Crepes & Waffles - Cartagena/Bogota, Colombia

Veg Options
Taste

Crepes & Waffles is quite easily among the best and most popular 'fast food' chain restaurants in Colombia - more so if you consider the variety of vegetarian options you get there. However, to call it fast food would be unfair - this is classy food. Legend has is that it was created by a couple of master's students in Cali as their senior design project. It apparently had very humble beginnings but is now a major franchise.

Ironically, the first time I came across Crepes and Waffles was in Santiago, Chile - serving decent pitas and crepes with meat-free fillings. Ernesto informed me that the Chilenos stole the idea of Crepes & Waffles from the Colombian one. Frankly, the one in Chile looks like a Franchise - it's a carbon copy of the one in Colombia. However, in terms of the food itself, the one in Colombia really kicks butt. There is no comparison. Still, if you happen to be in Chile, the C&W over there is a pretty good option to consider.

Back to C&W Colombia. It is not hard to find restaurants with one or two stand-out vegetarian dishes. However, Crepes & Waffles is outstanding in terms of the wide choice one gets as a vegetarian. More importantly, it is consistently delicious - every single dish. What makes Crepes & Waffles click is no secret - a) Seriously creative menu that changes and evolves with time, b) Surprisingly and consistently tasty food with fresh local ingredients, c) Healthy preparation and portion sizes across the board, d) Quick and efficient Service and e) Very affordable!

One can begin with any of the several fruit juices and milkshakes on their menu - I typically have a mango or guanabana milkshake. Recently, I tasted their chai and it was quite good. This can be followed by any of four savory soups - tomato, portobello (pictured), lentil or spinach soup. It's hard to recommend one over the other but the lentil soup has Indian-style seasoning and I tend to be partial to that.

You are now faced with the daunting challenge of choosing from more than FIFTEEN different vegetarian crepes. I'd highly recommend the Rimini (A tomato/goat cheese based light crepe), the Poblano (mexican style with avocados - pictured above) and El Gandhi (tofu cooked with Indian style seasonings). There are several others that are equally good if you have the luxury of making multiple trips to C&W. In spite of more than 15-20 visits to this restaurant, I've never had an opportunity to try their Pitas. Obviously, this is a paradise for vegetarians.

If you manage to save space for dessert, there is once again a staggering variety of dessert crepes and waffles. The nutella crepe/waffle is a perennial favorite. One should also try as many of the delightful crepes/waffles with fresh fruit toppings.