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Cuisine Observations from a newly minted Bogotano

I moved to Bogota a few months ago and thought I might be able to offer some of my impressions as a Gringo transplant on some of the local food.

In General, it's mostly awful, sorry folks but that is just the way it is. The Colombian idea of fine italian cuisine tastes more like Chef Boyardee, and while the quality of fruits, meats, vegetables, and dairy products is seconed to none, the notion of seasoning seems to be virtually non-existent in the Colombian cook book. Virtually every Colombian dish seems to be completely bland and flavorless. Notable exceptions are fruit salads, always terrific, and aji, a slightly spicy green salsa that does have something resembling a flavor, though not a particularly good one.

You can find a good payella from time to time, and if you you are into Mexican you can find that too and sometimes it will even be palatable. The fast food chain "A Todo Taco" is definitly a step up from Taco Bell, but don't expect to find the miracle of Tex-Mex, not even in the hole-in-the-wall type places.

Chinese? Well it's an interpretation I guess, and it's no worse than you might find in say, a small town in Mississippi, but don't expect San Francisco Chinatown quality.

Thai? They may call it that, but I for one can't find any similarities. In fact, most Bogotanos think it's the same as chinese.

Arepas, great if you like solidified corn starch in the shape of a pancake. Some of the more exotic varieties, such as yellow Boyacense style filled with cheese, are not bad. But nothing to write home about either.

Burgers, mostly tasteless chunks of spam masquerading as ground beef on a sopping wet bun soaked with sauces to mask the flavor (or give it some, I really can't tell which). But Rodeo does know how to make a real burger and it's actually not bad at all. Easily the best burger I have found in the City so far.

Pizza, nope, not even close. More like cheese and ketchup spread onto an oversized arepa. Domino's is about as close to decent New York style that you will find here, and really that ain't too close.

Kosher, a dream bordering on mania. There is a jewish section of town out near the end of Chico, I have not seen any delis out there though.

Arabic/middle-eastern, the Bogotanian fast food answer to middle eastern cuisine. Not all that bad, but not exactly inspired either. Don't expect a big bowl of olives or piclked raddish like you get in a good middle-eastern restaurant elsewhere, but the main courses are nearly accurate representations.

Rodizio, well I have been to only one, but it's supposed to be one of the best, Brasa Brazil. All the meats were overcooked and had absolutely no seasnoning of any kind whatsoever, nor any flavor of their own either. I really don't get it, Colombia supposedly has some of the finest cattle in South America, but they don't have the slightlest clue about how to prepare it.

I did once have a decent T-Bone steak once in the Hacienda Santa Barbara food court, I think it was at the Argenitina Parilla. Well I should qualify it, it was at the level of a Denny's. I guess it's pretty sad when you have to call that decent.

Crepes and Waffles, I had a stroganoff crepe that surprise surprise, actually was reminiscent of a real French crepe. My wife had a mushroom soup in a breadbowl. My only complaint here was that we were charged for a fine meal and got only the most mediocre preparations, still mediocre is a very big compliment here.

If anybody out there can steer me to some decent food I would really appreciate it. So far the best of anything I have experienced has been disappointing to say the least.

I would kill for a slice of good NY style pizza, and a chicken cacciatore that actually tastes like it is supposed to would make me swoon. Even a chinese restaurant where they know the difference between chow mein and lo mein would be nice. If they actually knew what hot and sour soup is it would be a dream.

Bogota is a city of nearly 10 million people. In many respects it is very modern and cosmopolitan, I refuse to believe that nowhere in this city is there any kind of good international cuisine. I've given up on the indigenous cuisine.

By PC on Sep 28, 2004, 18:05 in Friendly Talkzone.

caslug says on Sep 28, 2004, 18:47:

Try Karen's Pizza It's decent enough, kinda like a less fatty/greasy papa john. For burgers, just goto MckyDees, taste & price are the same as states.

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elmodefoque says on Sep 28, 2004, 18:55:

I totally agree with you. The food in Bogotá is just like the people, bland and tasteless. Sorry my cachaco brothers but you know what I mean. If you like foods that make you fart fire you have to try costeno cuisine from the northern Caribbean coast. The food there is like the women, hot and spicy. Try a dozen butifarras con bollo. Try, mojarra frita con patacones y arroz de coco. For a more refined treat check out un pargo frito en salsa de coco. Try arroz con camarones and bring all that down with a jugo de níspero o guanábana. And if you’re still hungry have a couple of caribanolas , is refine fried yuca, stuff with cheese, meat or chicken, don’t ask what kind of meat. Also try, but only during “carnaval’ iguana eggs and shove them down with ron blanco.. Don’t bother with Italian food or any other foreign food for that matter. A relative try to impress me by taking me out to an Italian restaurant in barraquilla, peww it was awful. I live in NYC with the best restaurants in the world the last thing I want is to eat Italian food in Barranquilla.

