My Best Attempt at Describing Colombian Food
A friend asked me the other day what the food is like in Colombia.
Hmmm…I thought to myself.
The best way I can describe it is to close your eyes and picture the USDA food pyramid and double the portion size of it. Then replace the bottom sections of grains with a picture of a cow and do the same thing with all the other sections until you get to the very top. Fill that section in with soft serve ice cream.
But perhaps even better than then the food pyramid is to describe a typical Colombian food court.
Should you ever find yourself to be low in iron or essential amino acids and not in the mood to read words on a menu, the Colombian food court is the place for you.
Located in malls, airports, bus depots etc, these food courts usually include six to ten seemingly identical restaurants with picture menus showing various plates of grilled meats.
In the far off reaches of the food court there always also seems to be a lonely Subway thrown in for good measure. And maybe…maaaybe if you are lucky, one vegetarian restaurant*
*by vegetarian, I mean a grilled chicken place.
As we departed Medellin today on a seven hour bus journey to Salento, we found ourselves in one such food court and I found myself paralyzed by choice at this veritable festival of meats.
I couldn’t help but laugh when the first restaurant I passed was literally called the “For Carnivores Restaurant.”
While I really wanted try this place out, it looked a tad bit too dodgy for me — more like a museum of meats than an actual eating establishment. And being more of an omnivore myself, I wasn’t sure if my people were welcomed there. I decided to pass on it and see what else I could find.
After perusing several other similar bus depot eateries of varying levels of cleanliness, I found the one that looked the cleanest and ordered the Bandeja Paisa, Medellin’s traditional dish consisting of skirt steak, rice, beans, pork, plantains and a fried egg to top it off.
When asked for mine without the fried pork I got a confused look from the woman. Concerned that I was risking malnourishment, she asked if I wanted double steak instead.
Yes, please. That would be great!
The food itself was delicious,(pretty similar to carne asada) and like all Colombian food the portion size was totally absurd.
In general, I don’t think most people visit Colombia for the food, but if you are into meat and gluttony, you will have no shortage of good options.
