Having successfully navigated by alcohol intake, I woke up relatively refreshed and ready for the last hurrah. Because there was football to watch later, it was time to do one final big meal and a Sunday brunch fit the bill. Fortunately, what seemed like a very promising spot – brown bakery and cafe (yes all lowercase) – was a stone’s throw away.

I grabbed a table in this small outdoor patio and was soon presented with a menu full of delicious brunch items. I wanted to start with my usual mimosa, but my friendly server explained that their Prosecco order didn’t come through. “No Prosecco, no mimosas!” He instead recommended their sangria with “red fruits.” It was a good choice and damn fine sangria which I had use great restraint not to chug.

Of all of the items, the one that immediately stopped me in my tracks was the carrot pancakes with sweet cream and candied nuts. I was first surprised by the lack of syrup, but after I dug in, I understood why. It was basically like eating a carrot cake in pancake form. Amazing.

In what turned out to be a miscommunication, what I though I had ordered as a side of German sausage turned out to be well a bit more. The hot plate contained not only the sausage but also a mount of crispy potatoes and a poached egg. The sausage had a nice snap and very flavorful, and the perfectly poached egg mixed together beautifully with the roasted potatoes. Brunch perfection and $15 all in.

It had started to rain so I made my way back home and got ready to watch the first of two NFL playoff games on my great TV. It was a nice way to wind down my stay here. The first game didn’t turn out to be much of a contest – congrats Iggles – so I mostly worked on prepping for my next blog post. Suddenly, I started getting news alerts and texts from friends about a potential major trade war about to start between the US and Colombia.

I’ll spare the particulars as it turned out to be short-lived. However, it served as a reminder that while it was nice to escape the news onslaught of our new president was generating, the consequences of his actions will affect the entire world. We can try to avoid it and seek shelter, but there will be no safe spaces in reality.

I joked with some friends that it was a good thing I had decided to come back tomorrow before possibly not at all. As noted, while the issue was resolved relatively quickly, I imagined what would have happened if this had occurred a week ago. How many uncomfortable conversations would I have had with friendly locals why my country was trashing the one of the most important trade relations in South America?

I had been lucky to not have many of the “Trump WTF?” discussions I had dreaded. “Yo soy de California” usually took care of that. Yet if this had been exacerbated and earlier during my trip, I guess I would have had to break out my German accent. OK, off my soap box.

The second game was, unfortunately, smack dab in the middle of dinner time. This, of course, was part of the reason I had eaten such a huge brunch. My options were already limited given it was Sunday night, but I had been curious about a local chain called El Corral which had many different types of burgers. I walked a few blocks to the nearest location only to discover the restaurant door closed with a group of motorcyclists/food delivery milling around a patio.

Suddenly, a worker came out to the patio with a large stack of to go orders. After she called out the orders, I flagged her to try to order as well. She first told me that I needed to use their food delivery app to do so but relented after I asked if I could order from her since I was already here.

I decided to keep it simple and eschew the various monster burger concoctions that dominated the menu in favor of a chicken sandwich combo. About 10 minute later, she returned with my order and I booked it back to my place to catch the second half of the game. The combo consisted of the sandwich, which had mozzarella, lettuce and honey mustard on a potato bun alongside some fries and a bottle of sparkling water. While not the most aesthetically pleasing meal, it was very tasty, especially the nicely grilled chicken with the tangy honey mustard.

After the game, I took my final jacuzzi in the cool, damp air. Soon enough it would be time to pack up and get ready to depart this great city. My body and stomach were definitely excited to get a break for a bit – salads would be in my future fosho.

I was very glad I had decided that 2.5 days wasn’t nearly enough to experience Bogota. This is vast and diverse place full of great people and superb food. While I’ll probably never be back, I’ll never forget the sights, sounds and tastes of this “Athens of South America.” Hasta próxima vez.

I woke up a new man and very grateful I had decided not to push it yesterday. I had been interested in going to this recommended spot, Nueve, for dinner but they only had lunch available. It was only about a mile away so I tested out my rejuvenated body and walked in the cloudy cool weather to the restaurant.

Known as a “puerta cerrada” which means it’s actually in a house versus a traditional restaurant space. I was very familiar with the concept having been to many of them during my time in Argentina. In this case, it seemed to be a lot closer still to a typical restaurant.

Nueve focuses on small plates to share. This worked for me as I wanted to try a few different things anyway. First up was a crab cake with shrimp tartare on top. The crab cake was flavorful and crispy but the shrimp tartare took it to another level. A great start.

Next was what they called a flank steak and creole potato taco but to me upon first bite brought me immediately to a classic taco al carbon. It was a small but packed a ton of flavor. I would easily have eaten many more of these if offered. But in this case, onto the next.

The final savory course was a Hearts of Palm “pasta” carbonara with crispy guanciale. I wasn’t expecting the “pasta” to be pickled so it took me a bit of time to get over that acidity although the sauce was nice and creamy. Solid if slightly disappointing despite the great plating.

