One day, I had the brilliant (so I thought) idea of ordering a whole bunch of items at my favorite Chinese restaurant in Bogota. I figured that given the price of ingredients, I might as well buy the food ready-made. Also, ordering many dishes would allow me to nibble from many different dishes… I got an accomplice who rather fancied the idea for herself. So we ordered quite a few dishes including a few repeats (sometimes you just don’t want to share the appetizer, am I right?). — Pause here… we waiting in anticipation… —
Suddenly, the chef came out of the kitchen. He yelled at us in Mandarin for five minutes. Five minutes of gesticulating and yelling. I kept smiling. Five minutes of the chef yelling at us that we had ordered too much food.
Baby greens.
Finally, the Colombian waiter stopped him by saying the Chinese word for “to go.” The chef stomped back to the kitchen. Then I laughed. I had leftovers all week long.
The bean dish is called “ants on a log” but it’s different than the celery, peanut butter, and raisin dish with similar name.
The following time, I took a larger group and when a Mandarin speaker tried to get chummy with the chef, the chef recognized me and said, “She knows.” And this time I completely understood him.
Colonia has classic cars for those who like to spot.
The United Nations got there first. It’s a World Heritage site. But, Colonia, unlike, say Cartagena, may not seem so obviously a world heritage site. It is quiet in Colonia. Even sleepy. The contrast is great if you take the Buquebus ferry from the loud metropolis of Buenos Aires.
It’s quiet here.
When you get off the ferry (which takes about an hour), it’s a twenty minute or so walk (depending on how much luggage you are carrying) to the old center of the town of Colonia. The international passport control for leaving Argentina and entering Uruguay are both done in Buenos Aires so it’s easy to just walk off the ferry and be on your way. Likewise, when you leave Colonia, the passport control to depart Uruguay and enter Argentina is literally at the same window. The two officials stand one foot from each other. It’s a little surreal in that bureaucratic way.
Glimpses into a real life?
I really liked Colonia. A lot. I liked how civil and nice everyone and everything seemed to be. I understand that many folks from Buenos Aires take a day trip to Colonia when they need a really quiet day. I stayed overnight and I’m glad I did. I wandered around enjoying the fort, watching the local’s try to catch fish, the hand made ice cream, the seafood, and all that. But, mostly I enjoyed walking down cobble stone streets. There were so many and each one had a secret wine tavern or hidden artist’s studio or some other treasure for the photographically inclined.
I found this by wandering around but I’m sure it’s in Lonely Planet.
An example of how unusual (to me) Colonia felt to me was what happened when I tried to cross the street. I was on my way to find the post office and I was following verbal directions so I stopped at an intersection. I got distracted by a kiosk in a park. Then I noticed something very odd. The few soft sounds of traffic had died down. I looked around at the intersection. All, wait, ALL, the cars and bikes had stopped. Waiting for me, the pedestrian, to make my move. Wow. I was flabbergasted. I did cross the street so that I didn’t cause a rush hour.
Okay, maybe you did buy that car new…
Another reason to visit Colonia is for the restaurant down by the sea wall where the waves lap up like silver applause (I’ll have to blog about it another time once I’ve dug up the card).
The river like a sea of silver.
Next time I’ll rent a golf cart so I can explore more of the city. And feel the wind in my hair.
Looks fun!
Plus, I want to stay at the lemon grower’s bed and breakfast. Also, I need to go back to that restaurant. AHA! I remember now. It was called Charco. I had one of the saddest eating experiences there. But more about that some other time.
The pitaya is extremely good for you, by most accounts. Some think it should be sold as a diet fruit. If I were to market it in the U.S., I would call it the “Golden Dragon Fruit” because that’s essentially what it (it’s called the “yellow dragon fruit” which has a much less regal tone). The pitaya is a cactus fruit which when opened up looks and tastes like the better known pink skinned dragon fruit (I have yet to see a pink dragon fruit here in Colombia — just like I have yet to see a lemon).
