Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Park Is Haunted by Glamorous Day of the Dead Revelers — Hot Mexican Restaurant Creates a New Tradition

What: The Big Vibe Group’s Cena Negra

Where: Flora, perched on an overlook of Buffalo Bayou Park

PC Moment: The visuals were incredible when the restaurant group headed by Grant Cooper transformed Flora into a Dia de los Muertos tableau complete with a marigold-strewn ofrenda on the patio and in the chandelier-draped dining room two long tables dressed in black, marigolds (aka la flor de los muertos) and traditional paper flowers. Longtime customers, family and friends — all dressed in the requisite black — were the lucky ones invited to join the first annual Flora Cena Negra or Black Dinner. Yes, all four courses were black but more on that later.

Guests were welcomed by an elegant yet creepy Day of the Dead stilt walker then invited to the patio for drinks and serious face painting reflecting the  influences of La Catrina. The faces were as varied as the personalities of the guests, many of whom dressed in the theme. Cooper and his wife Jacy went all in with their costumes so dramatic as to have been imagined by Pixar.

While mingling on the patio, the throng savored the squid ink chalupas with black Kaluga caviar, blue heirloom corn and purple potato taquitos, chorizo sopecitos and black pastor chalupas while music trio performed and while sipping on welcome cocktails and blanco tequila. The latter provided by event sponsor and frequent partner to the most well-known Cena Negra events — Casa Dragones.

The scene was deliciously eerie due to the glow of candelabras, banks of votives, column lighting in deep red and the disco ball that shimmered amid the 40-plus chandeliers that are part of the permanent Flora decor.

The four-course meal that followed included black truffle squash blossom filled with requeson and huitlacoche, octopus aguachile negro, Oaxacan mole negro pork ribs served with red pipian and purple sweet potato, and calabaza en tacha – a pumpkin and squash dish with cinnamon, piloncillo, salted pumpkin seeds and homemade pumpkin ice cream topped with fig sauce.

The night was high on entertainment with guests and staff providing impromptu vocal sessions, a performance from a local dance troupe and finally dancing to the sounds of a local DJ in the Frida private room.

We think this is one party that revelers will be clamoring for for years to come.

PC Seen: Sabrina and David Springhetti, Ali and Rich Bruskoff, Libbie and Jesse Libby, Elise and Jason Bass, Annie Hunsaker, Jacob Del Priore, Ambre and Joseph Pierce, Amanda and Jeff Malone, and Lindsley and Rob Mclean.