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I have been in Colombia 23 days and I have finally admitted to myself that I don´t like most Colombian food.I don´t want to see another dry thin tough steak or cold dry corn cake again.There may be some good Colombian dishes but they are hard to remember right now.My wife does a good job with empanadas,but here they are mostly potatoes and grease.Most of the food ranges from ordinary to bad in my opinion.
I have had 5 good meals since I have been here.3 were chicken curry crepes at Crepes and Waffles,a great and inexpensive restaurant.$4.00 for one of the best dishes I ever had,but its not Colombian.I had some good prawns at the "Sunflower"(sunflower in spanish I forget how they say it.)restaurant.
I also had a good "Presto"cheeseburger,but the next one was cooked to shoe leather.Quality control?Not here.
I wish I had brought some off my protien powder mix and I would have it twice a day and Crepes and Waffles the other meal.Of course I would have to bring powdered milk for it.The Leche here is like canned milk,comes in a plastic bag.The yogurt is like a thin liquid,not solid like the states.
This rant does come at a time when I am so tired of Colombian food I think I will barf if someone puts some in front of me.Comes with the time here and mostly meals at my relatives.
We have a Colombian restaurant a mile from us in Sasn Jose.I have never had a dish I liked there but my wife loves it,homesickness I think.
Now the latin food I do like is Cuban food.They know how to take a tough
peace of meat and stew it for hours in a red sauce untill it is fall apart tender.Havana Cuba restaurant in San Jose is one of my favorites.I like everything they have,as contrasted with zip at the
Colombian place.
I love my wife,I like her country,but I´m through giving any untrue praise to the food. I can´t think of a county´´s I like less at the moment.But then 3 weeks of any food could have that effect.

Pete

... in response to Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002

HI Pete,  I am a vegetarian and I eat about 50% raw food. I have a chat friend in Bogota and she says they have a very large variety of fruits and vegetables there. More than we do here in the US I think. I dont hear anyone talking about things like salads, fruit, and vegetables. I think I might like the food there but maybe not in the resturants.Of course some things I eat like soy burgers and veggie hot dogs would be non exsistant there too. Ben

... in response to Re: Fed up on Colombian food, posted by BenKramer on Jan 4, 2002

Ben,

I'm not vegetarian but I've tried lots of different diets in my life (including raw foods) and I tend to pay attention to what kinds of food are available where. I noticed that Medellin has LOTS of tropical fruit and fresh fruit juices everywhere. Bogota to some extent. Don't know about Cali. Salads in Colombia basically suck, especially if you're used to good salads like the kind you get in health food type stores here in the US. If you're vegetarian you won't starve but you'll have to pay attention to what you order since meat is king in Colombia. I have noticed meat analogues (soy and tofu) things in health food stores in Bogota. Soups are out because they're all made with meat or chicken stock as far as I can recall. There are certainly lots of rice, bean, and grain dishes that you could special order without the meat. Fruits and vegetables are quite abundant. Avocado, which raw fooders tend to love, are VERY abundant in Colombia and VERY cheap. I would guess, but I don't know for sure, that you could find produce that isn't as chemicalized as it is in the US for much less than you pay here. In Medellin I noticed lots of street vendors selling drinks with freshly processed sugar cane - not the refined sugar we're used to but raw sugar, ground off the cane right in front of you. I definitely noticed that I didn't get the sugar high/crash from the raw cane the way I do with white table sugar here.

Your best bet would, if you go to Colombia someday, would be to hook up with vegetarians there to show you the ropes. Another thought is that you could research Colombian cooking on the Internet before you travel and ask for the interesting vegetarian dishes when you travel.

Sol

... in response to Re: Fed up on Colombian food, posted by BenKramer on Jan 4, 2002

Benkramer:  Two Gringos Guide recommends only eating Fruits & vegetables in Colombia you can peel, due to the fact all other fruits will be washed in water which can get you sick.  Same problem with salads.  Thats makes for alot of bananas you will be eating.  Have never looked for any soyburgers/veggie hotdogs in the grocery stores as preoccupied with looking for women.  I think the restaurant food in Bogota is great, but if you don't make an exception and eat fish or chicken the choices are limited. I did see a few health food stores/vegetarian restaurants in the yellow pages. This would also partially solve the problem of decoding Spanish menus. Overall Bogota seems to be Cholesterol city with alot of meat and eggs, but with their women this is ok.

... in response to Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002

Hey Pete I'm not sure what part of Colombia your're visiting, but I disagree with you on some of your opinions. First I think the milk, which comes in a plastic bag is delicious. It has a great taste, much more cream, better than the USA. A dairy farmer in Florida told me it's because the cows are mostly free ranged, grass fed in Colombia. The food at a restaurant, in the mall, in Cali "El Carbons" is excellent, 4 bucks for a double minion. The truth is everybody has there own opinions.

