We’d like to welcome on board the guys at 2sporks1cup, who travelled to Colombia this year. This Aussie and Colombian couple kept their blog diligently updated through their travels and continue to update now they’re back in the land of Oz. We’ll be re-posting some of our top picks in the coming months to give you a taste of their Colombian experience. Enjoy!
You can be overwhelmed by food choices from the streets of Colombia; especially by the dish often touted as the national one: La arepa. It’s basically a cooked maize or corn flour patty, but it’s what people do to them that transforms the arepa into something addictive and delicious. They are served suffocated with cheese, intoxicated with sugar, fried close to death in butter, choked with meat, or dished up with a sleazy chorizo sausage. And most of the time (besides the dubious vendors waiting outside bars at 3am) they are tasty.
I’m going to go so far to say that the arepa could be Colombia’s version of Australia’s Vegemite. They both seem to feature heavily at breakfast, come out late at night after too many drinks, and convince die hard fans that they contain restorative powers. Think felafels in Egypt, pad thai in Thailand or chips in Ireland, and you’ll understand how intrinsic the little circle of happiness is to Colombian culture.
I’ve tasted arepas made from scratch that stole a piece of my heart. A friend’s Mother spends up to 8 hours a week to make one incredible batch of organic arepas. The flour hand made after laboriously peeling fresh cobs. The taste is pure sweetness, cooked slowly in butter until crispy on the outside and soft in the centre, slothered in fresh berries and a slab of soft white cheese. There was no saying “no thanks” to seconds.
But it’s hit and miss on the streets when hunting down the perfect arepa, which encourages people to cling to their favourite local corn master. In fact I’ve heard more than one conversation about how important it is to know THE place for a good arepa. Then there’s the supermarket selection, an entire aisle caters for the endless, ready made variations of the Latin staple. Seems like the food loving people of Colombia just can’t get enough of a good thing!
When we returned to the city recently we headed to Andres’s version of THE arepa den. After five years away from his home town we found the hole in the wall down a busy alley. I figured the location was etched in Andres’s subconscious, somehow more easily found when tipsy. The lady working the grill donned a huge grin when she recognised one of her old fans. There was knowing eye contact and a lazy nod of the head. Without hesitation we ordered. I went for arepas filled with garlic mushrooms, generous avocado and a fried egg, while Andres finds it hard to go past the dirty sausage, cheese and chilli option. For about $3 each you can stave off the next fix.
All I can say is, it’s a good thing it’s fashionable to have some ‘butt’ to shake in this part of the world.
Kris
Of course, not everyone loves arepas. Check out The Great Arepa Debate here.
2 Sporks 1 Cup are Kris and Andres – an Aussie and a Colombian living life with a wandering spirit. After 3 years together and over 60 countries up their sleeves, they are currently sharing the travel inspiration from sunny Australia. You can find them at www.2sporks1cup.com and on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/2sporks
Pingback: GUEST POST: How to make jungle bread aka Selva pan de la Amazonía | Colombia Travel Blog by Marcela (and the See Colombia Travel team)
Pingback: Food in Colombia: The Plantain | Colombia Travel Blog by Marcela (and the See Colombia Travel team)
Paul on
It’s true, especially on the coast.
Colleen on
That arepa looks amazing. I’ve never actually had one before, but I definitely want to try one now. Yum!