Medellin 2013 #3 (Comida)

Food can be as much of an adventure as diving, hiking or whitewater rafting. Quality food at affordable prices are prevalent in the more local type restaurants. I have always enjoyed a mix of the “refine” and local grub. Luckily for me Poblado has international cuisine so I was not too far from personal favorites. Pizza, steak, swarmas and such can be had with little effort. I even found "good enough" Cajun grub in the adjacent barrio, Enviago.

Breakfast, I tried to keep within the local variety, usually consisting of beans and rice, a good portion of round steak or pork, eggs, juice and the all-important Colombian accompaniment to a meal, the arepa. Prices are very reasonable by our standards. This breakfast was around $6US.

Now arepas are the local equivalent of tortilla or bread rolls consumed with a meal. They are made from corn meal and can be prepared in every way imaginable. I’ve seen it stuffed and as a postre (dessert) but with my breakfast usually came with a slice of cheese. It is made from corn meal and can be quite filling by itself. Mexicans have something similar and call it the gordita, which is filled with everything you can think of much like a pita pocket sandwich.

During my afternoon walks in Poblado, I would stroll along any street I found interesting that day. Whenever that growling sound erupted, I would stop and survey my location and select whatever eatery caught my eye. Some were mundane quick food types but some deserve a more descriptive utterance. I love using funny words. My first “uttering”, must be Milagros, a colorful place that serves Mexican cuisine.

I would normally say "food" but each time I ordered something with a name I recognized the dish itself was unrecognizable. Even so, the food was delicious and healthy portions kept me fueled for most of the day.

 Another would be Naan, an Indian restaurant with no Indians. After living near Mumbai for 12 months, I can be a bit tough on these types of eateries and this one would be no exception.

Naan bread is one of my absolute favorite ethnic foods. A warm fresh naan right out of the tandoori oven is now comfort food for me. The chosen name for this eatery was too much for my common sense to penetrate. Expectations were high but alas, with no tandoori oven, equates to very little of the food is authentic. The food was still flavorful but in a “fusion” kind of way.

As I promised I have added new material to every post but this one is special to me, continue reading:

After having success with one Mexican restaurant I decided to try another that caught my eye. The name really is what did it, La Flauteria. These bring warm memories of my four brothers and I fighting for position to receive the latest batch of flautas fresh out of the fryer. It must have resembled a nest of fledglings with gaping mouths waiting for mother to drop the food in. Our poor mother stood in front of that fryer for a very long time......

I selected a sample tray of hard shell tacos, flautas and quesidillas. Being a sample plate the meat was of course pork, beef and chicken. All done right, juicy and tender with the right combo of spices to make the place a guarantee for repeat. I won't metion the tequila part......burb.

This blog entry's last utterance, will be “comida de Arabe”, Ala Sazon Arabe restaurant was down a dead end street off of Avenida 10A.

I almost did not enter this block as there was little activity and it had a dead end. I'm glad I braved on because the kabobs were tender and delicious. There was a large party of 20 or so Paisas in the cafe next door. All dressed in the fashionista style of Medellin. My hands were twitching to retrieve my camera as many attractive Colombianas were in the group. Not sure about the sensibilities of the locals I decided to just take in the view. After all, I was on a “dead” end street.