Article about Andres Carne de Res

I can't believe ColombianoX hasn't posted this yet.

Colombia's wild dinnertime ride
EXPANSIVE RESTAURANT NEAR BOGOT�? IS A RIOT FOR THE SENSES
By Tracey Eaton
Dallas Morning News

CHIA, Colombia - More than a quarter-million people make pilgrimage every year to one of the wackiest eateries in the Americas.

Imagine a giant, 1,000-seat party bus filled with people dancing, eating and drinking until the wee hours.

Now add thousands of art objects and knickknacks, everything from cheese graters to mannequins in lingerie, and you have Andrés Carne de Res (Andrew Meat of Beef). It sounds clunky in English, of course, but in Spanish it flows -- and rhymes.

Business hums along, too, as the restaurant on the outskirts of Bogotá dishes out 10 tons of beef per year.

Everyone from political elites and Nobel laureates to CEOs and ordinary Josés flocks to the restaurant not just for the grub, but also for the anything-goes atmosphere.

Restaurant workers, some decked out as angels, others as deranged punk rockers, parade through the place entertaining customers, adding to an already chaotic scene.

Throw in portraits of Jesus as a 1960s hippie, a man with a bullhorn herding restless children, squat candles smoldering in dark corners, noisemakers, chubby dolls, sparklers, Indian masks, flying skeletons and rustic iron wheels performing no obvious function, and it's sensory overload.

That's the feeling Andrés Jaramillo was hoping to create when he founded his restaurant 22 years ago.

``I spent my childhood and adolescence riding buses,'' the 47-year-old artist/entrepreneur says. ``That's how I got to know and experience life. I want my restaurant to be like that, like a bus that's full of people, a place that's always alive.''

The restaurant is alive, all right. Maybe too alive, some critics say.

Loncho Sánchez, a columnist writing in the Bogotá daily El Espectador, says Andrés Carne de Res gives him claustrophobia. ``And with all the bends and cubbyholes that the place has, I can't help thinking what would happen if there were, I don't know, a fire, an earthquake, or something more familiar, a simple shootout between drug traffickers.''

Sánchez, angry that a friend of his was nearly killed driving home drunk at 3 a.m. from the establishment, also complains that Andrés tries to be everything to everyone, offering sandboxes for toddlers, face painting for children and teenagers and romantic interludes for seniors wanting an escape.

``It is really worth going to a place that's for everyone?'' he asked.

Well, yes -- and that's the point, says Jaramillo, annoyed after reading the column.

``We get people who are rich and not so rich,'' he says. ``The restaurant isn't interested in whether someone is famous. We treat everyone equally, with all due respect.''

Past customers include Gabriel García Márquez, winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for literature, and Latin American politicians, movie stars and sports figures.

``Most of our waiters are university students, and they don't recognize many famous people,'' Jaramillo says. ``That's probably a good thing.''

The business got its name from another Andrés who was one of the original partners. And it opened at a time when restaurants with rhyming names were in vogue.

``There was one called Teresa, Carne y Cerveza and another called Agusto Carne a Su Gusto,'' Jaramillo says, referring to names translating as Teresa, Meat and Beer, and Agusto Meat the Way You Like It.

The restaurant had just 40 seats when he and his wife, Stella, started it to help pay their college tuition.

Today, it's a sprawling enterprise with 400 employees and sales of $3 million per year. It's open to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. On at least some other days, Jaramillo rents it out.

``We've had some beautiful weddings, and I like to tell people I've married 30 couples -- and only two have split up. That's not bad.''

A staff of 25 produces the dizzying jumble of ornaments that decorates the restaurant's walls and ceilings. The place has about five times the bric-a-brac of a Mexican Señor Frog's, and the artwork is constantly changed or recycled.

``The restaurant is never finished,'' says Jaramillo, who reads poetry and listens to music to come up with ideas for new decorations. ``Things are added every day.''

On one Saturday in 2004, a record 2,800 people visited the bustling bistro.

``On Sundays, it's a family place. On Saturday, it's craziness, a disco,'' Jaramillo says. ``We'll have 1,000 people at their tables and another 1,000 looking for a place to sit.''

All the while, some customers dance on their tables and costumed restaurant workers stream past tables holding onto a metal bar -- as if they were actually riding a bus.

``The idea is to celebrate life,'' Jaramillo says. ``It has nothing to do with the violence we Colombians see. But we should celebrate life.

``Life is a gift.''

By Mr. Hollywood on Mar 1, 2005, 13:04 in Friendly Talkzone.

Tinto (Moderator) says on Mar 1, 2005, 13:07:

I think ColX must have been busy praying for Catalina when this discussion started. ;-)

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/node/7854

ColombianoX says on Mar 1, 2005, 13:56:

Mr. Hollywood,

What a good article, thanks for sharing it!

