The Red Thread of Fate

"The sacredness of this experience, as in life, is all about the pilgrims you meet along the way."

~ Sean Dietrich

Carla and Victor are a couple of "pilgrims" that I have met along the way in my journey through this immigrant experience. They are a married couple that came to Cuenca from Venezuela eight years ago and own one of my favorite restaurants, "Clandestino". Clandestino is such an appropriate name as it is in an out of the way neighborhood in a small, nondescript building that wears no sign. There is no indication of the love, warmth, and culinary delights that you will find inside. The door is locked and you must ring the doorbell to gain entrance. So clandestine!

In East-Asian cultures there is a belief that couples who are destined to be together for life are bound from birth by an invisible red cord that extends from one's finger to the finger of their destined partner, binding them for eternity. The first time I ate at Clandestino, Carla came to my table to take my order and I noticed a red cord tattoo extending down her left arm down to her ring finger. I did not think much about it until her husband Victor came to my table to check to see if I was enjoying my meal and I noticed that he had the same red cord tattoo in the same place as Carla. I pointed to his arm and said "I see you have the red thread of fate on your arm". Victor burst out into a huge smile and said "oh, you know about the red thread"? This led to a discussion of our mutual admiration of East Asian cultures and how that influences the food he creates. Since then Carla, Victor, and I have become friends and I dine at Clandestino at least once a week.

Carla and Victor

Victor is from Venezuela, but trained as a chef in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He specializes in Italian/Asian fusion cuisine and is constantly creating fresh, new culinary wonders. Clandestino is a tiny restaurant with about eight tables in a small covered courtyard with a gravel floor and an open kitchen where you can watch Victor lovingly make everything he serves from scratch; everything from fresh pasta and bread to homemade kimchi, which I buy by the pint to take home. When I dine there, Victor will often bring me a small plate with a few bites of some dish that he is experimenting with to potentially add to the menu. Once he brought me a small portion of kimchi fried rice to try and to provide feedback (it was amazing) and yesterday be brought me a single hand folded tortellini with a pomodoro/pesto sauce that was out of this world! While Victor is busy creating in the kitchen, Carla serves as host in the front of the house making everyone feel like special guests. While you are dining, their sweet little schnauzer, Khaleesi, will greet each guest and often curl up next to you on the bench seat and take a nap. I feel as if I am being treated to a special evening in their home; great company, delicious food, and a sweet doggie.

Victor Making Ravioli

Italian/Asian fusion may sound like an odd marriage of cuisines, but each time I dine at Clandestino I am blown away by the incredible flavor combinations from the kimchi pizza to the lemony trout ravioli. These amazing flavors are all combined with loving Venezuelan style hospitality.

Camote (sweet potato) and Smoked Gouda Panzotte

Smoked Pork Tortellini

Khaleesi

Carla and Victor are yet another example of the beauty of my little immigrant circle of friends for which I am so grateful. They bring beautiful food as well as warmth and hospitality to our city of Cuenca. These wonderful people, like the other immigrants in my life have made this community and my life so much better and I am thankful that they are here.

¡Hasta la próxima!

PS; Thanks to everyone that has been reading this blog and a special thanks to those that have left comments, they mean a lot to me. If you do decide to leave a comment below, please include your name so that I know that you were here. All photos in this post were taken by me and you can check out my photography galleries by clicking on the "Albums" link at the top of the page or by clicking here: https://www.global-dispatches.com/client-showcase

Thanks!

Clandestino