Bogota, Colombia Part 2: Leo Cocina y Cava

I’d done a bit of research on restaurants before we left for our maiden voyage to Bogota and I had one place on the brain: Leo Cocina y Cava, a contemporary, Colombian-fusion restaurant owned and run by Leonor Espinosa- a groundbreaking female chef who has been a leader in ushering Colombia into the world of international fine dining. Although there were other restaurants that I’d heard good things about, I wanted to make sure to hit one high end restaurant that focused on Colombian food, not French or Italian, so I asked my new friend Carolina to make the reservations on our second night there.

A group of six of us sat down in the modern yet warm space and sipped on their signature cocktail (sorry- I can’t remember the name but it resembled a cosmopolitan) while perusing the extensive menu. There were multiple seafood offerings in addition to some lamb, beef and rice dishes, but I quickly decided on the Filete de Róbalo – a white fish (snook?) resembling grouper coated in a rich sauce and set on top of some black coconut rice and enclosed in a plantain leaf. I’d heard raves about the restaurant’s coconut rice so I wasn’t going to miss out.

I have to say that since Bogota was the first of three cities on our trip, I can't remember the actual names of each dish but will describe them the best I can. Sorry! Taking notes while taking photos and drinking lots of wine just doesn't work for me:).

We opted to order a few appetizers to share:

A whitefish ceviche that was absolutely perfect- just tart enough, the fish was tender and fresh.



Seafood empanadas: Crisp little discs filled with shredded seafood, these were one of my favorite appetizers.



Rabbit empanadas: need I say more? Crispy, tear-drop shaped dough filled with tender stewed rabbit.



Plate of mixed seafood. Whoa- this octopus was transcendent. Life-altering. It was so tender while still retaining a bite and we all scratched our heads in amazement wondering what cooking method the chef used.



Tartare with local avocado: Very good, although the local avocado is not as creamy as the Haas variety we're used to here in SoCal.



Now for the main courses. Although everyone had their own, we all reached across the table numerous times tasting each other's plates.

Mine: the aforementioned fish in plantain leaf. We declared this "the winner" of the night- the rich, slightly sweet sauce and tender fish was perfect with the black coconut rice. Not the best looking dish but the best tasting for sure!





The Carne Puyada - slow cooked beef over risotto.....I think the photo says it all.



Grilled prawns over cilantro risotto. The prawns were perfectly cooked but the real star was this risotto. It would never have occured to me to make a cilantro risotto (since I always use cilantro as a fresh, not cooked, garnish to dishes) but I'll have to get in my kitchen and try to re-create this. WOW.



Another prawn dish swimming in a succulent broth, displayed by my friend Manny who seems to think you need to present your dishes with a hand gesture.



Grilled, pepper-encrusted tuna. Fresh, delcious.



We polished it all off and sat there, quite satisfied, when the waiters started bring out desserts we hadn't ordered. Thinking it was a mistake, we tried to wave them away but they sat these right in front of us:



Miniature beignets filled with chocolate, served with Helado de kola Roman - an ice cream made from a popular pink cola. Yes, it really IS that pink. The ice cream has a heady, almost chemical-like flavor so you might love it if you're 8 but I wasn't too crazy about it.

Carrot cake with coconut ice cream- this was subtle and lovely.



Flan with crispy rice. Whoa. Not only was the flan creamy and rich but it sat on a bed of....cake? And was topped with crispy rice which I'd never think to do but went so well with all of the creamy elements. Note to self: top all flan with crispy rice!



So it turns out that the sous chef saw us from the kitchen and recognized Carolina, whom he used to work for at her family's old restaurant. Thus the dessert parade which followed our main courses. He came out to introduce himself to the rest of us and I was amused to see that his first name was Disney. Seems his parents were fans of Walt Disney and bestowed the last name onto their son as a first name. We chatted with him for a bit, told him how remarkable the food was, and he said that it was unfortunate he hadn't seen us earlier since he would have simply done a prix fixe of recommended dishes. He then said "Can you come tomorrow?" Hm, lemme think for a millisecond.....YES! So we all decided to return the next night, this time to experience Leo Cocina y Cava in the way that Chef Disney felt we should. Score!

