After reading the wonderful post from our friends at The Bitten Word, documenting food highlights from a two-week trip to China (!), I started thinking about some of the weirder food experiences I have had.

True, I have had all kinds of sushi – octopus, urchin, eel, and many others – but that’s all pretty tame stuff these days. My strangest encounter was probably in Jeju, South Korea a few years back, when I had a mystery appetizer that I later found out was aloe meat. The small filet was translucent, slimy, room temperature, and almost impossible to get down. Without knowing what it was, my imagination ran wild about what it could be, and did not help the ease of my attempted swallow.

That said, what strange food experiences have you had? Foreign countries? Mystery meat diner parties? Triple-dog dares? Game shows with Joe Rogan? Please share in the comments section, and your colleagues will judge how brave you are.

[Now, time to ask the boss about that So Good travel expense account...]

H/t to Pineapple fish for the Beijing bugs on sticks.

After several days of lots and lots of street food, my final night in Bogota we opted to eat at a “nice” restaurant and drop the kind of cash you wouldn’t normally come close to spending on the street. Up entering La Jugueteria, we were immediately confronted with a display case full of retro toys, including the old school WWF action figures you see below.  Man, this display case was full of every toy you could imagine – an eBay re-sellers wet dream.

After being seated and starting to review the menu, my friend suddenly leaned over to me and quietly whispered “look up.” When I did, this is the sight I saw:

Yep, babies. Literally HUNDREDS of dolls of babies were hanging from the rafters throughout the entire restaurant. Creepy, but I also admired the commitment. These folks went ALL IN on their restaurant theme idea and it was totally working for me from an atmosphere stand-point.

Click below to read more and see pictures of some of the tasty food!

First up we got an order of empanadas to share as an appetizer for the table.  No complaints here. The pastry was light and flaky, the sauce had just the right kick, and the meat was tender and well-seasoned.

Next up for me was some tortilla soup. I appreciated the separation of the ingredients as I got to mix  corn, cheese, avocados and sour cream into the soup at my own pace. Kept all the accompaniments nice and fresh.

One of the more interesting dishes was the side order of plantains. At La Jugueteria, they prepare the plantains to look like a banana split smothered in cheese to resemble ice cream, and even topped with a cherry in the middle.

My main course of beef tenderloin was less remarkable than the earlier courses, but tasty nonetheless.

A couple more pics of the decor:

Overall, solid food and a very, very unique atmosphere.

As I walked down the street searching for an interesting place, this restaurant caught my eye (and my nose) because of the delicious smelling meat that was being cooked over an open flame on the wood-fired grill outside the restaurant.

My Spanish is incredibly limited, but I could tell from the sales pitch of the guy working the grill that he was offering up what amounted to a “Mixed Meat” platter for the total cost of about $8 American.  I took him up on the offer, went in, sat down, and about 10 minutes later was greeted with this plate in front of me:

Beef, pork, ribs, a whole collection of greasy and very fatty, but delicious, cuts of meat.  Not to mention an arepa, guacamole and some cooked potatoes that are buried under the mound of meat you see above. The meal wouldn’t be complete without a refreshing alcoholic beverage, in this case Poker, a local Colombian beer that is as disappointingly mediocre and bland as you can get. I do not recommend. Then again, I can’t really recommend any of the Colombian beers I tried, they were all awful, awful, awful. So I guess Poker is no worse than any other choices you might have.

A whole platter full of meat, including ribs, was a great deal at only $8 American.  I stuffed my gullet as much as I could, but with such a massive pile of food I left a couple potatoes and a slice or two of meat on my plate at the end. But overall, well worth it.  The meat, while very fatty, had a very flavorful taste thanks to the use of a wood fire for cooking. Yum.

Good thing I went with all the toppings, because as he pulled out a bun and tucked a burger patty between it, I realized one of the reasons they give you so many toppings: this burger patty was TINY. I mean so, so, so skinny. Thinner even than a plain McDonald’s hamburger.  After watching a bevy of toppings and condiments be piled onto my burger, I sat down on some nearby steps to dig in. This is what my burger looked like upon completion:

See that tiny little brown strip across the top? Yeah. Um, THAT is the burger patty. Not much to look at. So now you’re wondering, what exactly was the burger topped with? The first thing he added was pieces of raw onion, followed immediately by crunchy onion straws and then crushed potato chips. Yes, crushed potato chips.  The condiments included mustard, ketchup and Salsa Rosada, a sauce that is a mixture of ketchup and mayo with lime juice, salt, pepper and a dash of Tabasco (that’s the bright pink stuff you see most prominently).  But what about that gold colored honey looking substance you see in my photo? That’s pineapple sauce, a condiment made with pinneapples, water, sugar, cornstarch and lime.

A very interesting array of 7 different toppings and very similar to what you would find on a Colombian style hot dog as well. With so many additional flavors and a paper thin burger patty, you really didn’t taste much of the meat. But the cornucopia of flavors and textures in your mouth from the onions, crushed potato chips and 4 different condiments definitely gave it a diverse, robust and fun flavor profile.  Do you like trying foods with a whole bunch of different flavors in each bite? Then be sure to get yourself a street hamburger if you ever find yourself in Bogota.

For those unfamiliar with what an arepa is (as I was before my arrival in Bogota), it’s basically a patty made of cornmeal.  It’s slightly wider than an english muffin but slightly thinner.  An arepa could certainly be made that is “plain”, i.e. with no fillings, but that is rare. A “standard” arepa sold on the street is usually stuffed with cheese that is mixed in with the cornmeal.  Sometimes street arepas are used to form “buns” and the center is filled with shredded pork, beef or a hamburger patty (see the arepas on the back of the grill in my picture).

A standard arepa sells for 500 Colombian pesos on the street, or approximately $.25 in US dollars. After eating one arepa I was hooked, and made it a frequent purchase during my stay. So what is the secret to an arepa’s deliciousness? In short: butter. Lots and lots of butter. The cornmeal patty is slathered in butter before it’s put on the grill, and the vendor will usually smear another pat of butter across the top after removing it from the grill. A street arepa is typically served to you on a sheet of wax paper, and most vendors have condiments such as honey, powdered sugar or ketchup available for you to add on top.

If you ever find yourself on the streets of Bogota, you can’t get much better, tastier street food than an arepa. Yum.

One of my favorite photos was of these two guys, who all day long went up and down a busy street using a microphone to hawk their mountains of strawberries:

Lots more photos below the fold!

Carts selling fresh made plantain & potato chips were popular and you’d generally see one every few blocks:

When work let out around 5 pm each day, the full-time street vendors would be joined by individuals who would suddenly appear on the corner of a side street, opening their car trunks to reveal a variety of tasty foods for sale during the post-work rush hour:

Despite the wording on the cart, there was no pizza involved, just kabob meat/veggies grilled on the street:

Late afternoon each day, a number of vendors  appear on the street with small shopping carts filled with Thermoses. They’re hawking aromatica, an herbal tea. Tea from each vendor will differ slightly, but many of them have a noticeable scent/taste of elderflower.  The tea is sold in small (about 4 oz) cups for 300 pesos, or about $.15 American.  During the post-work rush hour you’ll see a lot of people stopping to take a break from their commute, standing on the street for a few minutes while slowly sipping the aromatica:

A collection of pastries from one of the more elaborate street carts:

I have so many more eating adventures in Colombia to report on, so be sure to check back to So Good soon for all the details!

(My home for three nights in El Yunque rainforest)

With one night in San Juan and several in the middle of the jungle, I ate quite differently in each place. After landing and checking into my hotel, I headed into the Old San Juan neighborhood to grab dinner. I had no specific location in mind, instead I wandered the streets looking for a restaurant bustling with activity.  After about 15 minutes of wandering, I stumbled across Restaurante Raices.  With a line out the door and a 45 minute wait for a table at 10 pm, I had a feeling the place must be good. While some of the décor seemed to indicate they catered to tourists at the nearby hotels, the abundance of locals in line and milling about outside led me to believe the food quality was topnotch. I was not disappointed. As I was traveling alone, I was able to eschew the long line and grab a seat for dinner at the bar.

My first order of business was to get a stiff drink after a long day of traveling, and I opted for a Pina Colada.  As I watched the bartender make my drink, I noticed she used Bacardi 151 instead of standard rum.  Let me tell you folks, when your bartender uses Bacardi 151 in your frozen drink, everyone wins. Bacardi wins, the bartender wins, and you as the imbiber of that cocktail? You most definitely win.

As a starter, I ordered crema de platano (creamed plantain soup). If I haven’t mentioned this already, I F-ing LOVE plantains. Love ‘em. In any form possible. This was my first foray into plantain soup, but the chef nailed the flavors. Just the right creaminess and just the right touch of Cilantro.