I was looking up about the pitaya on Wikipedia and learned not only how healthy it is (same amount of potassium as a banana) but also about the other names for the pitaya. Of the various names, I liked “Queen of the Night” quite a bit. The pitaya is a native of the Americas — and did you see that pink fleshed one? I can’t wait to try that one.
The easiest way to eat the pitaya is to slice it in two, take a spoon, scoop it out, and eat. Delicious. It’s a mild sweet juicy flavor. The seeds in the white flesh can be eaten as well. The yellow skin cannot be eat (as far as I know). Some people put this in juice or a smoothie but I think it’s easiest eaten out of the half-skin. The pitaya are pricey as far as fruit goes, as I bought a whole bunch at Paloquemao and as they cost 4,000 pesos per pound — that makes it about 85 cents per fruit.
Very few fruits make me giggle. But the pitaya does, solely because of its digestive effects. It is like the Vitamix or blender of the fruit world. After having eaten these for several days in a row, I discovered that each time I ate one, I got a funny feeling in the pit of my tummy. Gurgling. A rumble in the jungle. It was comical… Unlike most fruits, the pitaya requires some forethought: know where you will be 110 minutes after consumption!
Don’t be afraid. Go for the goods. Bogota’s street food is very easy to try. There’s is everything from fresh juice, fruit salad, bunuelos, empanadas, arepas, hotdogs, sandwiches, coconut, and even breakfast carts where they will fry up an egg and put it in a sliced arepa, sandwich style. Because the tap water in Bogota is drinkable, the street carts are also fairly clean.
Spiralized mango dressed with lime, salt, and pepper.
I enjoy the luxury of being able to find, on almost any street corner, a fresh pressed glass of orange juice, or carrot and orange juice, or mandarin juice, or sliced pineapple, or a watermelon slice, or a deep fried yucca dumpling.
A classic sight here in Bogota. In the foreground is a fruit mix with papaya. This lady’s juice was good because she removed the pips.
During Ciclovia, there are lots of stalls offering all kinds of food, though most of it is fruit.
I think they were going to grill chitlins and sausage.
As an expat, it can take a while to venture out and find all the “bare necessities” like bacon. My go-to place for meat is a butcher shop called “Koller” and it’s located near the corner of Carrera 15 and Calle 95 (not sure what the exact address is but it’s easier to remember 15 and 95). The building’s facade is blue so it’s easy to find once you know where it is. Also, usually there’s a avocado cart outside, but this doesn’t distinguish it from other street corners.
I use Koller’s beef when I make bulgogi although the meat doesn’t really need marinating.
When you go inside, it’s so sort of like shopping in Ye Olde Europe. Shopping is a three stage process. There are chairs in the center of the shop for those who are not actively shopping. Right inside the door is a red number dispenser (just like in Europe) and once your number is called or is visible on the flashing sign, you go round the butcher shop’s meat counters from right to left. First is the counter with cuts of beef. Then, as you move to your left, with the butcher lady mirroring your move on the other side of the counter, you reach the pork, deli meats, sausages, hotdogs, bacon, pates, and so on. All the meats are prepared by Koller and other grocery stores and restaurants advertise that they carry Koller brand hotdogs or ham. The butcher lady puts all your meat in a plastic basin. When you move to the sandwich stand and checkout, another person will ring you up. Then you take the chit from that person over to the cashier which completes the circle around the room. Once you’ve paid (you can pay by credit card), you go back to the checkout and get your (now) bagged meat. The security guard offered to help carry my bag to my car.
I find the prices at Koller to be slightly less than in the U.S. as I’ve bought three pound filet for about $30. The shop is very clean and the only part that is a big strange is that you can’t buy just a part of the tenderloin. All or nothing. They do have pre-cut pieces so I guess one could buy those. I just buy the whole thing and cut them myself. The bacon is almost without fat so it cooks up really fast. It’s more like Danish bacon or pancetta.
14,000 pesos for this meal (here with Belgian fries) at Street Gourmet.
