Friday, September 10, 2021
Cuenca Perspectives by Jim: SEMINARIO SAN LUIS PLAZA
Cuenca Perspectives by Jim: SEMINARIO SAN LUIS PLAZA: Today's post is the third and final post of the changing restaurant scene around Parque Calderon, the heart of El Centro and the city ...
SEMINARIO SAN LUIS PLAZA
Today's post is the third and final post of the changing restaurant scene around Parque Calderon, the heart of El Centro and the city of Cuenca. The Seminario San Luis Plaza is the oldest of the changes to the restaurant scene, which opened in 2018. The site lies to the west of Parque Calderon on Avenida Benigno Malo adjacent to the New Cathedral, which is the name everybody calls the church. The Cathedral was actually constructed in the 1800's and its official name is the Cathedral de la Inmaculada Concepcion. The seminary began in the early 1800's, but is no longer used as a seminary. Today, the main courtyard has been renovated into restaurants and eateries, and began the trend that would spread around the Calderon Park square.
The photo below is a view of the New Cathedral, the domes of the cathedral seen behind the trees, and the frontage area consists of two mainstays. Almost every tourist and Cuecano visits on the corner, Tutto Freddo, the ice cream and pastry emporium, which has outlets all over the city. To the left of Tutto Freddo is Ramipampa, and Ecuadorian restaurant with good food and reasonable prices, and is usually where many tourists get their first taste of Ecuadorian food when they visit Cuenca.
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in front of the restaurants.
The next four photos below are of Mayu Bar and Grill, which is more of a hamburger, nachos place that attracts primarily young people. I love the ceiling and the artwork behind the bar.
The photo above is another striking view of Casa del Parque building taken from Negroni, which was presented in my last two posts.
The photos below are photos of the clothing galeria, under different settings and lighting, and a couple of brief videos.
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To the left of Ramipampa Restaurant is the entrance way to the courtyard of San Luis Seminario Plaza. 
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Below, is a panoramic view of the
south and west side of the courtyard which
provides the best view of the domes.
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The renovation of the domes was completed last year, and they provide a spectacular view from any angle of the city. Their color lighting also changes dependent upon the festival season. |
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The plaza is resplendent with flowers and bougainvilleas. |
El Confesionario offers very good meals, and standout cakes, cappuccinos and mochachinos as well. It is only fitting that the name of the restaurant, located in a former seminary to train young men for the priesthood, would play off the Catholic theme of confession.
Below, the wait-staff is busy meeting the demands of
Confessionario patrons, in what was a very busy Friday evening
throughout the Seminario Plaza.
Below is an example of some of the art work along the walls of the terrace.
Below, these are just two examples along the terrace of art works that are made from coffee beans.
The terrace is wide, and while there is indoor restaurant spaces. It is the outdoor courtyard and terrace space which is valued for seating; and for gazing at the domes, the architecture, the shrubs, the flowers,
and the people.
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Courtyard seating is on the lower level, with a evening enjoyed by young people.
As we walk along the south side of the courtyard, we pass Felippe Italian Restaurant, which serves a variety of pasta dishes, pizza, and antipasti plates. The photo below shows Filippi located on the terrace, and immediately below it are the eateries in the courtyard for some of the restaurants and coffee shops.
Below at Felippe's are two photos of the Italian cheeses they also sell, while the pizza maker is busy at work.
Ah, but the spectacle of the evening is always the domes of the cathedral, located just above Mayu and Felippe restaurantes.
Above, the more dining type of restaurants are on the second floor. The first floor includes more coffee and pastry shoppes, an ice cream shoppe, restaurants that offer lighter fares like YAW, which includes a menu of sandwiches, various coffees and pastries, Las Cruces (The Crosses) offers Ecuadorian dishes, and a French Bistro named Le Bistro is also featured.
