Bogota food tour(s)
Jul 30, 2012, 12:46 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 812
Bogota food tour(s)
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-tr...nd-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
), but Diana just wrote a post on the restaurant here:
http://bogotaeatsanddrinks.com/2012/...-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).
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.)
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:
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).
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-tr...nd-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
), but Diana just wrote a post on the restaurant here:http://bogotaeatsanddrinks.com/2012/...-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).
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.)
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:
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).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.
Last edited by sy7; Jul 30, 2012 at 9:38 am
Jul 30, 2012, 12:51 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 812
Coffee plantation tour
I also went on a coffee plantation tour (Hacienda Coloma).
http://thecolombianway.com/en/our-tr...da-coloma.html
I would say the tour description & pictures in the link above is pretty accurate in terms of the experience.
It is ~90 min drive south of Bogota (assuming normal traffic). The drive itself is scenic and interesting - I think I was most impressed by seeing a motorbike casually driving against the flow of traffic on the main highway (at quite a fast clip!), as though that was quite a normal thing to do. This ranks as one of the most 'unique' traffic patterns I've ever seen (& this includes locales such as Nepal, Cambodia, Indonesia, etc.).
Haciena Coloma is beautiful, and the tour is informative and fun.
You can pick the coffee berries (the fruit is quite tasty), and it was interesting seeing both the traditional & modern ways of processing the coffee beans. You get to see the green coffee seeds roasted, and in just a few minutes turn into the lovely, aromatic beans we associate with "coffee." Afterwards you can try out the coffee, spiked with some coffee liquor that is also a specialty of the hacienda. It came with decorative packaging:
You can also get the roasted coffee beans - it came in a really cute package as well.
I also ended up getting some coffee bean bracelets. They are really aromatic -- hmm, too bad there are no chocolate plantation tours nearby, that sell coca bean bracelets.
We ate at a local restaurant afterwards that specialized in grilled meats, and that was also very yummy, though heavy on the protein, fat & starch (ie NOT a healthy meal).
Everyone got the mixed plate, with both beef and pork (& it also included various starches, eg yummy plantains & yucca). It was way too much food. I ended up liking the pork more, but the beef was good too. With drinks (limonda) and service charge, it came out to ~$13/person. I wouldn't want to eat like this routinely, but it makes for a great "while on vacation" splurge. I think the drive back to Bogota was a lot quieter than the outbound journey!
Finally, if you are especially fortunate
, you can enjoy a a personalized tour (& color commentary) from FT's resident local Colombia expert, JohnnyColombia. Seriously, he was prompt and very responsive to my rather nebulous initial queries, and his suggestions ended up really enhancing my visit to Colombia.
http://thecolombianway.com/en/our-tr...da-coloma.html
I would say the tour description & pictures in the link above is pretty accurate in terms of the experience.
It is ~90 min drive south of Bogota (assuming normal traffic). The drive itself is scenic and interesting - I think I was most impressed by seeing a motorbike casually driving against the flow of traffic on the main highway (at quite a fast clip!), as though that was quite a normal thing to do. This ranks as one of the most 'unique' traffic patterns I've ever seen (& this includes locales such as Nepal, Cambodia, Indonesia, etc.).
Haciena Coloma is beautiful, and the tour is informative and fun.
You can pick the coffee berries (the fruit is quite tasty), and it was interesting seeing both the traditional & modern ways of processing the coffee beans. You get to see the green coffee seeds roasted, and in just a few minutes turn into the lovely, aromatic beans we associate with "coffee." Afterwards you can try out the coffee, spiked with some coffee liquor that is also a specialty of the hacienda. It came with decorative packaging:
You can also get the roasted coffee beans - it came in a really cute package as well.
I also ended up getting some coffee bean bracelets. They are really aromatic -- hmm, too bad there are no chocolate plantation tours nearby, that sell coca bean bracelets.
We ate at a local restaurant afterwards that specialized in grilled meats, and that was also very yummy, though heavy on the protein, fat & starch (ie NOT a healthy meal).
