By Terry Sovil from the February 2011 Edition
Acting on a tip that a fantastic new café had opened in the Las Brisas area we set out to sample the fare. This new spot is down by Costeños Coffee Shop, directly across the street from Dr. Navarro’s Eye Clinic and about a half block before SKOL’s Bar & Grill. From the big crucero with the sailboat keep on the right lateral.
You’ll go through two stop lights and then you want to keep an eye peeled for the purple rope lights on the right just down from the corner.
Para llevar means “to take away” but adding a “t” to llevar”t” means great food at a table on site. Para Llevart Bistro Café opened on 3/January/2011. The ambiance is outstanding and we listened to a blend of soft jazz, world and world lounge type music. It fit the décor nicely. The street-side tables
in Las Brisas beat the deafening sound of Madrid Blvd.
Chef Freddy Alatriste and Adriana Bautista have lived and worked in San Francisco and Freddy is a world traveled chef. Freddy is also an instructor at the Casserole training center and has had his hand in menu development for several restaurants including the new China Palace that just opened by Schooners.
The menu had a nice variety of foods from sandwiches to full course dinner delights. Spanish on the left side, English on the right side. Both Freddy and Adriana speak English. They serve breakfast treats like bagels and croissants and then continue with lunch and dinner. It was tough to make a choice! I selected the house coffee which was large and served Mexican style with a subtle aftertaste of cinnamon at 15 pesos. A tapas, similar to a brochetta, was served for starters, mild peppers and olives gently baked in oils on top of a nice French style bread.
Dinners were Lacquered chicken thighs ($80 pesos) with mustard and lemon and a vegetarian sandwich with egg plant, red pepper, fried zucchini, cheese and a balsamic vinegar ($35 pesos with salad). The chicken was absolutely delicious with an outstanding sauce on a bed of spinach. The sandwich was similar to a thin Panini, warm and good. For dessert we tried a Pañuelos, warm chocolate carefully wrapped in a fried puff pastry served on a bed of peaches. The presentations were nothing short of stunning on square, clear plates.
Consensus was that this was “world class taste at Mexican prices”. We left full, but not stuffed. There is a large selection of beverages but alcohol is not served at this time. Para Llevart Bistro Café is open daily from 7am to 11pm Monday through Saturday. They are closed Sunday but may consider opening for a Mexican Brunch in a few weeks. Call 333-3008 for details but don’t waste time on the phone, get down there and try this place out!
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Terry is a founding partner and scuba instructor for Aquatic Sports and Adventures (Deportes y Aventuras Acuáticas) in Manzanillo. A PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors) Master Instructor in his 36th year as a PADI Professional. He also holds 15 Specialty Instructor Course ratings. Terry held a US Coast Guard 50-Ton Masters (Captain’s) License. In his past corporate life, he worked in computers from 1973 to 2005 from a computer operator to a project manager for companies including GE Capital Fleet Services and Target. From 2005 to 2008, he developed and oversaw delivery of training to Target’s Loss Prevention (Asset Protection) employees on the West Coast, USA. He led a network of 80+ instructors, evaluated training, performed needs assessments and gathered feedback on the delivery of training, conducted training in Crisis Leadership and Non-Violent Crisis Intervention to Target executives. Independently, he has taught hundreds of hours of skills-based training in American Red Cross CPR, First Aid, SCUBA and sailing and managed a staff of Project Managers at LogicBay in the production of multi-media training and web sites in a fast-paced environment of artists, instructional designers, writers and developers, creating a variety of interactive training and support products for Fortune 1000 companies.
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