I'll get there, when I get there!

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oldbongo says on Sep 28, 2004, 19:39:

si senor... you are sadly, so correcto..

elmo's right...again..but he forgot the

carne y pollo asadas en carbon, simple but good.

do you know sobrebarriga? this is a very good flank steak.

the best dish i have found in colombia.

i always bring the spices,condiments,rice,sauces,pastrami,

and the other neccesities,and cook the local produce.

my colombian aquaintances think that its all very exotic,

consume everything, ask for more to take home.

to try to explain something as simple as pad thai,

or real dill pickles,is far beyond rocket science.

my experience is that colombians simply have never had

the opportunity to be exposed to variety,and are entrenched

in their habits. ...simple food....and also, those that

frequent those places you mention, have never really experienced

living in a place like NYC and don't comprehend the difference in

quality and consequently think that these places are really good.

if you find real cheddar cheese, you get a prize.

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PC says on Sep 28, 2004, 19:54:

Elmo,

You can get all of that in Bogota and easily too. Bogota is great for finding just about anything Colombian, but for international cusisine, different story.

Agreed on NYC, still even in Roswell, NM I have had good chinese, and terrific Italian in Tampa, Florida. It certainly makes sense that you would not find great Italian food in Baranquilla, but Bogota is a whole different world. It's a very international city, but the cuisine. Yuk!

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emilyh says on Sep 28, 2004, 23:19:

I've heard the one in Bogota isn't as good..... but I had Salerno's pizza in Cali and it was very good. Also I went to a restaurant called 'M' Asia lounge in Cali, also very good. It was "asian" not specific Chinese, or Thai, but a bit of everything including Indian and that was really great. Another pizza chain where I found good Pizza was Archie's which was in Bogota , but that was thin crust, not thick American style crust from what I remember and as for Italian I can't remember the name but I went to a good restaurant in Usaquen where for the first time in Colombia I saw Ciabbatta and I was SOOOO happy. I also agree that the Sobrebarriga, the description put me off it, but it was really nice and served with these great Potatoes in a place in Zipaquira.

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teppar says on Sep 29, 2004, 02:36:

i'm confused.... i spent 5 weeks in bogota this year and loved all the food i tasted. i have travelled the world and bogota was on par with any major capital for variety and wonderful taste. yes some of the local dishes are perhaps a bit neutral in taste, but that is part of travelling to a new place and enjoying a bit of local flavour. but honestly, i was impressed with every restaurant and all areas i travelled (cartagena, zona cafetera, villa de leyva, bogota, etc). i'm surprised you are all finding the food not very good.

cheers

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elmodefoque says on Sep 29, 2004, 05:04:

Any of you guys ever had Iguana or tortuga eggs. In Barranquilla, though illegal, you can still find people selling strings of iguana eggs along the streets during “carnaval” .
I like getting like 2 dozen and sit around with buddies drinking beer con Ron blanco and cat call every broad that passes by, including las toothless gorditas feas, hey, they need loving too.
Those iguana eggs are not bad, especially the real hard ones the ones left out in the sun for awhile and then start to smell like pecueca (feet smell). They have the texture and look of a dried up egg yoke in a thin leathery casing a little bigger than a marble ball and are stringed up in pairs of maybe 24, almost like butifarras. I was going to sell those as a kid but did not like the idea of having to kill them. They usually kept me company while I was taking my monthly bathe in Magdalena River. My mother would not let me in the hut if I did not bathe and sometimes I had to sleep with the goats and donkey until they could not stand my stink either, and kicked me out too.

I'll get there, when I get there!

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Bquilla says on Sep 29, 2004, 05:21:

Elmo My wife swears up and down about how great tasting Iguana is. On our recent trip to Barranquilla I did try cow tongue. It was awesome!

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emilyh says on Sep 29, 2004, 14:36:

No teppar, I agree All the food that I had was delicious. I never had Chinese there admittedly, but I never had any complaints about the food at all! I really loved everything I ate, exceptr I must admit I didn't like Tamale when I tried that, everything else was great. Actually, another restaurant that I went to in Bogota was one at Monserrate and the food was fantastic too, I had a beautiful steak there!