CX

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

dwmte says on Mar 1, 2005, 14:17:

has any of the faithful here on PBH actually been to this place? sounds like a riot. my kind of place, a bit of the strange, the peculiar and out of the ordinary.

somebody give us a reading.

GIB get out there and tell us all about it.

dw

zhallart says on Mar 1, 2005, 15:15:

Andreas

Hi

Sounds like a great time.

Chia - A taxi ride away?

Thanks

Zart

Lomax says on Mar 1, 2005, 15:30:

This place rocks! Well, do I have to say anything else?
Been there twice now and I can tell you: this place rocks on Saturdays.
Have fun!

carldecolorado says on Mar 1, 2005, 15:40:

I am interested to hear if anyone has been here. Sounds like an interesting place to check out on my next visit to Bogota!

Carl

juanalejo says on Mar 1, 2005, 16:25:

Andres It might be expensive, it might be a little snobish but you have not been to Bogota if you have not been there. Plus you are bound to bump into any of most famous models, tv presenters or any other girl that you have seen on TV. Last time I was there Paola Turbay was queueing behind me. Great on Friday or Saturday nights. Also good for lunch on weekends. It is worth the trip both in the day and at night, it is two different worlds, in the day there is usually a theme and the waiters are all dressed up and there are people scattered all over the place doing shows and they even sit at your table and make fun out of you. In the evenings is just everybody dancing on the tables.

Mr. Hollywood says on Mar 1, 2005, 16:58:

Been there The quick version is this:

Friday nights, young, 19-26-year old crowd. Dancing, singing, drinking
Saturday nights, older, 21-40 crowd. Riotous partying, too.

Both nights are a bit of a meat market, in a good way, and I'm not talking about the steaks.

Sunday is family day and really fun to bring friends and family. You'll also actually get to taste the food, not just the drinks, and the food is really terrific.

Kiwi on the loose says on Mar 3, 2005, 05:59:

Andres carne Yes indeed that place certainly does rock. I've been there twice now on my last two visits to Colombia, and in actual fact my wife and I took our hardcore guests out there after our wedding to party into the small hours just 3 weeks ago. Friends were just intrigued with the jumbled chaos of architecture meets interior decoration. Ahh it's great.
You should visit this place at least once in your life, along with the Taj Mahal.... Great wall of China.... you get the idea

Mario says on Mar 3, 2005, 10:41:

Excellent stop The food is great - people everywhere dancing, and what an overall blast. I loved it there and I'll be back again in a couple of months. The eclectic interior decorations add to the warmth of the place and I liked the fact that it was very romantic too. The receipt for your order is delivered in a crimped metal pipe with a bottle cap on the other end.

goosekirk says on Mar 5, 2005, 17:24:

Agreed I've been a number of times, and I agree that it's one of the wonders of the world. This article, and the comments here, do not do the place justice. I've tried taking photos there and it just doesn't work. Words can't fully describe it - if you haven't seen it, you can't imagine it. It's genuinely a unique experience, no matter when you go... and if you're in Bogota, this should be your number 1 attraction. Just my opinion. I think GiB prefers another place close by, but I haven't been there yet... there's still so much I haven't seen at Andres.

Cerealkiller says on Mar 6, 2005, 10:57:

andres well... to be quite honest, it gets a little old after a bit. The food isnt really THAT nice, it gets awfully crowded and you cant really move without having your bum "accidentally" grabbed...sangria and cocktails are great and on sundays the salad bar is quite interesting. But thats about it really...there are far better places to party at.

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill

ws244 says on Mar 6, 2005, 11:38:

andres What makes Andres great is

the food is great "lomo el trapo"
are not forced to be politically correct,
are not forced to have equal opportunity hiring laws,
are not forced to have reserved parking for the walking "Walmart" disabled,
are not forced to have mandated wheelchair entrance ways
are not forced to ban wooden eating bowls
do not have to worry about being sued for the platter being too hot.
anotherwords, what makes andre a great place is a lack of all the laws that make an andre restaurant impossible to operate in the states
(of course all the beautiful woman, particularly the ones with 2 0r 3 kids that still have the same weight and figure as when they left school, DELETED )
ws

santiBOG says on Mar 6, 2005, 14:42:

I think the food's great but a bit pricey. I would say that it's a must-see place for those who won't mind the crowd and the noise, especially on Saturday night. Just make sure that there is a designated driver for the ride back to Bogota... the place seems to make everyone booze-happy and accidents have been known to happen to people returning from Andres.

jpimentelc says on Aug 7, 2005, 11:33:

Little Words about Andres Carne De Res.. http://notanotherblog.50webs.com/lugar.htm

aztec says on Aug 7, 2005, 13:34:

Been there! I used to be a rather stuffed shirt. That is before I married the Colombian. On the very first week that I met her years ago she took me to Andres Carne de Res. While I was having my steak dinner much to my surprise everyone starting dancing on the tables. My life has not been the same since!