Arbol De La Vida

Last night we went with a group a teachers to a vegetarian restaurant (a rare find in Guate) called Arbol de la Vida (Tree of Life) to celebrate everyone's first day of classes. As you enter the restaurant, you walk along a corridor that is flanked by up-lit lush vegetation, and before climbing up a few stairs to enter the main dining area, there is a mini pond complete with a live turtle swimming about. The place was spacious, but sadly empty besides our group. It was minimally decorated with Mayan sculptures and featured light fixtures that one would normally find in a pizza restaurant (angular, multi-colored panes of glass). The owner was a very pleasant man whose parents were from the U.S., but he grew up in Guatemala. He seemed to be running the whole show (although we saw a young man and woman emerge from the kitchen later on...and we even heard a dog bark from back there...which now sorta disturbs me since that was the cooking area...oh well.) and worked very hard to take our orders and bring out all our food in a timely manner.

For 55 quetzales ($7), you can get a choice of entrée, choice of soup, salad, and bread. Beth got a delicious spinach lasagna (can't remember the soup), and I got cannelloni with mushroom soup. Somehow an extra dish of mushroom quiche was made, so we all shared it. The salads featured ample portions of fresh avocado, lettuce, tomato, and a unique soy sauce-like dressing. Everyone in the group thoroughly enjoyed their food (I think most of the group was either vegetarian or ate like one (in my case)) and thought it was the best they had eaten since coming to Guatemala. I'd say it was the first real "comfort" food we have had.

We will return to this place often, I'm sure.