Bandeja Paisa

Well, after a short hiatus, I am back. Our internet was out and it took almost a week for someone to come over and fix it. Sometimes I forget how reliant we are on technology.

Last week I ate at one of the neighborhood restaurants that serves traditional Colombian food. Last time I was there, I split one of Colombia's signature dishes with my friend. The Bandeja Paisa, or Paisa tray, is the traditional dish of the Andean region of the country (and the people there are called Paisas). The dish includes: a chicharron (fried pork belly), a serving of powdered beef, a piece of chorizo, a fried egg, a piece of fried plantain, a piece of avocado, an arepa (corn cake), and a side of red beans and white rice. Because there is so much food, it is usually served on a tray instead of a plate, hence the name of the dish. This restaurant visit, we only split an order of chicharron and red beans and rice. We washed it down with a refreshing pitcher of passion fruit juice. Yum!

An appetizer of arepas with hogao (creole sauce)

A ball of rice, a chicharron, and red beans