Nibbles: Apothecary Lounge, Hotel Parq Central

My late lunch was half from the starters section of the menu and the other half from the Tapas section.

For a starter, I ordered the Antipasto Platter ($13) because I’m crazy about olives. The platter came with a cup stuffed with three – or was it four? – kinds of dark olives, all pitted and awash in Mediterranean herbs. They were a terrific foil for the sliced prosciutto, salami, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella on the platter. I built mini sandwiches on the accompanying baguette slices, on which olive oil had been dripped. The cheese and tomato slices sat in balsamic vinegar.

Then for a while I worked on my choice of tapa – Flatbread Pizza ($10). The pizza was vegetarian and had homemade marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, spinach, bits of smooth feta cheese and snippets of peperoncini peppers and was sprinkled with fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil. The meal was a real treat. So were the views of the Downtown skyline and the Sandias.

	Apothecary Lounge, Hotel Parq Central LOCATION: 806 E. Central, 242-0040 HOURS: Lounge hours 3-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 3 p.m.-1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Food served 3-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 3-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays