{"id":1875,"date":"2011-12-02T14:03:26","date_gmt":"2011-12-02T19:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/?p=1875"},"modified":"2021-03-16T17:50:30","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T22:50:30","slug":"colombian-street-food-the-good-the-bad-and-the-strange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2011\/12\/colombian-street-food-the-good-the-bad-and-the-strange\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombian Street Food: the Good, the Bad and the Strange"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you travel to Cartagena<\/a>, Medell\u00edn, Bogot\u00e1, Cali, or many more of the big cities in Colombia, you’ll find yourself inundated with international cuisine. In Bogot\u00e1 you can even find a Serbian restaurant. But there’s nothing quite like getting to know a country’s culture by eating its street food – and street food is everywhere in Colombia.<\/p>\n

Some of it is delicious, some of it is satisfying, some of it is so bland you won’t even notice you ate anything and some of it is… Well, wrong (I’m looking at you hot chocolate with cheese). If you’re in Colombia, it’s all an essential experience, so grab the man on the corner dispensing tintos from a thermoflask and wander down the street with a coffee in hand, searching for your nearest food-seller. You’ll never feel more Colombian.<\/p>\n

Arepas<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Arepas,<\/a>
Arepas, anyone? (Photo by\u00a0William Neuheisel\u00a0–\u00a0http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/wneuheisel\/5638759779\/in\/photostream\/)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arepas are the staple of the Colombian street food diet. You\u2019ll find them almost everywhere in Colombia, although with slightly different variations. Your standard arepa is made of pre-cooked corn flour or corn dough which is then mixed with water and salt. The mixture is then kneaded into the familiar flat, round shape you\u2019ll see all over Colombia.<\/p>\n

Variations include the arepa de huevo, which is a popular snack on\u00a0Colombia\u2019s Caribbean coast<\/a>. A single egg is placed in the arepa before it is deep fried, resulting in a quick and tasty snack.<\/p>\n

Arepas are kind of love ’em or… you’re-so-indifferent-to-their-blandness-that-you-end-up-hating-them. But pretty much the whole nation loves them, so what do we know?<\/p>\n

Empanadas<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Delicious,<\/a>
Delicious, quick, cheap. The empanada. (Photo courtesy of eddy milfort – http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/eddymilfort\/5661038471\/sizes\/m\/in\/photostream\/)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Empanadas are popular all over Latin America, but Colombians have their own distinct spin on the classic recipe. Instead of the bread-based doughy exterior you\u2019ll find in, say, Argentina, the Colombian empanada is made of cornmeal. They can be deep fried or baked, but either way they\u2019re delicious. Depending on what region of Colombia you\u2019re in, you can find a variety of different fillings. In\u00a0Bogot\u00e1<\/a>\u00a0the most popular is meat and potato but in\u00a0Medell\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0they\u2019re huge lovers of chorizo-filled empanadas.<\/p>\n

Perros Calientes \/ Hamburguesas<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Delicious<\/a>
Delicious or revolting? I’ll try it and tell you. (Photo courtesy of Joshua Heller – http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/joshuaheller\/3095465017\/sizes\/m\/in\/photostream\/)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Hot dogs and hamburgers are everywhere in Colombia and, though not exactly an example of local cuisine, Colombians ensure that their hamburgers and hot dogs are suitably large and delicious. They usually come with an abundance of fillings, including pickles, bacon, ham, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, maize, chorizo and more. Frankly, there\u2019s often so much filling that you can\u2019t fit the whole thing in your mouth.<\/p>\n

Fruit<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Fruit<\/a>
Fruit stall (photo courtesy of Eric Baxter – http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/worldwidewandering\/1304011599\/)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

There\u2019s a huge range of fruit in Colombia that you may not even have heard of: carambola, tomate de arbol, guarambola and lulo are just some of the fruits that you won\u2019t come across easily in the English-speaking world. Aside from the variety though, the real attraction of Colombia\u2019s fruit selection is its freshness, and this freshness isn\u2019t compromised when eating street food. In fact, often some of the best fruit you\u2019ll find will be from a man pulling along a wheelbarrow.<\/p>\n

You will also find plenty of street vendors selling cups of melon, pineapple and papaya. Delicious\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0healthy.<\/p>\n

Obleas Colombiana<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Ordering<\/a>
Ordering obleas (photo courtesy of William Neuheisel, http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/wneuheisel\/5597072308\/sizes\/m\/in\/photostream\/)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

This unique snack isn\u2019t found everywhere in Colombia, but it\u2019s worth seeking out. They\u2019re pretty much large, round communion wafers, which might seem a little plain at first, but once you smear some arequipe (Colombian caramel sauce) between two and make yourself a little sandwich, you\u2019ll soon be craving more and more.<\/p>\n

Be warned, an oblea with everything (con todo) could upset those that don’t enjoy eating caramel and cheese together.<\/p>\n

\u00a1Buen provecho!<\/em><\/p>\n

Paul<\/p>\n

\"See<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you travel to Cartagena, Medell\u00edn, Bogot\u00e1, Cali, or many more of the big cities in Colombia, you’ll find yourself inundated with international cuisine. In Bogot\u00e1 you can even find a Serbian restaurant. But there’s nothing quite like getting to know a country’s culture by eating its street food – and street food is everywhere […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[71,35,102,19,3,115,48,66,65,393],"tags":[2872,2867],"yoast_head":"\nColombian Street Food: the Good, the Bad and the Strange - Colombia Travel Blog by See Colombia Travel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2011\/12\/colombian-street-food-the-good-the-bad-and-the-strange\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colombian Street Food: the Good, the Bad and the Strange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you travel to Cartagena, Medell\u00edn, Bogot\u00e1, Cali, or many more of the big cities in Colombia, you’ll find yourself inundated with international cuisine. 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