... in response to Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002

I am right with you Pete!!!!  The food in Colombia does leave much to be desired.  I had some outstanding empanadas and chicken sausage at LaCatorce in Calima. Waffles and Crepes is also outstanding, especially for the money.  Tony Romas ribs were pretty good also.  But as a whole, there was very little food I had on my trip to Cali that I could not get better here in Houston.

... in response to Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002


Most of my eating in Colombia has been home cooking from mi Madre & Tia's. These girls can BURN!!!!(cook really,really good...lol). And man! Do they love to feed you. Even when I was in Tumaco. I had fish 3 times a day for 4 days! Their culinary magic made it a different taste everytime... Aww man, I gotta get back down there! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it....dayyum!

... in response to I hear ya Pete......but, posted by Hoda on Jan 3, 2002

Howard,
We had dinner with John B. last night at the Leon Carbone in a new center in the south,La Catorse.The food was good,huge portions,and a real salid bar,with lettuce as well as all their vegies,noy just beans and onions.I had the chicken.There were huge slabs of beef,I´ll have to try.The carne has always been a disapointment here for me.
I was just reacting to what I had been eating,mostly at Rocio,s mother´s.I shouldn´t complain because she tries hard to please me but I am just tired of the usual food here.

Pete

... in response to Re: I hear ya Pete......but, posted by Pete E on Jan 4, 2002

Pete...
I've a question about property acquisition in Colombia....
I've noticed in other posts that you are in real estate...

I'm basically thinking about a small town house for my mother-in-law and my wife's uncle...
They are both retired and paty and i are helping them with expenses....

In my recent trip to Bogota we looked at a new 4 bedroom townhouse in a PUD that listed for about 15K us....

I'd want to pay cash...

The property is not for investment, but just for the family....

Any info regarding ownership, taxes potential hangups etc. would be welcome...

I'm into property here, but have not considered any different applications until the current moment.
Thanks,
Dean

... in response to Re: Re: I hear ya Pete......but, posted by Dean on Jan 4, 2002

Dean,
I am going to answer this up top with a new post since it might not get noticed down here and someone else might have some good imput.

Pete

... in response to Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002

Spanish food varies a lot by region, and some specialties of Valencia, such as paella, are fantastic. But I never realized how much I liked good Mexican food until I came to a country where there isn´t any. I finally learned to make my own from scratch at home.

Spanish coffee is horrendous, though in fairness I tried some in France that was even worse. Finally I resorted to buying raw Arabica coffee (Medellín, Antigua, Mexico, Costa Rica, etc. origins)from a vendor in Holland and toasting it myself at home. Cheap, wonderful coffee.

  Almost all the people at my church are from either Colombia or Ecuador, and the food they´ve cooked for me has been pretty good: tender stewed steaks and yuca, arepas, etc. New Year´s Eve we had a potluck dinner and I cooked up a bunch of Mexican food and Mexican coffee. They didn´t much like the hot salsa, but they were all over everything else. Most of them had never even heard of tacos, and I had to show them how to put one together. It was amusing and gratifying to see people who had convinced themselves they don´t like coffee, coming back for second and third cups.

... in response to Re: Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Bueller on Jan 3, 2002

There is one restaurant here in Denver where we can order some Colombian dishes (like tamales), it is called "Sabor Latino" (latin flavor) and they have other dishes from sur america..  On the weekends they have "paella", that is also fantastic.  I can only imagine how good it might be in Valencia.

... in response to Re: Re: Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Edge on Jan 3, 2002

Mmmm...stop, it´s after midnight and I can´t find any for the next twelve hours! :-). Seriously, it is addictive. I read about paella in the tourist guides and tried it a few times in Salamanca, over west of Madrid, but I couldn´t see what all the fuss was about. Once I moved to Valencia, though, I figured out what the difference is. There are a couple of factories up in Barcelona which make it and freeze it, and it is sent out pre-portioned to be reheated and served to tourists all over the country (except in Valencia, where it was invented and which doesn´t see too many tourists anyway). Coming to Spain and eating frozen paella is like going to Italy and getting frozen pizza.

  I´m told that there are around thirty kinds of rice dishes here, although I´m only familiar with about seven or eight. Paella valenciana is made with chicken, rabbit, and snails. Then there is chicken paella, seafood paella, arroz negro (rice mixed with squid meat and ink, garlic mayo on the side-- delicious), and fideua, which is macaroni with shellfish. Most carryout places charge 400 pesetas (2.4 €, or $2.15) for a nice big helping. Everywhere in town, it´s ready about 1 PM, cooked in a big skillet as much as four feet across, and once it´s gone there´s no more until the next day.

  Apparently there is a real art to making paella correctly. A Nigerian lady at church is reputed to have the best recipe/technique anywhere, and Saturday I´m going to her house to learn how to make it. If I get it right, I´ll pass on the recipe to anyone interested.

  There are meat shops around which proudly announce that they have fresh horse meat for sale. I was afraid to order hamburgers here for fear that they might use horse meat to save money. But recently I was told horse meat costs twice as much as beef, and it is considered to be a tasty, iron-rich delicacy. I´ll just take their word on that, thank you!  
 