Through YAW, one can walk out to another inner courtyard that is a garden and owned, operated, and maintained by the Catholic Church, as seen in the two photos below:
One afternoon, my friend Jerry Ramos and I were having a tranquilo lunch in one of the lower courtyard restaurants. Jerry saw a young couple in the courtyard, who were attempting to take a photo of themselves. Jerry got up from his lunch, walked halfway across the courtyard and offered to take a photo of the couple together. When he returned, a reporter for one of the local papers witnessed Jerry's act of kindness. He walked over to our table, and talked about how in today's world more such acts of kindness are needed, and we continued in a brief conversation. Neither Jerry nor I anticipated that a photo of us would be in the local paper. I heard about it from another friend who had seen the photo and article, although neither Jerry nor I ever saw the photo or article.
It was a beautiful day. The type of day that makes me so thrilled that I live in Cuenca. However, as taxi drivers will sometimes say about the climate in Cuenca, "She has the changing moods of a woman". Before we could ever imagine a sudden change in weather, the sun gave way to an immediate heavy hailstorm. The two videos below show the storm. Cuencanos get excited about heavy hail storms, because they have to go much higher in the mountains then our 8,400 feet to see snow.
Adjacent to San Luis Seminario is the entrance to a narrow passageway, which the adjoining cathedral had walled off for years. A few years ago, the passageway was opened to the public. Some of the restaurants in the courtyard have entrances along the passageway, as well as an entrance to the courtyard itself.
The days of the $1.50 amuerzos (set lunches) when I arrived in my 2010 visit to Cuenca are gone. Most amuerzos are now now $2.50 to $3.50. Executive lunches can be more expensive. Oftentimes, the lesser expensive amuerzo is heavy on a huge pile of rice, a small piece of thinly cut meat, a sliver of ensalada, possibly a glass of juice, and a small dessert. When I first arrived, the dishes often included plantains and potatoes as well as rice. The amuerzo was a diet very heavy on carbs. So now the prices are higher with less variety offered, and rice is cheap.
However, Ecuador is not experiencing a rise in inflation. Gas, as government subsidies have been removed, has gone up considerably, and restaurant food prices in my opinion have seen the biggest increase over the last decade. As President Lasso, our new president, has been removing many tariffs on imports, prices like liquor, cell phones, computers are all falling into range more with the United States. Apartment rentals are very inexpensive, and we have been showing more signs of deflation than inflation.
The passageway has a number of black metal art works along the way, which silhouette the various churches in El Centro.
To the rear of the passageway is outside eating both along the lower terrace and straight ahead, plus further patio seating--all provided by the restaurant-lounge, Distrito,which is more of a lounge with limited seating.
One of the things I most enjoy about all of these new eateries is that they create many unique dishes or twists to familiar dishes, whether they are soups, salads, appetizers, main courses, or desserts.
This blog post would not be complete without a focus on the north side of the street across from Parque Calderon. There is a fabulous upscale clothing store named Vatex galleries of four stories. The interior is done in the colonial renaissance style. On the rooftop is the restaurant, Negroni, which has terraces on three sides, where diners can enjoy fantastic views of the city. There is an inner restaurant in the center. Along with great views and very good food; we are also blessed with the administrator, Giovanni Gonzalez, who is very personable, enjoyable with whom to talk, very attentive to the diner's needs, and holds his waitstaff to the same high standards of service.
In the photo below, looking to the background behind Mathias, who is enjoying his meal on the terrace; one can get a glimpse of the interior restaurant.
Esteban, Maria Rosa, Mathias, and Jim with a background from the Negroni Restaurant of the New
Cathedral domes.
All these spectacular changes of the last three years are centered around
the focal point of Parque Calderon, without the park such dramatic changes
would not have taken place in one locale. Just another feature, which makes
Cuenca not only a walking city, but also one which is very convenient for tourists.
The best way to end today's blog post is with a photo of a friendly St. Bernard. Considering all the Catholic churches in the immediate vicinity of Parque Calderon, the area can feel like a mini-Vatican City. Therefore, it is only fitting that the park should have its only living saint. St. Bernard is the patron saint of skiers and the Alps. We don't have the Alps in Ecuador, but the Cajas Mountains are just outside our city of Cuenca, minus the snow.
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