Peruvian Food Off the Beaten Path

Peruvian food has definitely taken over the Colombian epicurial scene, and there´s no reason not to love it. Peruvian food is known for its fresh seafood ceviches, usually accompanied by huge kernels of corn (choclo), perfectly ripe avocado (palta) and a heavy dose of lime. What´s less well-known is that Peruvian food also reflects the diversity of the country´s citizens and the patterns of international migration into Peru throughout its history. Chinese and Japanese influences on Peruvian food, in particular, can be credited for its surprising mix of flavor and careful presentation. There are a number of fantastic Peruvian restaurants that you will likely stumble upon around the Parque 93 and the Zona G, but here are two that I highly recommend that you might not find on your own...

La Despensa de Rafael: The latest addition by famous Peruvian chef Rafael Osterling, La Despensa is the more casual (and cheaper) little brother to his hit Zona G spot Rafael, without sacrificing its culinary creativity. Set in a little house with outdoor seating and cozy exposed brick walls, La Despensa fills up fast for its dinner crowd (even on the Tuesday that I ate there). The menu reflects a diversity of influences, from linguinis with chorizo to fresh market salads with palmito to the popular meat and seafood entrees. A particular hit of the night was the perfectly-sized lamb burger garnished with goat cheese and yogurt mayonnaise, washed down with a cold Club Colombia beer. The dessert menu was equally enticing.

Monday-Saturday 12:30pm-10:oopm

Phone #: 235.8891

Calle 70a, no. 9-95

Bogotá

Casa de las Citas: If looking for Peruvian cuisine in La Candelaria neighborhood, head to this ´art cafe´ on quiet carrera 3. Unassuming from the outside and often empty during the day, Casa de Las Citas comes alive in the evenings with live salsa music and poetry readings. The walls are covered with bohemian Cuban and Colombian posters and photographs, and the owners are friendly and helpful. For a leisurely lunch, ceviche mixto and a fresh mora juice (blackberry), got us ready to tackle the Botero Museum.

Open every day after 12:00pm

Phone #: 286.6944; 316.330.3278

Carrera 3, no. 13-35

Bogotá

How to Find an Apartment or Room in Bogotá

Upon arriving in Bogotá, one of my biggest conundrums was how to find a long-term apartment in Bogotá. In a city as big as this one, there is a huge variety of options for all price ranges, lifestyles and periods of time. Here are some tips to help you find the right living situation:

Sharing a house or apartment with locals: The cheaper option for living in Bogotá would be to rent out a room in someone´s house or apartment. This is often more practical for a number of reasons besides generally being more affordable, namely not having to sign a lease for a set amount of time and not having to find a Colombian co-signer to vouch for you. To do this, use the website http://www.compartoapto.com . This is a website where people come together who are looking to rent out, or rent into, a room and is mostly used by students and young professionals all over the city. Here you will find rooms, usually furnished, anywhere from COP 200,000 (about $100 USD) to over COP 1,500,000 (about $750).

• Buscar Avisos: Look for ads people have posted by neighborhood and price. If you only wish to see furnished rooms, click ¨amueblada¨ in the busqueda avanzada (advanced search) section. Here you can also narrow the search by gender, age, sexual orientation, etc. of your new roommate(s).
• When you find a posting that interests you, you can enviar email either through the website or through your own e-mail account if the owner´s e-mail is posted. Either way, I recommend asking the poster to respond to you at your personal e-mail account because in order to view e-mails sent to you through the site you have to pay an inscription fee.
• Alternatively, you can publicar un aviso, or create your own posting advertising yourself as a new roommate. You post your stats and a basic note of what you are looking for (in Spanish or English), and then the people who are interested in you will contact you directly.

Renting your own apartment (furnished or not): Whether you would like to live alone, or with other recently arrived friends, you can also search for your own apartment online. The most useful site I found to do this online is www.metrocuadrado.com . Here you can look for apartments in Bogotá based on area and price (make sure you click on arrienda-rent-in the box instead of compra, unless you are looking to buy a place!).

