Tango & Chocolate

We are at the Music Center in downtown LA early in June for the open air Argentine tango dance evening. The tango aficionados have pulled a few tables together and laid out picnic style all the food and wine each had packed for tonight. We place our chocolate "cake" studded with pink peppercorns next to the assortment of cheeses, charcuterie, fruits, baguettes, deserts and wines, quietly enjoying the chocolate's effect on the cheerful crowd ready to tango. Somehow the chocolate pairs up with just about every food on this table without competing or overshadowing; it simply complements the food the way a carefully picked music complements a special evening - harmoniously in tune with one's mood and feelings.

A large crowd has turned up tonight, some new to tango watching in owe as those of us more familiar with the dance move pretentiously on the wooden dance floor in our tango shoes, dressed slightly more festively than the venue and occasion call for, as the men lead and the women follow synchronized with each other in tune with the live Argentine music.

We dance, we eat, we chat, we drink; our children wonder around observing until the music stops and the crowd slowly dissipates. "Goodnight Tango People!" cries a cheerful passerby woman as we cleanup our tables, depositing empty wine bottles and trash in their respectful bins and stuffing back in our picnic baskets any leftover food not consumed tonight. 

Tango and chocolate - can't have one without the other like music and dance!

Summer, 2012