I watched Anthony Bourdain's Colombian episode of No Reservations on YouTube from the hostel, and inspired to track down at least one place he ate in Medellin, I confirmed Brasarepa Restaurant's address with Salome, one of the hostel staff.
I considered it a mission because I had failed in my first attempt to find the restaurant via taxi. My mistake (and the driver's) was assuming the restaurant was in the city center, when in fact it was farther away.
I walked 15 minutes to the metro and took the line further west to Envigado, a stop short of the terminus in Itagui. Based on the metro maps, both are separate municipalities from Medellín. From the metro station, I successfully took a taxi to the restaurant, which sat on a quiet street corner near a school.
I picked up a menu, but the waitress informed me (in Spanish) that it was only for the evenings. She mentioned something about soup, and I started to feel disappointed. I made it to the restaurant, but wouldn't get a big meal out of it.
She also mentioned something about pollo (chicken) and, in effect, ordered lunch for me. I wrote in my journal, waiting for whatever came next.
Meanwhile, as the clock ticked past noon, the streets filled with kids of all ages in Catholic school uniforms. My timing couldn't have been better, as they provided the perfect opportunity for a little people-watching.
My soup arrived, along with a fruit drink, and I got to work as the sounds of kids being kids filled the air.
And there was more. Then they dropped off chicken, fried plantains, rice, salad, and an arepa. I was a happy camper, sitting right where Tony sat for his meal, as he talked about how the area used to be Pablo Escobar's domain.
To finish the meal, I ordered a vanilla ice cream shake (they were out of chocolate), which did the trick.
Before getting into a taxi back to the metro, I walked across the once-empty street to buy a new notebook for journaling, a blank DVD for photo-burning, and a pen.
The woman behind the counter was curious about this gringo and clearly wanted to talk with me, but I couldn't understand. This hasn't been an uncommon experience, and it is increasingly inspiring me to learn Spanish...immediately!
