Fish Market

There is a good place to eat seafood in Bogotá El Dorado / Salitre area – and that place is Fish Market. Don’t get me wrong, you can also go there for a very nice steak, but be forewarned that you can have delicious meat everywhere in Colombia – and only a handful of nice sea food ones.

Salitre area, close to the airport, is the home of several multinational businesses, as well as some very nice business oriented hotels. And when you have this combination, then, naturally, good restaurants will ensue. Fish Market is located in a small, locked square, with other restaurants as neighbours, and surrounded by a Marriott and a Sheraton. It’s decoration is dark and modern (but really guys, this is still a business restaurant, let’s make it clear – you know that for something to be modern doesn’t need to be dark, right? You could make it a bit brighter…), mainly functional, and “well behaved”. Predictable, in a way.

The big nasty point for whoever is reading this comes next – you better speak Spanish! Like in most of Colombia’s, English is seldom spoken and that means you will only have a Spanish language menu. Not a problem for me, but mind this small point, ok?

But if you have been able to pass through this language barrier, then, you can start preparing your senses. Sea food here is incredibly good (and I come from a sea food country, so, believe me when I say it). Forget about the sushi menu (yep, that is another advice I have on Colombia), but prepare to face difficult choices. Because the Peruvian ceviches are amazing, the oysters are fresh and tasty, they have a very good choice of shrimps, the lobsters are skilfully prepared, and they have a very good portfolio of fishes – all of them worth a good bite (or two… or ten, actually!). Also, if you are particularly fond of meat, you will find very good entrées combining sea food and steaks, good “surf and turf” kind like a steak with lobster chunks and shrimps – and I really like this one, believe me! As well as my Mid-Western friends (I think this was the only time ever I have seen them eat something that lived in water)…

Fish Market is a very good choice for a business dinner if you are in this area. The food is delicious, waiters are very helpful (though their English is also very limited), they have a very nice wine list (especially Chilean and Argentinian wines, of course). I have been there a handful of times, and it never failed – so, I would say, this is a pretty safe option as well. You just need to love sea food to enjoy it to the max!

Where: Bogota - Colombia

Address: Avenida El Dorado, 69C – 03L 204

Phone: +57 2108587

Website: http://www.lafragata.com/

Expensive: Around 60.000 COP per person (around €25 for a very good meal)

Last visit: September 2012

Baden Baden

Campos de Jordão is an exquisite town for an European. Built in the mountains between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, it promises Brazilians one thing most of them don’t have – cold! Yes, cold! The city sits at 1800m high and during winter time its temperatures can go around 0ºC – and sometimes it even snows there! And this also means we have a very picturesque town, with a variety of buildings resembling the typical alpine ones, a chair-lift just like the ones at ski resorts and a… German-like biergarten! And with great bier!

Baden Baden is located in the main shopping mall of the town, sprawling over the adjacent street. Its decoration is pretty much what you would expect in a biergarten, including the wooden walls, pointy clock tower, the nice area outside,… - it really resembles a Swiss or South German building.

Then, it is all about the beer! Baden Baden has a wide portfolio of their own bier, including a red one that I really liked! It also includes fine stouts, bocks and weisses, as well as more specific and seasonal biers. After you pick which you will have, then, it is time to pick up your food – and keep in mind that you will be faced with a mix of Brazilian and Bavarian choices. That means you will have to choose between several types of sausages, eisbein, trout, “abadejo” (a Brazilian fish), fondues, raclettes, steak,… The only thing that is mandatory here is that you wrap it up with an apfelstrudel! And that you enjoy the cold air around you in Winter time.

Baden Baden is not a gourmet restaurant. But it is a good place to anchor a “cold” weekend while in Brazil. The best way to enjoy this restaurant? With some good friends and stories flowing as freely as bier.

Where: Campos do Jordão - Brazil

Address: Rua Djalma Forjaz, 93, loja 10 - Vila Capivari

Phone: +55 12 3663 3610

Website: http://www.obadenbaden.com.br

Expensive: Around 90 BRR (40 euros) for 2 persons

Last visit: June 2012

Consulado Mineiro

Mineiro is a Brazilian born in Minas Gerais, a state right in the middle of this great country – and a state that is often stated as a traditional, deep inland cuisine heaven. So, now, just imagine a place that calls itself an embassy of Minas Gerais cuisine, right in the middle of São Paulo...

First of all, the location. Consulado Mineiro sits right in Benedito Calixto Square. And what’s special about Benedito Calixto Square? It is a small square that has a traditional flee market where you can buy and sell almost everything (specially antiques, though) and taste delicious street food. It is a buzzling and vivid place, full of people from all around São Paulo (and a few tourists that discovered it in Lonely Planet), with people selling, buying, walking around, eating, drinking. Just watch your pocket if you go there, ok?

Consulado Mineiro is right in the middle of this square – and you can easily say which restaurant it is by looking at the queue size. Consulado Mineiro is simply the one with the biggest number of persons drinking a beer and waiting outside. Especially during the weekends, the affluence is amazing! Which tells a lot about the food quality – and it’s price!

The dining room is big but normal – nothing special on that. The food, though, is a different story. First of all, a much needed clarification. When I talk about inland cuisine, I am not talking about some fancy small dish with one or two small appointments. I am talking about real food, that can feed a man working in the fields for a full day – but that feeds not only his stomach, but also its senses. That’s how good “mineira food” is! You have many (and delicious) options around, but just remember an individual ordering is actually large enough for 2 persons. Now, some options: “feijoada” (red beans and pork meat) is always a traditional and good choice (it is Wednesday’s traditional dish, so, it should be your order if you stop by there on such a day), “tutu à mineira”, “leitão à pururuca” (a kind of suckling pig), “mexidão” or “vale do Jequitinhonha” are very good examples of this meat rich and inland vegetables food tradition. Just remember to wash them down with some good local beer.

Consulado Mineiro is a great choice for a nice lazy Sunday lunch with some friends and good, delicious, meaty food. The kind of food that will taste great and then demand that you sit outside in the Sun and slowly digest it.

Where: São Paulo - Brazil

Address: Praça Benedito Calixto nº 74

Phone: +54 11 3088 6055

Website: http://www.consuladomineiro.com.br/

Expensive: Around 90 BRR (40 euros) for 2 persons

Last visit: June 2012