Lemon Pappardelle w/ Broccoli and Sicilian tomato sauce

Aparna started off with store bought lemon pappardelle (TJs) and sicilian tomato sauce (Whole Foods), added sauteed onions and broccoli and finished it off with chopped basil and salt and pepper. It was as yummy as it looks.

Oh! La La - Cartagena, Colombia

Variety
Quality

I'd been wanting to visit Oh! La La ever since it featured in an NYTimes article. I couldn't quite make it back in December due to lack of time. This time, I was determined to go there with Aparna in tow. It proved to be quite an adventure getting there. Oh! La La very recently moved to its trendy new location in the Old city - so much so that they did not even have a name plate. It took a few calls in my broken spanish before I eventually found it.

Since we were effectively the first guests for the evening, we were attended to very well. The owner, Carolina spoke English and gave us a tour of the menu which contained a fair smattering of vegetarian dishes. She was very open to preparing something not on the menu if we didn't find anything to our liking. That, wasn't necessary.

We started off with some delectable soups. Both the Carrot/Orange soup and Coconut Lentil soup were exquisite.

The mushroom parmesan penne pasta was cooked to my liking. It symbolized everything that I like about Italian food in Colombia - fresh ingredients, pasta cooked al dente and a restraint in terms of excess - read cheese, salt and butter.

The dessert was a disappointment. It was probably my fault. I should've picked the chocolate mousse.

Di Lucca - Bogota, Colombia

Variety
Quality

When I first ate at Di Lucca , I felt it was easily the best Italian food I'd ever eaten. Along with San Giorgio Trattoria and La Comedia Divinia, Di Lucca is part of a trio of superb Italian fare. There is a wide variety of choices for vegetarians starting with the appetizers, a few soups, pizzas, risotto and of course - pastas.

Di Lucca's stuffed pastas are easily the biggest draw. My favorite is the Ricotta Spinach Capelletti in a 3-cheese sauce. If you are lucky enough to spot the feta ravioli - which isn't a regular - order it right away. Other great options include Pappardelle al Telefono, Spinach Gnocchi and Spinach/Ricotta Cannelloni. It is worth noting that Di Lucca lets one order combinations pastas. Pictured above is a half-n-half of Canelloni and Capelletti pastas.

Among the desserts, the only standout is the malbec ice-cream. The rest of the desserts are more or less standard fare - Tiramisu, gelato, creme-brulee and flan. Pictured here is the Caramel Flan - which didn't make a huge impression on me.

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.

San Giorgio - Bogota, Colombia

Veg Options
Taste