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gregshav says on Sep 29, 2004, 15:17:

Haven't eaten in Bogota but I spent a week in Cartagena earlier this month, and the food there
is better than the food I eat in the United States, and at a way better price.
Just this gringo's observation

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ShazCas says on Sep 29, 2004, 15:21:

La Cofradia Go to the Cofradia in the Zona Rosa for lunch at the weekend and ask for Viudo de Capaz.

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Elbigie says on Sep 30, 2004, 06:41:

Variety does not apply to the set up meals (aka corrientazo), but regional food is quite nice. Have you tried Tamales Tolimenses or LEchona from the same region???

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Thededalus says on Sep 30, 2004, 09:00:

Good Italian There's an Italian restautant next to La Universidad de los Andes that I always really liked, called Mauros. I'm not sure, it might be calle 19 or 20 w/Carerra 1. Basically, it's just above the Uni's north entrance.

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Mamey says on Oct 1, 2004, 20:51:

That's why they call it meat and potatoes... keep it very simple. But tasteful.

Im sure some of you already know, there are several brands of Lechona in a can, which isn't bad at all. But what it's good is the tamales Tolimenses which come in a little microwaveable box.

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ideavirus says on Oct 14, 2004, 16:53:

my two cents first of all, i'm from the colombian caribbean, but i live in bogotá a long time a go.

now,

yes bogotá's food is not the best of the world i agree. but, did you go to diluca's or Nico or Bellini's to get your italian food? I've been there with gringos and venezuelans and gotten sincere good opinions about the food. Traditioanlly Chinese food for bogotanos has been a total mistery, chinese restaurants are usually owned by 'paisas'with little knowledge of the chinese cusine, however, don't forget to go to a chinese restaurant if you are in cartagena. hamburgers are yes soaky but good if you order a grilled 'carbonisima' at el corral and mcdonalds burgers are far more tastier than anywhere in the continent. for pizza i would recommend a small place in the calle 85 called 1969, very good i can tell you and I've been to NY, so. i mean it's getting better, nowadays they serve you sodas with ice without you having to ask for it, and even if they don't serve it there's ice in the house, 20 years back, they didn't that ice could be used to cool beverages, or that people drank them cold.

Unfortunately bogotanos traditionally were very ignorant in cuisine preparation and seasoning but that has changed a lot. and it's getting better. I have a relative in NY who has little knowledge or interest in other food different from typical colombian food, amazing thing living in NY, but this altiplano people are like this. I went there and tried all kinds of food, my relative could not believe her eyes, in 20 years she had never been to a japaneese food restaurant. I found recently a small place where they make shawarmas, owned by a palestinian guy, very good and cheap, i took a friend from the office to eat there and the guy could not take the meat or chiken in the shawarma cause it was too seasoned for him, and believe me it was ok. he had never ate something so wildly flavored. he was a normal bogotano.

i've been with groups from the office to classy japaneese restaurants in the zona t like watakushi and observed people working in advertising for a decade try for the first time a pair of chop sticks.

so it's getting better and it's fun to see a city come of age like this, and embrace new flavors like you won't see anywhere else in the world.

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kernow62 says on Oct 14, 2004, 20:41:

local cuisine I noticed the lack of seasoning in Bogota food, my in-laws had to purchase black pepper specifically for when I visit. I do however have nice food experiences as well as bad ones in Bogota. I like papa criolla purchased piping hot from a street vendor when heading to a football match, or munching on just fried potato chips while walking in el Centro,. I like stopping at Empanadas Tipicas for a cheese or carne empanada, or stopping at Domino for an empanada de pino (this one has a bit of flavour because it is from Chile), I like a nice bowl of ajiaco with guasca. Arepa de chocolo is a nice treat, but I don't care for obleas, too sweet. I love sancocho de pollo too. I never did seek out international cuisine while I was in Bogota.

When I moved to the US from the UK I thought the Chinese food in the US was far inferior to what I was used to in the UK and at the time Indian food was a mystery to Americans, and I lamented not being able to find decent fish or a Cornish pasty, or heaven forbid a cuppa, but after a while one adapts. I now have a good Indian restaurant nearby, I can buy good tea at the Indian grocery down the road and I make a mean Cornish pasty, sans turnip.

Perhaps a Chinese person would think UK and US versions vile, I am sure many Italians would laugh at American pizza. We all get used to our own local varieties and develop a taste for what is familiar.

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