Confessions of a Street Food Junkie

I know it´s bad for me. But I´m in Colombia, and it´s practically the national pastime. And so cheap! You can get it on any corner. Too bad it leaves you feeling like crap afterwards...

Colombian street food. My least healthy addiction to date.

You would not believe the amount of sales that go on in this country. There´s vendors on every corner, clogging up city center and posted out on the most secluded, lonely beach on the coast. Batteries, sports bras, pornos, cigarettes, beach balls, blenders- there is a stand or stall or card-table to satisfy your every desire. Once, a guy tried to sell me a wine glass out of his blazer. We are talking entrepreneurs here.

But the most ubiquitous street vendor of all is that of the street food hustlers. We are big on eating on the run here, particularly if it is cheese-filled and soaked in grease. I´ve assembled an overly comprehensive hit parade of these delicious nuggets so that those at home can be informed as to the state of my diet.

Jugos Naturales- fresh squeezed juice, whole fruits. Maracuya (passionfruit), tomate de arbol (tree tomato, no really), guayaba and lulo are a couple of the more distinctive flavors you´ll find here. The fruit in Colombia is wildly plentiful, probably the reason for the prevalence of the next item on the list.

Fruit Cups- Big cups of fruit. Popular choices include watermelon or mango, and in Medellin, strawberries. This is the end of anything on this list that can even loosely be called healthy.

Patacones- the shining star of street food. Fried plantains, smashed flat and fried again. Commonly used as a sort of luxurious food envelope for fillings like cheese or fish or ground beef. In Taganga, Courtney and I briefly considered interning at one master artesan´s beachside patacon stall.

Arepas- Cornmeal cakes, again, stuffed with cheese, again, deep fried to all hell. Smeared with butter too. These guys will vary from crispy thin shells like a pita to big old thick slabs, like biscuit-sized. You can tell the genuine deal when they´re wrapped in banana leaves and grilled. The boys are on an epic search for Colombia´s greatest arepa. Once they find that vendor, they´ll set up their tent and hammock and our backpacking days will be over.

Empanadas- Fried pockets of love. Can be stuffed with our friend, cheese, or beef or pork or chicken. Most delicious and most elusive of these is the potato empanada. Mmm.

Ice Cream- You think we love ice cream in the United States? You don´t even know. Colombians´ love for ice cream is seemingly unparalelled in the world. Ice cream men go the limit, too. Once we rock-climbed out to a gorgeous little jetty looking across the bay at Playa Grande, sliding down hills and along paths slung precariously close to cliff edges to get to the most isolated spit on the bay. When along comes an ice cream vendor who´d swum (flutter-kicked) from the main beach pushing an aquatic ice cream cart in front of him, yelling ¨Helados!¨ at the top of his lungs. Obviously, we bought some of his cones. C´mon, this man´s a go-getter.

Buñuelos- Surprisingly uncheese-filled, deep fried orbs of nugget. Hollow, a little like a popover, if you´re picking up what I´m laying down. Absolutely okay if there´s nothing with even token nutritional value is availiable.

Meat Sticks- a total meal on a stick. Chicken, beef, sometimes a mini arepa on the end and a couple of potatoes to round out the deal. These, like vampires, appear only after dark on the streets of el barrio.

Pan de Queso- Bread filled with cheese. Can be anything from a deep fried twist item to a big loaf of bread. In Colombia, you can get anything filled with cheese. Anything.

So basically I´ve gained about twenty five thousand pounds. The normal routine is wake up, graze the streets for an hour or so, and then find something to do to kill time until we´re hungry again. You know, museums and cable cars and book stores and stuff like that. Repeat.

I can stop whenever I want, I swear.

***
So we in Medellin one more night enjoying this awesome, awesome city. I couldn´t believe how well run the place is- a fastidiously clean metro system, mind-blowing public libraries and world-class parks and community spaces. It gets my two thumbs up, it´s gonna be difficult to leave.

But leave we must, Erik and Courtney and I, tomorrow to Zona Cafetera, Colombia´s hilly coffee country. If, y´know, plans unfold as anticipated, which is never a given on this adventure. Hope all is well up north, missing my loved ones. And happy belated St. Patrick´s Day! We are all a little home sick for green beer.