Eating the Road: The Regional Dish of Medellin, Colombia

The mix-ins for bandeja paisa, the regional lunch of Medellin, Colombia

Bandeja paisa. Mmmm.

Lunch time in Medellin, Colombia is busy, busy, busy–no matter where you go in downtown, everyone seems to be eating the same thing: Bandeja paisa. Imagine a big bowl of soupy pinto beans to which you add savory mix-ins. On a side plate comes chicharones, finely chopped beef, slices of avocado, half a fried plantain, a mound of white rice, a fried egg, and a griddled corn arepa (a soft corn cake made from corn flour and sometimes cheese). It’s the single most typical dish of this region of the country, and you can buy it everywhere. Good thing, too, because it’s fantastic: crunchy, savory, soupy, mushy, salty, slightly sweet and packed with flavor.

[googleMap name="Medellin, Columbia" directions_to="false"]Medellin, Columbia[/googleMap]