Robert's Travel Blog

 "La Esquina del Sushi" (Sushi Corner) is just down the street from me, and is indeed on the corner.  It got decent reviews, so I thought I'd give it a try. I ordered the crab roll. Pretty! And bigger than I expected. But, you ask, how did it taste? Oh dear. Not good.  Bland, bland, bland.  Almost no flavor at all. The villain here was the rice, not only overcooked but completely lacking in vinegar and salt. And the lemonade was watery. 200 pesos / $11.50

 Well, not my *first* tacos. Not even my first tacos in Mexico City. But my first tacos this trip! A little hole in the wall, just a block from my hotel. Mesmerizing watching their grilling/ chopping skills: I was feeling anti-social, so got my two-taco snack to go: I forgot to take a picture of them opened and salsafied, so you'll have to use your imagination. But, you ask, how did they taste? In a word, yum!  The salsa was muy picante as I quickly learned. $2.25 for two! Update from the following night, tacos from a street stand: I got two "suadero" (the name of the cut of beef) and two "longaniza" (sausage). Yum! $3.00!

 "Chuzo" in Colombia is a skewer, so that means grilled meat. This "pop-up" appears every night, and they take over all the shuttered storefronts for halfway down the block. Tonight I got pork, which was as usual accompanied by an arepa (corn pancake) with cheese. They are absolute grill-meisters, using sauce, a spray bottle, and an electric hair dryer (!) to bring the meat to absolute perfection, slightly charred outside yet juicy and tender inside.

 This lunch spot is about a block from where I live: What do you get for lunch? Rice, beans, a corn cake, plantain, salad, choice of protein (in this case meatballs), salad, soup, fruit juice. $2.70!!!!

 When you think of pizza, Colombia probably isn't the first country that comes to mind.  But pizza is universal! There are of course some upscale pizzerias in Medellín (only one of which I've been to) but I went to restaurante Troza.  Just around the corner from me, open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., they do fast food with all the Colombian varieties.  A deliciously sloppy hamburguesa with real beef and every topping you could think of that is better than any US fast food chain, for 4 USD. But we're here for pizza.  It's literally a hole in the wall, with an overhang for the seating area: I ordered the "maicitos," corn and ham.  The crust was completely covered with a layer of ham (plus corn), which you can't really see, because for some reason they put the cheese on top of the toppings 😡 But, you ask, how did it taste? Pretty good!  The (frozen) crust was "sturdy" rather than crispy.  There wasn't much tomato sauce, but that was fine because it al...