sy7
Jul 30, 12, 12:46 am
Colombia currently seems to be a popular destination with FTers, due to the 'good deal' premium fares that were available earlier this year - which also provided the impetus for my recent trip there. Besides the regular tourist sights, I was curious about the local food scene (since food is one thing you absolutely need to experience "on-site" and is difficult to import).
Anyway, I can highly recommend this food tour:
http://thecolombianway.com/en/our-trips/day-trips/bogota-eats-and-drinks.html
Diana who runs this is really knowledgeable & friendly, and the tour was fabulous. It packed a lot of different things in a few hours, and I appreciated being able to try a variety of stuff (that were all very tasty!) without having to chase it down by myself.
We started with empanadas at a historic (110 yrs old) local restaurant, Las Margaritas. The place was really cute, and the proprietor was extremely proud of his restaurant, and looked exactly like what you imagine the proud owner of such a place would be. The empanadas were indeed extremely tasty. If I had extra time in Bogota, I would definitely have returned to eat there again.
Unfortunately, I didn't take that many pictures here (one reason I won't be a blogger, I get distracted too easily :p), but Diana just wrote a post on the restaurant here:
http://bogotaeatsanddrinks.com/2012/07/27/las-margaritas-traditional-bogotano-cuisine-in-the-heart-of-chapinero/
We then moved onto a small, typical bakery, where we tried avena, a sweet oatmeal drink flavored with cinnamon (like horchata, but very different texture). It was very good, and something I might not have ordered on my own. We also had some pandebono (cheese bread), either plain or filled with guava paste (I liked both, but thought the guava-filled version better since the sweetness nicely offset the richness of the cheese bread). While this was a "typical" bakery, the quality was quite good and likely better than if you were to randomly choose one off the street (based on experience).
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/sy7-albums-bogota-picts-picture4342-dsc00333.jpg
We then moved onto a little grocery store that had wonderful fruits and vegetables, and tried a bunch of different fruits. (With sticky hands, it was too hard to get good pictures of the various fruits we tried.)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/sy7-albums-bogota-picts-picture4336-dsc00337.jpg
We then had more Colombian specialties at a current "hip" restaurant, 'Local.' Diana said there is now a burgeoning "food scene" in Bogota, with restaurants that care both about high quality food & comfortable/stylish surroundings, at a reasonable price-point for the locals. The restaurant was recently started by 4 guys (one guy literally looked as though he was just out of college, though I'm sure he was older than that!). Again, if I had more time in Bogota, I would definitely have returned there for a meal. We had a huge platter of mini-bites to try:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/sy7-albums-bogota-picts-picture4338-dsc00344.jpg
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/sy7-albums-bogota-picts-picture4339-dsc00348.jpg
It was all very yummy.
I also got the limonda de coconut (as recommended by Diana) which I loved - though afterwards I found out it is not the healthiest drink due to the high amount of cream of coconut in it. It was worth the unhealthiness hit though. :) You could also instead get the local firewater, aguardiente (sugarcane liquor).
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/sy7-albums-bogota-picts-picture4337-dsc00343.jpg
After the big meal, Diana provided some typical local Colombian candy (since the sweets shop that is the normal final stop was closed due to the holiday weekend) - panela (caramelized, crumbly candy made with milk & sugar) with coconut, and dulce de leche sandwiched with guava paste.
Overall, I really enjoyed the tour. Diana tweaks the tour constantly, so the food items won't be the exact same on future trips. You get to try a lot of different items, and I thought the cost was extremely reasonable.
Anyway, I can highly recommend this food tour:
http://thecolombianway.com/en/our-trips/day-trips/bogota-eats-and-drinks.html
Diana who runs this is really knowledgeable & friendly, and the tour was fabulous. It packed a lot of different things in a few hours, and I appreciated being able to try a variety of stuff (that were all very tasty!) without having to chase it down by myself.
We started with empanadas at a historic (110 yrs old) local restaurant, Las Margaritas. The place was really cute, and the proprietor was extremely proud of his restaurant, and looked exactly like what you imagine the proud owner of such a place would be. The empanadas were indeed extremely tasty. If I had extra time in Bogota, I would definitely have returned to eat there again.
Unfortunately, I didn't take that many pictures here (one reason I won't be a blogger, I get distracted too easily :p), but Diana just wrote a post on the restaurant here:
http://bogotaeatsanddrinks.com/2012/07/27/las-margaritas-traditional-bogotano-cuisine-in-the-heart-of-chapinero/
We then moved onto a small, typical bakery, where we tried avena, a sweet oatmeal drink flavored with cinnamon (like horchata, but very different texture). It was very good, and something I might not have ordered on my own. We also had some pandebono (cheese bread), either plain or filled with guava paste (I liked both, but thought the guava-filled version better since the sweetness nicely offset the richness of the cheese bread). While this was a "typical" bakery, the quality was quite good and likely better than if you were to randomly choose one off the street (based on experience).
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/sy7-albums-bogota-picts-picture4342-dsc00333.jpg
We then moved onto a little grocery store that had wonderful fruits and vegetables, and tried a bunch of different fruits. (With sticky hands, it was too hard to get good pictures of the various fruits we tried.)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/sy7-albums-bogota-picts-picture4336-dsc00337.jpg
We then had more Colombian specialties at a current "hip" restaurant, 'Local.' Diana said there is now a burgeoning "food scene" in Bogota, with restaurants that care both about high quality food & comfortable/stylish surroundings, at a reasonable price-point for the locals. The restaurant was recently started by 4 guys (one guy literally looked as though he was just out of college, though I'm sure he was older than that!). Again, if I had more time in Bogota, I would definitely have returned there for a meal. We had a huge platter of mini-bites to try:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/sy7-albums-bogota-picts-picture4338-dsc00344.jpg
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/sy7-albums-bogota-picts-picture4339-dsc00348.jpg
It was all very yummy.
I also got the limonda de coconut (as recommended by Diana) which I loved - though afterwards I found out it is not the healthiest drink due to the high amount of cream of coconut in it. It was worth the unhealthiness hit though. :) You could also instead get the local firewater, aguardiente (sugarcane liquor).
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/sy7-albums-bogota-picts-picture4337-dsc00343.jpg
After the big meal, Diana provided some typical local Colombian candy (since the sweets shop that is the normal final stop was closed due to the holiday weekend) - panela (caramelized, crumbly candy made with milk & sugar) with coconut, and dulce de leche sandwiched with guava paste.
Overall, I really enjoyed the tour. Diana tweaks the tour constantly, so the food items won't be the exact same on future trips. You get to try a lot of different items, and I thought the cost was extremely reasonable.