My final course was anything but that – semi-bitter dark chocolate with peanuts and raspberries. Before I dug in, I had assumed it was basically a brittle but soon learned it was closer to an ice cream. Dark chocolate and peanuts is one of my favorite combos so that was a given to be good, but I was surprised how well the raspberries worked with it, adding some needed acidity to the richness.

I headed back home to rest up before my last big night out. I had yet to visit the bustling Zona T district so seemed like the perfect time to do so. Despite being only about a 15 minute walk from me, Zona T felt like a different world. Interesting local shops were now replaced by familiar global brands and depressingly sterile.

I made my way through the large outdoor mall to my first stop – Barra Chalaca. The small restaurant focused on classic Peruvian fare and faced out towards the main thoroughfare which was a cacophonous mess of competing music by the various bars.

Fortunately, soon thereafter my first course arrived – tiradito of tilapia with sweet potatoes in an aji amarillo sauce. This was an excellent tiradito – the fresh fish thinly sliced for the flavorful sauce and broken up by the needed sweetness of the potatoes. Like I was back in Lima.

Since it was getting cold outside, the fish soup with pasta, potatoes and lemons sounded to good to me. The flavorful broth with the lemons worked great with the chunky potatoes and pieces of fish. The only dessert option was chocolate cake so I declined given my lunch.

A few spots down was my next destination – La Huerta, a cocktail bar which had been recommended to me. Featuring over 100 cocktails from local ingredients (Huerta = orchard or vegetable garden), I was soon presented with basically a book of options.

Since I knew I was only going to get one (you’re welcome Morning Guy) I decided to go for something different which they had named cacuyo – whiskey, Tío Pepe sherry, toasted rice and pandan leaf. I didn’t really taste the rice per se but this was a very pleasant cocktail, which I would have enjoyed even more if hotter out. As I sipped my cocktail, I was entertained by the DJ who couldn’t mix to safe his life but was playing decent tunes. Still, after finishing my drink, I was very eager to get the Hell out of Zona T.

My final stop was back towards my place at the microbrewery I had passed several times during my walks. It turned out that it was magic night as I slid into the last available seat at the small bar. I was informed 2 of the beers were tapped out so I selected tasters of amber and American stout. Both were surprisingly good as was the 3rd magician up. In fact, he was so good I ordered a taster of the blonde, which was decent.

Wanting to take advantage of the colder weather with a nice soak in my jacuzzi I left to do just that. This turned out to be just what my aching body needed and soon I headed for bed. Tomorrow would be the last hurrah with one more Sunday brunch and some (American) football to watch.

There’s an old Seinfeld bit where he talks about the constant struggle between Morning Guy and Night Guy. The latter is always screwing over the former. And well dear readers, that’s exactly what happened to me. Ouch.

After somehow making it through my morning meetings, I knew I needed something healthy for lunch to combat this war commencing in my body. Fortunately, only a few blocks away was a mostly vegan spot called Longevity F*ckin Good Food. It was located in a shaded part of the street but I opted for the more comfortable banquette seating inside.

I started off with their highly rated mushroom puff pastries with vegan cheese. While normally not a fan of vegan cheese, this worked surprisingly well, and there’s no way one could tell it’s not real cheese. My body said gracias.

Next up was the real reason I was here – potato and leek soup with roasted beetroot. I was surprised of the lack of flavor on the first sip but then realized I had to stir it up a bit to get the true taste. That worked and the soup opened up with the crunch beetroot adding some needed texture to the smooth blend. Excellent.

After I got back to my place and had a quick call with my dad (hola papa!) the tide had quickly turned. I was down for the count. There would be no Friday night fun. I didn’t even bother eating anything and crashed at 10pm. So instead, enjoy this collage of my various wanderings. Hasta pronto.

The sunny weather I had blessed with the first few days was now cooler and cloudier. This made me want to stick closer to home base and get something simple. As it turned out, a mere 2 blocks away was a very popular street taco spot – La Pantera Taqueria.

At first, as there were no tables available, I was going to just order to go but right before they put mine in, they found a spot for me. The place was filled with a diverse group of patrons, from office types with the universal tie flip to avoid stains, to what I assumed were students from the nearby college.

I ended up getting a trio of tacos – chicken tinga (which was actually served as a tostada, shrimp with chipotle cream and birria. All 3 were classic street tacos although the standout was the chicken tinga, which worked really well as a tostada and held together even after a couple of bites.

After working a bit more and my usual siesta, I hopped in an Uber towards where I had originally stayed during my first visit. My original plan was to hit up a recommend spot known for its sopa de gallina (hen soup.) However, when I got there, it turned out their card machine was down. Que lástima!

The area I was in, known as “Hippies Park”, was the first time since being in Bogota I had to pay attention to my Spidey senses. I didn’t want to linger too long so ducked into a small shop that featured stuffed arepas.

There were about 20 different options but the friendly owner suggested I try their “mega mix” which was basically just about every option combined. Sure why not? As indicated by the picture above, there was simply no way to eat this as a typical arepa. So, I pulled apart the various meats and veggies until I got it to a manageable size. I was glad I did try it that way though as the chicharrones mixed with the corn, chicken and mushrooms was a tasty combo.

