Como Almorzar Como un Colombiano (How to Eat Lunch Like a Colombian)

Menu Ejecutivo, Menu Del Dia, Almuerzo, Comida Corriente... call it what you want, it's the "Set Lunch" and it's nearly everywhere in Latin America. Want to eat lunch like a Colombian? Here is, by far, the most popular way to do it.

Oh, and by the way, it'll set you back a whopping US$2.77.

The Rules
1. Be ludicrously hungry and short on cash.

2. Walk down almost any typical street and you'll see restaurants advertising "Comidas Corrientes." Find a crowded restaurant. When you find a crowded place, it's more likely the food is good and safe.

3. The menu is displayed outside, and the server will review it for you if you need, but you're expected to order the first time your server comes to the table. Know what you want when you sit down... that, or explain in Spanish that you need a few minutes to fully translate the menu for your linguistically-challenged significant other.

4. Take a long time to eat... noone wants to be heading back to work anytime soon. Two hours is sufficient. Pay at the front on your way out the door long after your stomache has settled.

The Food
The classic Almuerzos from Guatemala to Colombia are Carne Asada and Pollo a la Plancha (grilled steak and chicken respectively), you'll find those choices on every Menu del Dia you'll ever see.

Beyond that, it gets regional: local soups or fish, wild versions of fried chicken, pork or beef concoctions. All sorts of different things make the menu, but typically you'll have 3-5 choices: chicken, beef, fish, soup, and some sort of intestine if you're lucky.

The Experience
1. You're going to get soup. And not just a wimpy cup of broth, a ludicrously giant bowl of proper soup. Just in case the appetizer wasn't already too big, you're also going to get something with your soup. In Colombia it's an Arepa, a soft patty made of corn. Everywhere north of Panama, it's tortillas and more tortillas, surprises await as we head further south.

The soup itself varies, but might be a brothy chicken mix, cream of celery, or cream of frijoles (beans). Today, it's Sancocho, a specialty in Colombia that is a flavorful broth poured over steamed Yuca root:



2. Refresco anyone? Your $2 includes your drink. There is a huge range of drinks offered and they change in every region. You may get water infused with Canela (unrefined sugarcane) in Colombia, Atol in Guatemala, Horchata in Mexico, or Chicha in Nicaragua. Almost all are sweet and very refreshing. Today was adventurousness day, so it's the Mazamorra, a milk and corn mixture served with bits of raw canela to sweeten it up. Drop your canela in and eat with a spoon, or pop the canela right into your mouth and sip from the cup:



3. Now that you're full of soup and arepa, it's time to eat. Comidas Corrientes are unnecessarily gigantic by American standards, but keep in mind that lunch is the biggest and most socially important meal of the day for most in Latin America. On your plate will be your main dish. You'll always, always, always, have rice and beans and a small token salad. Further north you only see black beans and further south only kidney.

You'll rarely, very rarely, see a vegetable; what you will see in addition to your rice and beans are a rotating variety of sides... french fries, fried plantains and cream, lentils (further south). In fact, they'll often rotate the sides during the same lunch session in a particular restaurant, so Rich might get a plantain while Kendra gets the fried Yuca, so cross your fingers and hope for the fries! On one occasion we saw beets and almost hit the floor from shock. No such healthy shenanigans today, it's Carne Asada, delicious hand cut fries, rice and beans, salad, and a fried plantain (and homemade salsa to boot):



Buen Provecho!