Hamburgers are a popular food here in Bogota. There are so many hamburger restaurants here that I can’t keep there names apart. But, when I want a burger, these are the places that I’d recommend Xarcuteria, located down the street from McDonalds in Parque 93. This place grinds their own meat, makes their own sausages, and they make good burgers. Some people find the experience unpleasant because they perceive that the waitstaff aren’t nice to non-Spanish speakers. I don’t really care. But, recently I’ve found that the mushrooms (on my burger) have something funky going on that is not so much to my taste. A burger with fries (not included) costs about US $23.
Street Gourmet’s vegetarian with meat.
Agadon, Carrera 13 # 85-75 across from the Sofitel, was the place recommended to me. Lots of people like these hamburgers. I don’t but that doesn’t mean that others won’t.
The food cart and tables.
Street Gourmet, a food cart on Parque Virrey and 19A (technically that corner of Parque Virrey is Calle 88 but just walk down the park). This is my new favorite burger joint. The chef is Belgian as are the fries (or Dutch depending on their provider). They also grind their own beef. With two tables and picnic blankets to borrow (where they will deliver your burger to you), the couple who run this place are smiley and charming. A huge burger (the buns are from a specialty baker), equally huge portion of “frites” and a small soda costs only 14,000 pesos (that’s under $7). The burger patty is a flatter style to fit the bun. Street Gourmet makes their own spicy sauce (and I insisted on mayonnaise for my Belgian fries), and a subtle garlic sauce. Yes, they also have vegetarian burgers (and they will even make a vegetarian burger with meat for you if you ask for it). The down side to this burger cart is that they are only open during lunch on the weekends. But, it’s a good reward for walking Ciclovia?
The short menu at Street Gourmet.
And then there is El Corral which is the Colombian answer to McDonalds. Carl’s Jr. is also opening up in Parque 93 so now I’m wondering if In-N-Out Burger and Five Guys will also enter the Colombian market?
Street Gourmet have picnic blankets for use in the park.
It took six months for her to smile. But, I find that sort of fascinating. The lady in the photo is not her but I liked her style.
Boxes of dried chiles.
When I moved to Bogota, I was told about the chile lady. It took me a long time to find her because Paloquemao market, while not immense, can be confusing because so many of the stalls look exactly alike. Now I know that she’s a right turn from Peter’s Chinese vegetable stall, located in the Chinese vegetable alley.
The Chile Lady was wearing a chile shirt last weekend.
There is also a “Mexican” stall but I usually get my chiles from the Chile Lady of Paloquemao.
Thanks to Paloquemao market, I’m able to find “Asian vegetables” to make Asian food. This includes kimchi.
Cucumber kimchi in pride of place on the table.
In Dhaka, I organized Korean cooking lessons and it was possible to buy Korean goods at the Korean mart in Dhaka (and I had my special Korean place in Dhaka to supply me). In Bogota there is no Korean supermarket with ready-to-eat small dishes (other than Maki Roll restaurant which has a few items for sale). Also, I haven’t found my kimchi source (Casa de Coreana‘s is the best in Bogota, in my opinion), so I decided that I would have to make it myself.
Hand made cucumber kimchi.
The recipe is easy to find on the Internet (Maangchi is one of favorite) and I used her easy recipe involving fish sauce. I made it and it was delicious!
Going out has become a form of theater and the secret speakeasy of Bogota delivers (just like the one in Buenos Aires). It’s called NN (because it’s a secret) and the name is a coded part of the front, a shop called Miss ElaNNia. One has to make a reservation with one of the waiters. I don’t have the number. You’ll have to find a friend who can make the reservation.
Magnificent decor.
On the appointed night, one shows up at Calle 71, No. 5-65. The location is on a quiet street off of Septima, a main road. It is possible to see glimpses of something grand through the windows, but ignore that to get more out of the experience. The front is a shop selling kitsch. You need to go into the shop which actually has cute items for sale.
