In El Salvador, there are a few restaurants that are unassuming on the outside, you go through a passageway and end up in a private wild garden to eat. In Apaneca, El Jardin de Celeste is a restaurant anchoring cabins to stay and a shop selling lots of locally made crafts. Sort of a lush Garden of Eden. I was happy to be hosted to experience it!
I thought this was a neat-o restroom.
They offer all kinds of cold juice drinks, including juices of the day, as well as some form of a Virgin Mary. Straight juice hits me hard with its sugars, so it’s a very, very sometimes treat. But I couldn’t pass up on their strawberry- passionfruit juice! Those fruits are refreshing and nutritious.
A well-conceived bread service with house-made herb butter and sort of a chimichurri.
In this enchanting, garden-y environment, I felt like keeping up the theme. I went for something decidedly non “typicos”: an Italian spinach lasagna. It came with a freshly made side salad topped with pepitas.
So, the dish holding the lasagna that came, I was very familiar with its dimensions and how much it serves: I have the same one at home. Honestly, 3 very hungry adults would be satisfied with the portion. Tons of fresh spinach were sandwiched between lasagna noodles and a decadently rich Mornay sauce. Cheese for miles!
Again, in keeping with the theme I had noticed with other Salvadoran restaurants, it wasn’t heaped in salt and the natural flavors shined through.
Luxe & Down-Home Cuisine/Culture/Travel/Style 