The first night: friends with Chef Disney, minus me, who conveniently took the photo:)

The next night, our party of six turned into a party of nine (word spread fast among band and crew about our delicious eats from the night before) and we once again found ourselves in the cozy restaurant. First up? A bowl of Hormigas Culonas (big fried ants available only in the region known as Santander). Yup. Honestly, I had heard of these ants and expected to see little fried mini ants on a plate but the bowl of big, black balls totally threw me for a loop. It was a bowl of just the bottom third of the ant, and talk about big butts! I ate one and it was fine- crispy, tasted like protein......nothing gross yet nothing wonderful. Some of the guys had fun chomping away but I think once was enough for me. Glad I tried it though!

Hormigas Culonas - the "big assed ants"

Night two- awaiting our feast...........

Right then, we spotted Leonor Espinosa walking around, inspecting every flower, every wine glass, making sure everything was operating smoothly. We stopped her to tell her how much we enjoyed her food, and she was very kind and even let us snap a photo with her. I was oddly starstruck and didn't say a whole lot but made sure to thank her for the delcious food!

The chef, Leonor Espinosa, and my left eye.....:)

Chef Disney started us off with sea snail ceviche drizzled with herb oil- it was so fresh, briny and the perfect way to start off our six course meal.


We had a few of the dishes we'd had the night before- prawns with the cilantro risotto, grilled langoustine, etc. Next up, we had a pile of tartare over which the waiter poured the richest, most succulent broth I'd ever had. It was slighly gamey and extremely savory.


The meat course was New Zealand baby rack of lamb cooked medium rare, piled on a knob of creamy mashed yucca and drizzled with au jus. It was divine.



We had several different desserts (including the flan which was asked for) and then had a chance to peek into the kitchen. It was quite small and I was amazed that the chefs could turn out so many dishes out of the tiny space.







We finished off the evening with an aperitif of Aguardiente, Colombia's national alcoholic beverage. It has a strong, anise flavor which I normally hate but somehow the sweetness and warmth of this liquor sat quite well with me. I'd definitely have it again.



So - two nights of mindboggling food with great people in a city I'd never been, plus a surprise visit from the famous chef and a peek into the kitchen- wow! It was a fantastic experience and I would recommend Leo Cocina y Cava to anyone visiting Bogota.



Leo, Cocina y Cava:Ubicado en Bogotá ( Calle 27 B No 6-75)
Horario de atención: De lunes a sábado: 12 a 4:00 p.m. y 7:00 p.m. a 12:00 p.m.
Reservas: 286 7091 281 6267
leococinaycava@hotmail.com

BOGOTA, COLUMBIA: Part 1

When I had decided that I’d tag along with J and his band on their South American tour, I figured that I would fall in love with the beautiful parks of Buenos Aires or the blue skies of Santiago in the springtime. Although I was excited to start the trip off in Bogota, Colombia, I wasn’t sure what to expect other than what little of the city I’d seen on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations: Colombia episode since it focused mainly on Medellín, which was not on the itinerary for us.



However, the four days spent in Bogota became the star of the entire trip and I found myself falling in love with the green mountains, colorful buildings, warm people and fantastic coffee (thanks Juan Valdez!). The weather was cool but sunny for the most part (save for a sudden, torrential downpour that lasted about 10 minutes) and I made a lifelong friend in the form of one girl named Carolina, who ended up answering a post I put up on a Craigslist-like forum called Poor But Happy, asking for a bilingual guide to show me the city. With her in tow, we felt like we got the most out of our short time in the beautiful city.





A few things about Bogota I’d like to mention, in case you ever decide to go for a visit (and you should!). The traffic is crazy and the taxi drivers are even crazier. The city has lots of rules to try and control the traffic- for example, if your license plate ends in “0” or “1,” you must stay off the road between certain hours of certain days. All numbers have these assignments. Even if you are ON the road and your restricted time starts, you must pull over and sit there for the four or so hours that you can’t drive. We checked to see if people actually followed this rule and by all accounts, they do- we saw no license plates ending in “8” or “9” while on the road one day. There are streets that are closed to two-way traffic during certain times of the day to help prevent gridlock, so during those times the taxi would be forced to take the longer, more winding road. I’m not over exaggerating when I tell you the cab drivers would floor the gas when we were going DOWNHILL and race around the practically 90 degree curves. These guys make the taxi drives in Mexico City seem like a herd of turtles. We all hung on to each other for dear life but did appreciate that we’d reach whatever destination quickly.



