Chef Mario Rosero is standing beside a wood-fired grill at the back of Prudencia, the restaurant he owns in La Candelaria, Bogotá’s cobblestoned old town. The grill has three circular grates that can be adjusted to different positions. Small pieces of pork are sizzling on the one directly above the flames; a cast iron pot filled with corn is cooking less fiercely on another, higher up. Perfecting this clever, compact set-up is what Mario — a Culinary Institute of America graduate born in the Colombian city of Pasto and raised in Los Angeles — has been up to since the pandemic.
Rather than completely pivoting to takeaway, like so many restaurants, Mario and his staff started making and selling grills like these, plus home-made briquettes of binchotan, a slow-burning, smokeless charcoal. Since then, the restaurant menu has become a showcase for all of the goodies that come off the grills and smokers scattered around the multilevel premises, from house-made bacon to charred radicchio with butter-poached pear.
The restaurant, set in a former school building dating from the late 1800s, was remodelled by Colombian architect Simón Vélez with an iron-and-glass roof supported by repurposed fuel pipes. It doesn’t really follow any prescription for how a restaurant is supposed look, and the place is only open for lunch service, for which the employees are paid nearly double what most other restaurants in the area offer.
In many ways, it’s the perfect symbol of Bogotá’s culinary scene — a city whose restaurants are doing it their own way. As a regular visitor to Bogota for almost 20 years, I’ve found the city much changed: the dining scene has found its voice, matching the likes of Lima for gastronomic prowess.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2024 من National Geographic Traveller (UK).
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2024 من National Geographic Traveller (UK).
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Annette Arjoon-Martins
RAISED BY HER INDIGENOUS GRANDMOTHER IN GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA, ANNETTE BUILT A FEMALE DRONE UNIT TO MONITOR MANGROVES
The Amazon to the Andes
THIS AUTUMN, PADDINGTON HEADS TO PERU ON THE BIG SCREEN - FOLLOW IN HIS PAWPRINTS FOR AN EPIC FAMILY ADVENTURE
Serra de Tramuntana
MAJORCA'S MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGE IS EVERY BIT AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE ISLAND'S COASTLINE - AND YOU CAN HIKE STRAIGHT FROM YOUR HOTEL
CRAFTING PERFECTION
Carlsberg's old brewing district has been redeveloped, offering creative new ways to enjoy Copenhagen
HOTEL AWARDS 2024
IT'S BEEN AN EPIC YEAR FOR HOTEL OPENINGS, REVAMPS AND EXTENSIONS, AND WE'VE SCOURED THE GLOBE FOR THE BEST OF THEM. WHETHER YOU WANT TO TUNE INTO THE JUNGLE FROM A TREEHOUSE, SLEEP IN A PIECE OF HISTORY OR WATCH THE SUN SET OVER MOUNTAIN PEAKS FROM YOUR BED, YOU'RE GUARANTEED A MEMORABLE STAY FROM OUR WINNERS AND RUNNERS-UP
MALDIVES
An archipelago of 1,192 coral islands and 26 turquoise atolls looping across the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is home to resorts that cater to every imaginable taste, from barefoot escapes to designer digs. The most convenient to reach are located in the South Malé, North Malé and Vaavu atolls, within speedboat distance of Velana International Airport, while more remote atolls are accessible by seaplane or domestic flight. With easy access to the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Baa and Raa are especially popular. Those around the Equator, including Gaafu Alifu, offer a splendid sense of isolation, abundant marine life and brilliantly starry night skies.
TRANSYLVANIA
The central Romanian region of Dracula fame makes for an intriguing autumn break - sink your teeth into its crafts and culture after discovering its turreted castles.
Audio adventures
FROM OVERTOURISM TO HOW THE OLYMPIC GAMES AFFECTS HOST CITIES, HERE ARE SOME OF THE BEST PODCASTS THAT EXPLORE THE WORLD
NICE
Historically a place where monarchs and aristocrats would escape the winter in favour of warm Mediterranean climes, this southern French city is at its best in the off season
BELFAST
In the Northern Irish capital, the healing and uniting powers of music and art are being used to reconcile the past, look to the future and bring communities together