THE GOURMET POET

Surprise your sweetheart, your friends, your out-of-town guests with a truly special dining experience.

Whether a birthday, anniversary, St. Valentine's Day, or any occasion you want to celebrate, The Gourmet Poet will come to your home and create a memorable dining experience for you and your guests.

With dessert comes the romance of the evening: The Gourmet Poet will recite his award-winning verses and leave you with a bound, autographed copy of his published poems.

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Some of the menu selections include:

"Killer Chili Verde"
A succulent pork cooked in green sauce (not spicy), a side of the best Mexican refried beans you ever tasted, and a salad.

Tacos Garcia
Fried corn tortillas filled with shredded roast beef cooked with herbs and spices. Shredded iceberg lettuce, chopped tomatoes, cheddar cheese, for stuffing tacos. Refried beans, guacamole.

Angel Hair Pasta with Prawns Platter
Jumbo prawns sautéed with finely chopped garlic in olive oil and butter over a mound of angel hair pasta. Topped with Parmesan cheese.

Polenta with Marinara Meat Sauce
Armando has taken a basic Italian country dish and made it his own. After preparing it for friends it was highly recommended that he add it to his Gourmet Poet menu. The poet-chef has added ingredients to make the cornmeal Polenta creamy and exceptionally flavorful by adding a few "secret" herbs and spices. Likewise the tomato based meat sauce is his own creation and lauded by everyone who has had the good fortune to experience it.

"California Stir Fry"
Fresh organically grown vegetables: multi-colored bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, and asparagus stir-fried in olive oil with garlic and onion and topped with butter-sautéed raisins, cashews, and prawns, all placed on a platter of steaming white rice

Dessert (for all entrèes): Sliced banana fried in butter and cinnamon then served over a scoop of French vanilla ice cream and accented with a splash of Kahlùa.

Note:
1. Service does not include hors d'oeuvres, beverages, set-up or clean-up (these services may be provided for an added fee).
2. The Gourmet Poet shall use the hosting party's kitchen for meal preparation including cooking items: pots, pans, oven, etc.

Tariff: $100 per person

Minimum charge: $400

For more information, call Armando Garcia-Dàvila.
707 591 0595
agdavila@sonic.net

Spring/Summer 2004
Steppin’ Out (Magazine)
The Gourmet Poet
By Kari Bryski

Armando Garcia-Dávila wears many hats. He is a published poet, Healdsburg’s Literary laureate for 2002-2003, a landscape contractor by day, and The Gourmet Poet by night. Armando refers to himself as the “blue collar poet” in deference to his profession, and his passion for those things that we all have in common: family, food, friends, and the simple pleasures that give life meaning.

It was my privilege to experience first-hand an evening with The Gourmet Poet at a lovely West County home in Sebastopol, Calif. A gracious hostess, Kay McCabe welcomed us into her woodsy hide-away with its intimate setting rich with warm earth tones, a grandly polished teak dining table, accents of etched glass and a crackling fireplace. Other guests included several local friends and two from the East Coast visiting Wine Country on holiday. The blend of lively company and delicious aromas from the kitchen promised stimulating conversation and simple, yet elegant dining fare. We were not disappointed.

Armando and his assistant-son Emilio, an experienced waiter, prepared and served an amazing meal. Fresh organic vegetables: a rainbow of bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, and asparagus lightly sautéed in olive oil with garlic and onion were crowned with butter-sautéed raisins, cashews, and plump jumbo prawns. This glorious display generously topped a platter of steaming white rice, cooked to perfection. The French vanilla ice cream, fried bananas, and splash of coffee liquor offered a satisfying finish, but the true dessert was yet to come.

Armando, the poet, read a number of pieces from his collection, "Out of My Heart/De Mi Corazón" (presently in its third printing.) His poems celebrate romance, hope, and the dreams of hard-working families seeking a decent life. He is a disarming master of words and mesmerizing metaphors, who carries the breath of his muse inside of him. Its presence resonates in his reading voice and passion to share poetry. The muse has found life in his body and will not be silenced. It is one thing to taste the savory, sweet, steamy crunch of shrimp and vegetables. It is another to experience his poems and taste the salt of the earth.