Taco killer: David Byrne makes pit stop at Clavel

Qu’est-ce que c’est?

It’s David Byrne and his “Who Is the Sky?” tour crew grabbing a family-style meal at Clavel in Remington. The celebrated musician treated his 33-person team of artists to a meal Tuesday at the Mexican eatery in what restaurateur Lane Harlan described as a “bucket-list moment.”

The former Talking Heads front man and respected solo artist was in town for a two-night stand at the Hippodrome to promote his latest album. The Scottish American singer, guitarist and visual artist is no stranger to Charm City. Byrne grew up in Arbutus, graduated from Lansdowne High School in Baltimore County and briefly attended the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1971.

“It was a huge deal for both my husband and I and all of the managers,” Harlan said Wednesday after posting multiple photos with Byrne to social media.

Harlan, who grew up listening to Byrne and Brian Eno’s 1981 alternative album “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts,” said serving the world-class group of musicians was a dream come true. She said it reinforced the idea that her nearly 11-year-old restaurant, nominated multiple times as a James Beard semifinalist, stands up to esteemed restaurants in larger cities.

Harlan said she learned of Byrne’s plans to dine at Clavel on Saturday, when his videographer Brady Corbet, a filmmaker who also directed “The Brutalist,” emailed to request a table for the crew. In anticipation, Harlan began moving plants and tables to accommodate the party, which grew from 15 to over 30 as the night went on.

The venue buzzed with their arrival. “You could be waiting for the bathroom and meet the most interesting person,” Harlan said of the international group of musicians, many of whom previously performed with Byrne during his famed “American Utopia” live show. Some crew ended up walking over to W.C. Harlan, the restaurateur’s sister bar down the block, as the night went on.

But Harlan said Clavel was especially prepared since it already specializes in large, family-style dinners. Harlan ordered for the group, starting off with bottles of mezcal that awaited them at their table. Then came the ceviches, chips and guacamole, followed by several taco platters.

Byrne was gracious, she said, and spoke with Harlan and posed for pictures alongside Clavel general manager Siska Scherzer. Before the night was over, Harlan ran to the back of the restaurant to offer the crew T-shirts and tote bags with Clavel’s logo.

It’s not Harlan’s first celebrity encounter at her restaurant. Clavel has hosted other musicians such as Solange and Clairo, which Harlan said excited her younger staff. But Byrne sparked a sense of awe she had never felt at Clavel.

“I was kind of geeking out,” she said. “I just wanted to see his beautiful silver hair at a distance.”