by Joyce Johnson
Ron and I dropping into 119 Park Street’s Mexican restaurant, “Fiesta En Jalisco” ….in Livingston, for early lunch recently. Been a while since last visit so when I stepped in the door my jaw dropped! The place is ablaze with art and bright color!—nothing abstract, or “tastefully beige (yawn) or low key.” What a joyful, happy, bold and beautiful fun festival of mostly figurative art and popping color. Even the menu was arty. I sat down to order, but got a kink in my neck from “up periscope” looking around at the wonderful ambiance. Even the menu was arty, and I love so many of the combos, but I selected my lunch almost randomly, because hung-up in indecision as usual. But it doesn’t matter. It’s all delicious irresistible Mexican food accompanied by traditional Mexican background music, which had me bouncing in the booth. We are hungry for this I realized: a hit of simple “happy.”
I shamelessly wolfed my lunch down. Then I remembered that I write about events and stuff for the PCCJournal, so I got up with my phone and modestly tiptoed around taking pictures. Servers grinned a little and understood. No problem finding compositions of interest.
I was jealous of the beautiful painting of a lady who looked sweetly seductive up at Ron from our table surface, near the basket of tortilla chips and salsa that magically never wrecks the appetite for the entree does it. Anyway:
A New Face. Ron clapped the Manager, Alphonso Pimiento on the back and said some guy thing which I didn’t hear. He said Alphonso has been there “forever” but before we left, I said to Alphonso: “I thought maybe you’d changed hands it’s so different now! Who did all the great art?” He explained he needed to update and make changes earlier this year, and “so we went down to Mexico and found all this already done!” He explained that he brought back all the pieces of booth & chair backs and extenders and stuck them on. “Way cheaper!” (he laughed and my jaw dropped again.) How unique and clever. How so very “Fiesta D J” in every detail. Livingston is known for its record population of artists per capita, of all mediums, for many decades, and I think “Fiesta D J” could stimulate local creativity to a new high in well,... just great fun and local business face-lifting. Because we need i. Because color is uplifting, and “Fiesta D J” is and always has been a bright, arty, happy and tasty hit, if you ask me.
