La Frutera - Barranquilla, Colombia

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Taste

La Frutera near the Catedral de la Inmaculata Concepción is in short, just a regular fruit stall near a famous cathedral in Barranquilla. It was my first stop after having landed in Barranquilla. Ernesto drove me down there for breakfast. Pretty much everything down there is vegetarian (mostly fruits and fruit juices), cheap and yummy as can be. It is the kinds of place that can be hard to find in a travel guide but is worshiped by the locals all the same.

Here was where I discovered that Nispero is the same as one of my favorite fruits - what we call 'Sapota' in India. It was a moment of ineffable joy. The sapota milkshake is the King of all milkshakes - period. The Nisperos in Colombia are much bigger than the Sapotas of India but taste identical.

In addition to various milkshakes (Mango, Zapote, Guava, etc.), they also sell little snacks like cheese and spinach empanadas and matrimonios - a little sandwich or rather a 'marriage' between two different things like cheese and yucca, cheese and guava jelly, etc. It can be found all over Colombia and is quite delicious. If one is lucky, s/he may find a street vendor close to the fruit shop that sells amazing coconut based desserts. They are seriously sweet - so limit the amount you eat. Pictured above is Dulce de Coco con Arequipe.

La Piazzeta - Barraquilla, Colombia

Veg Options
Taste

La Piazzeta came recommended as the best Italian in Barranquilla. Like most italian restaurants, La Piazzeta had a good number of vegetarian options in the appetizers, soups and pasta sections. We got there pretty late, but the place was still jam packed. Ernesto knew the owner Michel (that's a guy) pretty well and we managed to get a table without too much of a wait.

The bruschetta was positively the best I had had anywhere. The basil, tomatoes, olives and warm melting cheese on the crispy ciabatta roll tasted nothing like any bruschetta I had eaten anywhere else. I was going to make a meal out of it but Ernesto convinced me that better was yet to come.

Coming from India, I was a bit of a novelty wherever I went and it was no different here. Michel was quite eager to prepare something 'spicy' to my taste. The vegetable gnocchi pasta _was_ good (not really spicy but I could feel the peppery finish) and ranked among the better gnocchi preparations I've eaten. I also got a chance to taste Ernesto's staple over there - the Pizza Rey David. The 'Rey David' is a house specialty sauce and goes into pizzas and pastas. While it is also a tomato based sauce, it had an uncommon flavor and richness to it.