room to capture a good clean shot. While the first event was not only held in a confined space and in a fairly dark location, it was the variety of the merchandise that was the biggest disappointment. I had anticipated an assortment of handcrafted gifts and art but was met with a plethora of commercially produced merchandise. I could just have easily gone into a local department store and shot photos of in-store displays...this was not what I wanted.

Photos above...Different perspectives...Stain Glass Trinket box with lid closed

The second show was crammed into a space far too small, with tables much too large. It impeded the flow of people browsing and made it difficult to traverse from one side of the room to the other, much like being a sardine in a tin and wanting to move from the bottom of the tin to the middle or the top, not easily done. I did manage to find a lovely Stain Glass Trinket box that Sandra French, a stain glass artist friend of mine had made. Simple yet elegant and something I had long wanted, the trinket box was quite reasonably priced and beautifully made.

Photo below...Same trinket box with lip open, notice the chain ? A nice touch and keeps the lid from getting bent or broken .

However the day was not total loss, photographically speaking that is, John and I found a charming little restaurant tucked into the rows of shops along Old Main Street in downtown Sarasota. The cool drizzly day whet our appetites for warm and spicy and Cinco de Mayo filled our craving perfectly. Small and intimate, saturated in warm colors of red and maize, with splashes of South of the Border pottery, Cinco de Mayo was undoubtedly an enchanting little eatery.

Photo above...Just inside Cinco de Mayo. Though the restaurant has a cozy warm feeling that one could say makes you feel all fuzzy, the fuzziness of this photo is due to the photographer. LOL

Both John and I ended up ordering a taco mojado with John ordering the steak version and I having the chicken. Not only were the meals a delight to the taste buds but the presentation was delightful as well. Two healthy tacos mojado filled each oval platter, moist with a rich creamy sauce and topped with grilled slices of succulent red and green bell peppers and sweet white onion, a temptation to the eye as well as the palate. Accompanying the wet tacos were a tasty side of refried beans, Spanish rice and a spicy, picante, pico de gallo.

Photo above...My platter of tacos mojado con pollo...and it was muy sabroso!

We had a most memorable lunch and are already looking forward to a return visit.