... in response to Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002

My wife and I ate at Reconcito Colombiano in SJ a few weeks ago and we both enjoyed it.  I had my reception at the
Cliffhouse in San Francisco with my family and friends.  We spent around 4 days in San Francisco and then
a day at a friends in Fremont.  We passed through San Jose and ate there on our way to Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur area..  I also bought a bunch of Colombian beer there at the restaurant for the holidays at my parents in Paso Robles.  My wife also stocked up on some of the Colombian sundries you can buy in the little store associated with the restaurant.  I guess the restaurant has been open for a few years and the people are from Bogotá from talking to them.  We tried another Colombian restaurant in San Francisco, but it was on the small side.  

I think if I had to eat typica food all of the time also, I would get tired of it. Cali Viejo had the best comida typica I came across in Cali.

Hang in there and you will be home before too long.

... in response to Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002

Well, being her for almost 6 months now, I do miss a good Carls Jr Cheese burger. Ah, a superstar with cheese.......
Oh well, I have learned to adapt. El Corral has what I think is probably the best burger in town. Although, I was surprised to find that Frisby actually made a good one too. El Corral also has the best chocolate milkshake/malt in town, too. Of course, there is always McDonalds which is the same as back home. Presto, yeeccchhh! Taste like bicycle tire with tomatoes. You can have mine.
Chicken? I don't think I have had any really bad chicken anywhere in town. The only thing I don't like about Brasa Roja is that they see mto cut the chicken up with a circular saw instead of like cutting here and there. You know, wing here, thigh here, leg there, etc. Brasa Roja chicken is just cut however it was put in the saw. Half a leg here, half wing and breast here, etc.
The grills like Leno's, Simon Paridilla's, and Mr Beef are always pretty good. But, Mr. Beef down in UniCentro is really my favorite. Lomitos or Pechuga de Pollo with the mushroom sauce and some grilled onions on the side, oh that's good. All of them are pretty good, except Simon Paridilla had by far the best service. Leno's is where is where I found something pretty close to a steak. It's called Punta de Anca. It's better than baby beef to me and resembles a steak more like back home. Gregory's SteakHouse on 6th Av is where I had the BEST Baby Beef anywhere. Well, they call it Baby Beef, but that sucker is about 1 inch thick. And, it was tender. A little pricy, but very good in both service and food.
No Arepa for me thank you.
Chinese is kind of funny. Fried rice is pretty good, but they like to put ham in instead of the little chunks of pork you get back home. Chow Mien is a little runny but it's not bad. I had a Orange Chicken ata Chinese restaurant on 6th av. It's kind of across the street from BlockBuster. I recommend that place.
If you go into the bigger stores you can find the import isle. That's where you find the Reeses Peanut butter, milky ways, Del monte Vegetables, Welch's Grape Juice, etc.  And, most recently, the started carrying French's Mustard, real mustard not this Mostaza stuff.  LOL!
Yeah, I miss some things, especially Taco Bell, but I am starting to find what is close to home and what I am tired of, just like Pack. But, keep in mind this. A Large Coke, Medium Popcorn, and a Hot Dog is about $4 here or 8,500 pesos. Try that back home.  LOL!
C-Ya
Keith

... in response to Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002

PALADARS...is that how its spelled? good food...variety.

... in response to Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002


When I was living in Colombia my diet consisted almost entirely of restaurant food.  I would say it was weighted heavily towards pizza, spaggetti, burgers and generally fast food.  I would eat at Crepes y Waffles a lot also and as you suggested the food there is pretty good.  I was also a big "lomo viche" or baby beef as it is sometimes called fan.  My favorite restaurant for baby beef is Rancho de Jonas.  I ate typical food also but usually at nicer restaurants were it's prepared better.  There's a great typical food restaurant accross from Chipi-Chapi.  I've forgotten the name unfortunately.  Cali-Viejo is another restaurant that prepares good typical food.  

The down side to eating out is that it can be expensive over a months time especially when you're not only paying for yourself but everyone else also.

... in response to Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002

Hang in there Pete....lol....you'll be back in San Jose pretty soon.....lol....by the way, what is the name of the Colombian restuarant in San Jose?

Take care,

Mark

... in response to Re: Fed up on Colombian food, posted by markxport on Jan 3, 2002

Mark,
The restaurant is "Reconcito Colombiano",at the shopping center at Curtner ave and Almanden road.Back behind the Burger King and the movie theaters.
The atmosphere is authentic and good,I like that part.Sometimes a guy plays a guitar for you.One Sunday I was the only gringo in the place.

Pete

... in response to Re: Re: Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002

... which means 'little Colombian Corner.'

Here's the info yahoo has on them:

2306 Almaden Rd
San Jose, CA 95125
(408) 265-8894

... in response to Re: Re: Fed up on Colombian food, posted by Pete E on Jan 3, 2002

Tell everybody I said hi and Happy New Year.

Chris