The view from my seat in the courtyard of Bellas Arts, San Miguel de Allende. That the coffee and tarts are delicious is merely a plus for this lovely setting.

The other day I posted a picture on Facebook of a fruit tart and coffee at Zenteno’s  Bellas Artes cafe. A good-sized chunk of the tart was missing.

Not missing, actually.

I know exactly where it went.Well, that opened up the poor tart to a wide range of interpretations, none of them too flattering.

Let’s call this the proto-tart art. I must stop by many more times to capture the full range of artistry capable in the medium of whip cream and chocolate syrup.

To my dismay, nobody noticed the lovely cherry blossom branch made from chocolate syrup and whip cream that accompanied the tart. It was delicate, sensual, and worthy of framing — if it didn’t taste so darn good with the tart.

I returned today to make amends. Just before ordering the tart, a lovely round disk to the far left of the tart caught my eye.

A pumpkin pie tart.

Una tarta de pastel de calabaza, por favor ….

And to think, my idea of a pumpkin pie was once the 10-pound monstrosity sold at Costco, which lasted barely two days in my bachelor household. Don’t you love the accompanying tart art?

To my delight, it came out with fresh art beside the tart. Something more autumnal, apropos to the pumpkin, I think.

Having had coffee and tarts here many times before — It is a favorite, can’t you tell?  — I know this only scratches the surface of the artistry of the staff at Zenteno.

I am now compelled to collect the whole set and mount an art exhibit sometime in the next year.

Meanwhile, breaking news, it looks like the gardeners are filling the former lawns in the courtyard with lavender. I have mixed opinions on that. But I’ll hold my peace as this garden setting has been well-tended for several hundred years, at least.

They don’t need my opinion.