Another constant around the city: armed guards and their Labradors. They’re posted up in front of hotels, grocery stores, office buildings, on cobblestone streets in front of churches…..pretty much everywhere. They seem very non-threatening (failing to witness one of our friends getting held up at knifepoint for an ipod right in front of our hotel!! Friend was fine and it wasn’t as scary as it sounds) and their Labradors are happy to play with you. I did see a few muzzled pit bulls though, so maybe they’re for more serious situations.



The altitude: Bogota is 2600 meters (roughly 8300 feet!) above sea level, so it takes awhile to adjust. I didn’t notice it when we landed, nor at our very late supper at a local bar (the promoter took us to some American-style bar that had awful Americanized pub food) but while lying in bed that first night, my heart was racing and I couldn’t get it to stop. J reminded me of the altitude and I was relieved that I wasn’t having some sort of heart attack, and the next day I was fine, save for a few winded hikes up hills.

Base of Cerro de Monserrate


On our second day, we met Carolina for the first time in the lobby and I was happy to see that she was just as warm and friendly in person as she had been in her emails. A group of us set out for Cerro de Monserrate, the white church overlooking the city from atop a high mountain. We took the crazy cabs to the base of the mountain, then bought tickets for the teleferico (gondola) which took us to the top within minutes. The view from the teleferico was amazing, and the higher we got the more I could see just how enormous the city of Bogota truly is.



Once we arrived at the top, we strolled around the beautifully landscaped grounds, peered at the variety of colorful flowers and stuck our heads inside the church, where mass was being held. The grounds of Cerro de Monserrate were already decorated for Christmas, but since we went during the day we didn’t get a chance to check it out with all of the lights turned on. I bet it’s a beautiful sight. There is a small street of vendors selling various souvenirs directly behind the church, in addition to snack stalls and a few picnic tables.



Looking up at Cerro de Monserrate...and we even got a rainbow!

We had wanted to eat lunch at the Colombian restaurant located near the church, but they were closed so we decided to skip the only other option (French) and wait until we made our descent and headed for another part of the city. When in Colombia, eat Colombian food, right?




Oh, how soon did I forget those very important words as we found ourselves in a small café located in an area called El Chorro de Quevedo. This charming little town center had colorful buildings and lots of college kids milling about since it is located near a large university. We ducked into the restaurant (of which I do not have the name….bad blogger!) and settled into the small space, ready to sample some local grub.

The small cafe was made up of many rooms on three floors...

So what did I order, you ask? Well, half of the menu was made up of crepes, which seem extremely popular in Bogota (there is a chain restaurant called Crepes y Waffles that is everywhere!) and the other half was made up of Colombian platos, or plates. Having had some of the greasiest food known to man the night before, I was skeptical of the large “meat platters for two” and decided to go the crepe route. A squid crepe, to be exact. One of the guys said “that doesn’t even SOUND good” but I turned up my nose, picturing a thin crepe covered in some sort of tomato-based seafood sauce which totally appealed to me at the time. J also ordered some seafood but the rest of the guys decided to get the platos to share.



Some of the guys had beer but I wanted to try a frozen coffee drink, which ended up being delicious and perfectly strong over the crushed ice and milk. J tried a juice made from a local fruit called lulu, which was incredibly refreshing and tart. My crepe arrived, practically invisible under a giant pool of chunky white sauce swimming with squid rings. I did take a photo but I’ll save you the pain, really. Then I looked on in envy as the platos came- one platter of beautiful cured meats alongside three different varieties of locally-made chorizo, and two platters of the same chorizo set among a lovely set of golden, deep fried specialties. As the guys dug into their spicy meats, cheese-stuffed fried potatoes, empanadas, arepas and crispy plantains, I just stared at my losing dish and wished that I had listened to them. Sigh. Luckily some of them took pity on me and let me try the chorizo which was the best I’d ever had. I also got a bite of a dessert crepe topped with rum raisin ice cream and chocolate sauce. Yum.







There were two cute girls playing with their tiny puppy just outside the restaurant, so we snapped some photos with them and then continued walking around the area. There were many sweets shops and bars for college kids, in addition to the oldest church in Bogota which sat right in the main square. We ran into the girls again when we noticed a small store selling homemade chicha, a non-alcoholic drink made from corn. I guess their mother was the proprietor and she was nice enough to let us try the juice-like drink, which was slightly sweet and a bit tart. It seems to be very popular in the area – we kept seeing signs that read “Chicha here!” in Spanish.