Everyone got the mixed plate, with both beef and pork (& it also included various starches, eg yummy plantains & yucca
). It was way too much food. I ended up liking the pork more, but the beef was good too. With drinks (limonda) and service charge, it came out to ~$13/person. I wouldn't want to eat like this routinely, but it makes for a great "while on vacation" splurge. I think the drive back to Bogota was a lot quieter than the outbound journey! Finally, if you are especially fortunate
, you can enjoy a a personalized tour (& color commentary) from FT's resident local Colombia expert, JohnnyColombia. Seriously, he was prompt and very responsive to my rather nebulous initial queries, and his suggestions ended up really enhancing my visit to Colombia.
Last edited by sy7; Jul 30, 2012 at 2:22 pm
Aug 3, 2012, 11:02 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 812
My friend reminded me to post on the various coffee locales we tried as well.
Devotion cafe in the Bogota Hilton is a cool place to hang out in. I wonder what the currently brand new pressed tin roof will look like in a few decades...
The coffee is also excellent:
The cafe also has an enormous, multi-page menu, printed on ecru parchment paper - we wanted a copy, but unfortunately they did not have any extras.
I thought that "Devotion" was just a randomly chosen name for the cafe, but apparently it is a brand of coffee. This rather odd packaging was in a cafe window in Cartagena:
Hmm, I guess it would make a good gift for Japanese tourists to Colombia (& actually, there seemed to be quite a few).
Finally, there is always the local chain standard - and the vibe felt exactly similar to an USA Starbucks (don't know if that is a positive or negative...).
Devotion cafe in the Bogota Hilton is a cool place to hang out in. I wonder what the currently brand new pressed tin roof will look like in a few decades...
The coffee is also excellent:
The cafe also has an enormous, multi-page menu, printed on ecru parchment paper - we wanted a copy, but unfortunately they did not have any extras.
I thought that "Devotion" was just a randomly chosen name for the cafe, but apparently it is a brand of coffee. This rather odd packaging was in a cafe window in Cartagena:
Hmm, I guess it would make a good gift for Japanese tourists to Colombia (& actually, there seemed to be quite a few).
Finally, there is always the local chain standard - and the vibe felt exactly similar to an USA Starbucks (don't know if that is a positive or negative...).
Aug 6, 2012, 2:27 pm
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: AA
Posts: 14,733
Yep, Juan Valdez Cafe definitely feels like a Starbucks - down to the mugs and paraphenalia they sell. We were about to buy some to bring home with us last Friday and the locals told us to buy Oma brand instead as it was much better.
Aug 31, 2012, 7:57 pm
#10
formerly known as Tad's Broiled Steaks
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,412
I was in Bogotá for about a week a couple of years ago, and seemed to notice that on Sundays, at least in the commercial downtown (by the gold museum/ayuntamiento) there were a bunch of street vendors selling various snacks and desserts, but then during weekdays there was zilch, save for a couple of arepa hawkers further away from that area. Did I miss something, or did they miss me?
Oct 28, 2012, 7:05 am
#11
Ambassador: LATAM
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PNA
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 4,648
I was in Bogotá for about a week a couple of years ago, and seemed to notice that on Sundays, at least in the commercial downtown (by the gold museum/ayuntamiento) there were a bunch of street vendors selling various snacks and desserts, but then during weekdays there was zilch, save for a couple of arepa hawkers further away from that area. Did I miss something, or did they miss me?
Friday nights are good for street foods in the Bogotazo in the Carrera 7. Sundays there are lots of empanada sellers in Av Pepe Sierra (Calle 116) and fruit seller spread themselves out along the Ciclovia
Oct 28, 2012, 7:08 am
#12
Ambassador: LATAM
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PNA
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 4,648
I did Diana's tour again on Thursday and it was even better than the first time I did it.
This time I managed to put together a full album of photos for the tour which I uploaded to Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecolo...7631858907513/
Amongst others I managed to get a lovely snap of these handsome carrots
This time I managed to put together a full album of photos for the tour which I uploaded to Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecolo...7631858907513/
Amongst others I managed to get a lovely snap of these handsome carrots