The biggest Baileys ice cream sandwiches, evah!
At the appointed moment, a brilliantined waiter will appear and lead you to the back. Once you enter, you walk through past the kitchen, up winding back stairs, only to pop out on the other side of the looking glass. This entry makes the experience feel clandestine.
The front.
The staff play their roles well even if the service is a bit slow (take your time and drink in the ambiance). The inside of the restaurant is luxurious. They have large round tables with booth seating allowing for parties of ten. There are also smaller tables for intimate conversations. While the cathedral style painted ceiling adds a palatial feel, the restaurant still manages to feel cozy. The music spans Frank Sinatra, Erasure, and more modern beats, interrupted with live jazz from the balcony.
Teddy, is that you?
The food was French or European and some of the dishes were good. The food was of mixed quality. But, the desserts and ambiance made up for it. The cheese fondue was more of a cheese soup than a fondue. The creamed spinach with bacon was delicious. The steamed mussels with fries was not special. They also have salmon and Beef Wellington. I’ll be back to try more of the menu and get my own portion of spinach. Including several bottles of wine and desserts to share, we each paid around 120,000 pesos (50 U.S. dollars) for dinner, tax and tip.
Baked Alaska. Theater continues in the dessert course.
The gilded brownie is actually a combination of soft mousse and utter decadence. Appropriate for a Bogota entering its golden age.
I’m not a botanist so I don’t know what it’s called.
Depending on how you look at it, because of Bogota’s constant weather of 65 F (18 C) with some sun and some rain every day; it is always fall or always spring. The flowers I’ve shown here are just a few from the same block.
I think it’s a hibiscus.
As I wander around the streets of Bogota, I tend to think it’s an eternal spring because every single green tree or bush is blooming. It is really pretty. Colombia is famous for its rose exports, but I even think that the non-blooming plants look pretty.
What I consider a real bagel is actually a “New York style” or a “Montreal-style” bagel. The Montreal style is more freestyle in appearance (according to Wikipedia). The major characteristic of these two types of bagels are that they are round breads with a whole in the center with a stretchy and dense dough. I have been on the hunt for a decent bagel here in Bogota.
Capital Bagels on Calle 95.
I went to the international chain, Capital Bagel. Their bagel was not doughy and it had a weird taste. Then someone told me that the best one was at Fratelli’s. So I went there. It was the best one I’ve found here so far. While it was not doughy, at least the flavor was not bad. But it was not a New York style bagel. So ends my hunt. Clearly, this is not the place or the time for bagels. Instead, I’ll enjoy the fresh orange juice I can find on every street corner.
Every Sunday and holiday, in Bogota, 120 kilometers (74 miles) of streets are closed to motor vehicles. It’s called Ciclovia and although there are now Ciclovias all over the world, it was invented here in Colombia in 1974.
There are lots of signs with advice.
Bogotanos love to exercise. Every day, the weather is always 65 F here, so every Sunday is a great day to get outside and exercise. Ciclovia starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m. There are bikes for rent, food stands, bike repair stands, and a vast array of non-motorized conveyances. Hundreds of staff work as crossing guards, counters (I don’t know exactly if that’s what they are doign but that’s my guess), and sign-movers.
All forms of non-motorized transport are welcome – like these bouncy things.
I’ve seen more kinds of wheeled vehicles here than I knew existed. Tricycles, scooters, duo-scooters, skateboards, inline skateboards, bikes, trikes, unicycles, tandem bikes, quatro-bikes, strollers, and a reclining wheeled things (I don’t know what it’s called). Some people even transport their own stereos in their bike basket.
Is it a street luge?
Not everyone uses wheels. There are joggers, walkers, dog walkers, and bouncers (shoes with bouncy springs). There are people of all ages and all shapes. Even some with parasols.
A worker at an intersection and various types bikes behind her. The green one is a four person bike.
And lots of dogs.
A duo-scooter? This is the first I’ve ever seen. Where can I buy one?