For the main course I opted for the mashed green plantains stuffed with chimichurri style skirt steak.  Loved the presentation!

Overall a fantastic meal. If you’re looking for a tasty meal in a place with a lively atmosphere and a fun and playful presentation of the food, I definitely recommend Restaurante Raices.

]]> http://www.sogoodblog.com/2010/10/19/puerto-rican-food/feed/ 2 http://www.sogoodblog.com/2010/10/16/dominican-republic-food-part-2/ http://www.sogoodblog.com/2010/10/16/dominican-republic-food-part-2/#comments Sat, 16 Oct 2010 19:20:39 +0000 Eick http://www.sogoodblog.com/?p=4400 Last week I wrote about some of the traditional Dominican food I ate while in Santo Domingo. On my last night I went to a well-regarded restaurant in the colonial zone called La Residence. Featuring a menu with Mediterranean, Spanish and Dominican influences, prepared by a French trained chef, La Residence presents an eclectic mix of dishes.  The setting for the restaurant is a very quiet, dimly lit (which didn’t help my photos) open air courtyard.

I elected to go with the Menu Del Chef, which provides you a three-course meal for around $12 -$15 American. A great deal considering many of the regular entrees are more than $20 on their own. The meal began with a palate cleansing tuna tartar and avocado mousse:

My first course was a presse of zucchini curry with goat cheese and piquello tapenade. Yum. Of course you add goat cheese to just about anything and my reaction will be “yum.”

On to the main course, which was a Chillo filet with a ginger chop suey of vegetables.  Chillo is better known to Americans as red snapper, a fish that is one of the primary catches for fishermen in the Carribbean.

Dessert was an absolutely exquisite mango, pineapple and chocolate sorbet.

Not the most ideal conditions for photos, but hey, you’ll just have to take my word for it that the meal was exceptional.  Tune in next week as we look at some food in Puerto Rico and examine the bustling street food scene in Bogota, Columbia.

My whole travels were being done on a limited budget, putting me right in the heart of the areas I visited, staying either in hostels or low-budget hotels in lower-to-middle class neighborhoods. No traditional hotels or beachfront resorts for me.  In Santo Domingo that meant staying in a semi-dicey neighborhood within a residential area of the Colonial Zone.

(View from my hotel window. The ruins of San Francisco)

On to the food! During my travels I generally stuck to a specific plan: spend the first few days eating traditional food either from street carts or affordable “cafeterias” where locals eat most of their meals. Only on the last night in each country would I go to a “nice” restaurant for an upscale meal. The goal: eat how the locals eat.  While Santo Domingo certainly has its share of fancier restaurants, many of these are associated with hotels, cater to tourists, or are unaffordable for the average resident of the city.

Dominican cuisine is similar to the neighboring islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba, along with shared foods with Haiti, which is on the other half of the island of Hispaniola.  The food is largely Spanish influenced, although many dishes there have a peppering of Italian, Chinese and Middle Eastern flavors. (on a “peppering” note, you will find very little spicy food in the Dominican. Many of its chefs avoid ever using pepper). Despite the Spanish influence, you’ll see many fruits and vegetables rarely used in European cooking as a dominate part of Dominican cuisine, such as plantains and Yuca (and of course lots of rice and beans).

For my first dinner I went to a local cafeteria called Grand’s Cafe and ordered fried pork riojana,which is a Spanish influenced dish featuring fried pork chops smothered in peppers, onions and mushrooms with a tomato-wine sauce. The dish, like many in the Dominican Republic, was served with a side of rice and beans.

The next morning I visited a different local cafeteria for a traditional Dominican breakfast featuring mangu, a savory puree made from mashed plantains and usually served with onions and a side of eggs:

I also ordered a glass of orange juice. One interesting thing about Dominican juice tastes is that they are big fans of adding milk to their juice. Many of the juice options feature a glass of juice with or without milk, and with any juice on the menu you can add in Carnation instant milk mix to give the juice an extra creaminess. Wanting to follow the lead of the locals, I got an orange juice with milk, something I normally would shy away from or think sounds weird (I mean citrus and dairy?).  I was pleasantly surprised though, as it basically tasted like an Orange Julius, which, A) I love, and B) brought back memories of suburban mall food courts.

Lunch was a traditional pork sandwich served on a toasted roll:

Of course no stay in Dominican Republic would be complete without drinking a bunch of tasty Presidente beers:

Coming next, a look at my final night “fancy meal” at La Residence in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo.