I watched Anthony Bourdain’s Colombian episode of No Reservations on YouTube from the hostel, and inspired to track down at least one place where he ate in Medellin, I confirmed the address of Brasarepa 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 that of the driver’s) was in assuming the restaurant was in the city center, when in actuality, it was located farther away.

I walked the 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 Medellin. 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 said something about pollo too, and in effect, ordered the lunch for me. I wrote in my journal, awaiting whatever was to come 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. Chicken, fried plantains, rice, salad, and an arrepa were then dropped off. I was a happy camper, sitting right where Tony sat for his meal, as he talked about the fact that the area use to be Pablo Escobar’s domain. To complete the meal, I ordered a vanilla ice cream shake (they were out of chocolate), which finished me off.

Before getting into a taxi back to the metro, I walked across the once again empty street, to buy a new notebook for journaling, blank DVD for photo-burning, and a pen. The woman behind the counter was curious about this gringo in her presence, and clearly wanted to talk with me, but I couldn’t understand. It has not been an uncommon experience, and is increasingly inspiring me to want to learn Spanish…immediately!

Anthony Bourdian’s No Reservations – Colombia