Bottles of homemade chica....

The tag reads "the water is for the people."

I really loved this little town square but we were headed to the main plaza next, which I will write about in the next post. There’s lots more Bogota to come, plus Buenos Aires and Santiago!





To be continued………..

Tuna Toast Ten

(and Tuna Toast 3rd Anniversary!)

I am still sorting through the gazillion or so photos I took during my South America trip so they're coming, but not before we post another titallating Tuna Toast Ten! Thanks to Nicole Landau, who was gracious enough to do the TT10 a couple of weeks back, we had the chance to talk with Troy Smith, Sommelier at Montage in Laguna Beach. It seems appropriate to have a sommelier do this version since it falls on the 3rd anniversary of this blog, so a toast is in order...for Tuna Toast! Three years ago on 11/11, I posted my very first entry after discovering that I could post my nonsensical food ramblings and people would actually be interested. Whodathunkit??

Uh, ok, lame jokes aside, thanks to the two faithful readers who have stayed with me through both blogging and non-blogging spells and lots of awful photography (and there's lots more of THAT to come, folks!). So thank you!

Now, onto more important things....another action-packed Tuna Toast Ten!

Name: Troy Smith
Occupation: Sommelier, Montage Laguna Beach
City, State of residence: Laguna Niguel, CA
Website/blog/thing you'd like to pimp:http://www.newmedici.com/ A media and lifestyle holding company put together by sommelier Bonnie Graves and her partners, which in part provides Beverage program consulting and wine event coordination.

1. The best restaurant meal I've had recently is: Craft, Los Angeles. Served in an unfussy style without pretense, an attractive combination of refinement and rusticity. Each element of the meal was prepared flawlessly, but save your pennies, because nothing on the menu is inexpensive.

2. If money wasn't an issue, I would want to eat at: Alinea in Chicago, the El Bulli of the U.S.

3. The food I eat most often is: Pasta. Incredibly versatile, easy to make (even from scratch) and nearly universal.

4. No great meal is complete without: People to share it with. What's the point of having a great meal all by yourself?

5. The best cheap eats in my neighborhood: In&Out. I know it seems like a low-brow cop-out but it's always fresh and always good. [Ed note: I couldn't agree with you more. In & Out is where it's at for cheap eats!]

6. There's no way in hell I'd ever eat: Baluts. Do you know what that stuff is?! Further proof that the term "delicacy" is just a ploy to trick unsuspecting foreigners into eating something horrible for the amusement of locals. There's a reason it's usually consumed with beer. I suspect lots and lots of beer is involved. [Ed note: A balut (Trứng vịt lộn or Hột vịt lộn in Vietnamese, Pong tea khon in Cambodian) is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell according to my favorite-yet-not-always-totally-accurate-websource, Wikipedia. I have shivers running down my spine...but not in a good way. Good grief.]

7. My go-to dish I'd cook for guests is: I make a conscious effort to cook something different each time I entertain, so I don't really have a go-to dish.

8. Man can't live on food alone, so my favorite libation is: I'm pretty much obliged to say "wine" since I am a sommelier, but it really depends on where I am, what I'm eating, and quite frankly, what's on hand. I guess when it really comes down to it, I'll drink almost anything with alcohol in it.

9. My favorite guilty food pleasure is (c'mon....be HONEST!): Doritos. All flavors. [Ed note: Being a Sun Chip worshipper myself, I totally feel the chip love, I really do.]

10. My favorite food-related website/blog is (no obligation to list TT, we're completely objective over here!): Inasmuch as wine is a food: http://www.thewinedoctor.com/. The site has a tremendous amount of information, but the producer profiles are outstanding. Well-written and informative without being to geeky. All things being relative, of course. A great resource overall.

Please be patient......South America reports coming soon!

I took about 600 photos during my trip to Bogota, Buenos Aires and Santiago so please be patient as I sort through them to find the most blog-worthy ones. In short, I ate lots of delicious food, made a lifelong friend in Bogota, rode two sky-high gondolas in two different cities and drank my first pisco sour.

Posts coming shortly!

-TAG