Lettuce, Lettuce, Let Us Eat Lettuce!

At the start of every year, and indeed at most other times of the year, there is someone who wants to eat salad. I was asked to do a posting about salad which I took to be about salad with lettuce. So, let us eat lettuce!

WoQGX3ZF3_lxBurWnYAdSUGniUj17tsfbvPQ1_8GTJ0Jl-7wzWG4iJjbrMUwAAsm0r44m0hv8rQhemOiFiWxz0-mwhbNFDDe5D4OeW3l9doxHbhlBWQptENT3sM2VHioPJnWgHVbnysL8xU-bsUYF0iow_ZovhzwXMnEJqUp2I9ilYrZPyNUznunsxCosme: “Col” salad at Cosme. This large (larger than most main courses) salad is served on a ten inch wide plate and is large enough for a main dish or to be shared as an appetizer. It is listed as an appetizer on the menu at Cosme. The salad has raw shredded red cabbage, alfalfa, cashews, hearts of palm, artichoke, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, and the dressing is a yogurt based dressing so you feel healthy when eating it.

Matria: Also has a decent salad. It’s pretty and actually makes you want to eat salad.

9nhejpfj-ru4is6sefod00-jfoqwvphqgayltmhausdvzuun9wornileffbcmeihokblotnbrpxnccpzp1fuiku2yttzttt6d4q67d-xpihrcmeothewkpdievqdr7f0k6gk_simavsq4ewbbkc5dcxjfpacuxszwr_0z4lvqfljbogetbcth-rpgbOsso: Although Osso is a steak house, there is a selection of salads including an attractive wedge salad (in real life, in the close up above, the wedges rise like the Andes covered in mint green and dusted with bacon and candied pecans). The second salad mentioned, “salad #3” contains tiny deep fried cheese balls. I recommend keeping the dressing on the side, and foregoing the song and dance of the waiter pouring and tossing, so that you can enjoy the fried cheese “croutons”. The salad is called #3 because on the old menu, it was the #3 (at least, I think that’s why).fullsizeoutput_1cd

Cafe Mozart: Located in San Borja, this cafe has an all-you-can-eat salad bar. The salad bar has a full selection of cooked items including pasta salads and many other salads to put in the salad.

La Mora: They have several salads. They also use a classic European mustard vinaigrette. Because the olive oil is whipped/emulsified in, the dressing has the thickness of an aoli (mayonnaise in plain language).

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Antica: One of the salads uses butter/bib lettuce and has wedges of oranges among other things making it a decent salad.

La Panka: This chain restaurant has large salads. The one below is with roasted veg and chicken. The salad is the size of small hot tub.w1juIMnVrScp_q6FwjmCp1IIUQfkxbaWXebVY9S8jaypnMl_-YvzYCcby_vkgAjMYO_M2H3nWUk8MqsdX-Y5ghc2dDC0TdS07xM0oYrX0GkrZYNDGYyzU6XQC0usC2JSAjfYsEHYKUGpKZkwkUk7vRuFEGaxAuwbf9OlnjVvbgwNC_To-HOlQEek8a

La Linterna: Also has a decent house salad with ham and pecans.vHOkB8A2EZov8WNDXSVNVW-GQiKO0F7QtiFWJG66dbkiRrWmcvWrZyp-N2zLKyhdA8mVscF4i1N1ZcLKOn0aNMzMtSsFJ12puZkkGGOiBXjJ7XDbrSo0LN5N1Tq0jhqbsQe1vBsVfQkqQBmIVGtMpa1dG-9lZ_xTw6APva1avEcMT3KjPHj3ZdrsLI

Taller Razeto: Has good salads (melted cheese on a bed of lettuce in the photo below), but the restaurant is out in La Punta so not a daily destination unless you live there.

y4UPU4KJ8s7Mbs8ocHT7MmHYGPCoY4b0pD6S0V9rG7G-W81Ndt0wo7CpA3DgXwNuOg-50EfDuyWP1WssXSFiI32qTBqXakZhfUQBGxGyui9m3Q-SRf4lAfJr71zB9IP-cgGLoo92pMPShkFe0tas5eIAb4XWr8HMBuAyJ1acoszteGUH17W3X1oczTPardos Chicken: Has a lettuce salad but I like their “cooked salad” with cooked carrots, beets, beans, and avocado. But, we were talking about lettuce.

Poke Pacifiko: As you can order exactly what you want, I imagine you can make your own salad. I’m sure you can get it without fish.

Plus, I would guess that most of the vegetarian and vegan restaurants have lettuce salads.

 

A Funny Feeling In the Pit Of Your Stomach – The Pitaya Fruit

The pitaya or yellow dragon fruit.
The pitaya or yellow dragon fruit.

My goal of trying 100 new fruits in Colombia has lead to some funny experiences.

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!

Ciclovia, Every Sunday and Holiday From 7 – 2

Ciclovia blocking access to Septima, the main road of Bogota.
Ciclovia on Septima, the main road of Bogota.

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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
A duo-scooter? This is the first I’ve ever seen. Where can I buy one?