• Here you can also filter your search by price, square meters, number of rooms (habitaciones), furnished (con muebles or sin muebles), etc. You will find many more apartments here that are unfurnished.
• Prices on this site tend to be a little higher as these are the apartments represented by real estate agencies. They generally have the set price, which is shown on the ad, as well as a valor administrativo, or monthly building fee, as well as monthly servicios (usually water, gas, cable, internet, energy).
• When you contact an ad, include your email or phone number and the realtor will usually respond to you promptly if the apartment is still available in order to set up an apointment to see it. The realtors tend to be on-time for appointments (a rarity in Colombia!), so make sure you are too!
• Keep in mind that for many of these apartments, you will need a Colombian co-signer to vouch for you and sometimes need to sign a lease for six months or one year.

Cocktails in Las Zonas G & T

While much of Bogotano nightlife revolves around shots of aguardiente or ron medellin as a mere side dish to live music and fantastic dancing, there are a few places that are known for their fantastic cocktails (or cocktail ambience) and are perfect to begin the evening or cap off the night. Here are a few, all of which are on the (much) more expensive side of the Bogotá scale...


Harry´s: If you want to go to where Bogotano elite consider ¨the best,¨ head to Harry´s Restaurant in La Zona G. Since it is known more for the atmosphere than for its culinary delights, go for a drink and light appetizer off of the bar menu--chorizo sausage with a lot of fresh squeezed lime and french mustard, Spanish style patatas bravas, or maybe the 100,000 peso chorizo if your pockets are burning. They have a full bar, an extensive wine list, and a beautiful, important-looking clientele. The tables on the outside patio are most atmospheric, but if you are sitting down to eat be sure to make reservation.


RSVP Phone #: 321.3940
Calle 70, no. 5-57
Bogotá


La Famiglia: With average Italian fare in the middle of La Zona G, this is the spot to go to for a drink (or two) before heading out on the town. Make sure to sit on the rooftop, where the heaters keep you warm and cozy and the fantastic music gets you amped to go without being so loud that you can´t hear your drinking partners.

Phone #: 248.1053
Carrera 5, no. 69-34
Bogotá


Pravda: Known as the place with the best martinis in Bogotá, I would recommend ordering the lychee martini and chilling out to the music (they often have a live techno DJ spinning inside) on the outside patio. From there, you can people-watch both shoppers and late-night revelers cruising La Zona T and get ready to head to one of the many clubs within walking distance. Go early if you want to get a table on the patio and not inside where it is often vacant.

Phone #: 257.2088
Calle 83, no. 12-24
Bogotá

Bienvenidos!

Welcome to The Real Bogotá! I hope this site serves itself useful for visitors or ex-pats in Bogotá. When considering the implications of writing about my time here, I realized that it´s important to keep in mind that Bogotá is a city of intense contrasts. Although we as foreigners, and our wealthy Colombian peers, can enjoy nights out - cocktails, nice meals, clubs and dancing - nearly 50% of Colombians live in poverty. In Bogotá itself, a city of at least 8 million citizens, the number of impoverished people are simply staggering. The urban slum of Ciudad Bolivar, in the south of Bogotá, has an estimated population of 1-2 million people and Soacha, even farther south, is one of the biggest recipients of Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) fleeing civil war in the country. If you drive by in the evening the lights litering the hillside flitter attractively...but in the daytime the reality of the massive, sprawling settlements are quite shocking, even for someone like me who has lived in Eastern Africa and Brazil.

I do not mean for this site to be a flippant response to the contextual realities of Bogotá and Colombia. This is a country of severe inequalities and violence, and I do not want to forget the profound complexities of Colombia when writing about my lifestyle here. I hope this comes through in the posts; please enjoy and feel free to write to me about contributing!