Picosa

Invigorating, energizing, fabulous...words that came to mind while we tried to keep up with the Latin rhythms at Picosa, a wonderful restaurant and dance club in St. Anthony Main in Minneapolis. The best (okay, perhaps the only) pear mojito I've ever had. Along with two glasses of Savignon Blanc and my Latin moves were much improved. I felt the beat trying to escape as though being spurred on by Latin ancestors who danced within me. Como se llama, bonita, mi casa, su casa Shakira, Shakira...

The woman on keyboards pounded the keys with such passion and energy that she dominated the drums at times. The crowd sang happy birthday to a young woman wearing a tiarra surrounded by close friends who had thrown the party. Strangers engaged her in alcohol-induced conversation, hugging her and recalling when they'd turned 21.

The bitter cold outside the windows cast that crisp, clear perfection over the city's skyline that only January's bitter cold in Minnesota can do. But inside the heat wave of notes, laughter, libations, and dancing etched a pleasant memory in my mind.