I briskly walked past the various characters at the park and headed over 2 blocks where I was greeted with the familiar sight of my hotel from my first trip here. Up the hill from it was my final destination, Momentino Wine Bar.

It was a very lively spot and had a classic wine bar look/feel. My server came over and after initially speaking to me in Spanish once he asked where I was from, switched into a British accent. It turned out he used to a reporter at The Hollywood Reporter before giving that up a few years ago. He and two buddies from Argentina had joined forces to open the bar.

While there was an extensive wine list, he pointed me to the nearby board which had their special Argentine wines that they had priced 2 for 1. Sold. The cab franc from Mendoza was excellent, bold and rich per usual from the region. The first pour was very generous and the second one even more so as it was the end of the bottle.

I took in the surroundings and just observed the hip crowd enjoying their wines of choice. I got so caught up in the moment, I neglected to have my usual water with my wine. That would come back to haunt me… in my next blog post which shall we say will be a wee bit shorter than usual.

I woke up to the rather disappointing fact that despite the fact it was now past the 24 hour water cut off, no agua. I asked my host, and she explained that sometimes goes beyond that. Great. I had a 1pm reservation at a place at least 30 mins away and really didn’t want to plunge my head into the cold jacuzzi water. Fortunately, it came on about 10 mins before I had to leave – cold but at that point I took what I could get.

My destination was in the up and coming area Usaquen, which was on the other side of the city nestled beneath the mountains. I soon arrived at the only tall building on the street and after some confusing navigation eventually went up to the 10th floor for Oda.

The restaurant was modern with great views of the whole surrounding area, helped by the bright blue sky. My server explained the concept of the restaurant is to focus on Amazonian food but with a modern spin. To kick things off, I was presented with a local bread and butter. The bread had some flecks of coconut but not too sweet – quite good.

Next was their take on smoked fish, which in this case was an Amazonian white fish with a leche de tigre sauce but not spicy. The fish was perfectly sliced and very tender. A delicious dish.

For my main, I was drawn to the Caramelized Amazon mushrooms in brown butter, onion ice cream, mushroom puree toasted Amazon seed and onion broth. This was quite something. I was encouraged to mix everything together via the giant spoon provided. The crispy mushrooms blended into the mushroom purse and the onion ice cream somehow really worked. A rich and complex dish.

I wanted to try a lighter dessert so they recommended the Amazonian nut crumble, yoghurt ice cream, cucumber, dragon fruit and local honey. Again a very complex dish with the crunchy nuts enveloped in the tart ice cream with the fruits and honey adding some needed sweetness.

I requested an Uber and headed downstairs. As I was waiting, I noticed I had no idea about the car brand, JAG. As I soon found out from my friendly driver, it was a Chinese EV – a first for me. It was much more comfortable than the typical cars so far with my Uber trips. He explained that there’s a discount for EVs and they also aren’t part of a traffic/pollution reduction efforts called “pico y plata.” The system restricts people from driving during peak hours (pico) based on their license plate number (plata.)

After my education on the Bogota driving process and a much needed siesta, I was back in yet another Uber (back to a shitty car alas) for a quick trip to Zona G in Chapinero. Tucked away in a small side street was Salon Tropical, which featured food from the coastal regions of Colombia.

I decided to keep things light and selected the tiradito of the fresh catch of the day, which was tuna, in a coconut Thai sauce. The fish was beautifully sliced with a sauce was very different than a typical tiradito that was delicious. A good start.

I decided to keep with the cold seafood tip and chose the ceviche de Chifa with tuna once again. The soy from the chifa sauce added some nice Asian notes to this once again not typical ceviche. The tuna, now cubed, was very fresh and the crispy onions gave it some needed texture.

Last up were 2 tostadas – octopus and shrimp. The octopus was a bit chewy and the whole tostada collapsed in a heap. It as just fine. Fortunately, the shrimp one more than made up for it. Teeming with fresh shrimp and just the right amount of shredded lettuce, I would have easily eaten more of these if I had room.

I had been drawn to the very cool spot next door and since I was finally back to normal, I headed up some steep set of stairs to the rooftop of Tokyo Rooftop Bar. A sea of red greeted me, and I took a seat at the bar. I had already looked at the cocktail list and chose ingari – which was a mix of sake, rum and roasted pineapples.

It was served in a flourish surrounded by dry ice, which was a fun touch. The cocktail was quite tasty – nice blend of the 3 main ingredients which tempered the potential sweetness of the pineapple. A nice way to close out a long day/night.

As referenced in my previous post, Bogota has a water conservation program where a couple of times enough during the El Niño season, certain zones have their residential water cut off for 24 hours. Lucky me that my zone was the next one up. So I woke up even a bit earlier to take a shower while I could.

After working a few hours, I set out in search of a torta pop-up which alas turned out to be closed. However, right next to it was a place on my list anyway – Restaurante Con-Ele. Since it was nice out, I opted for a table in the small patio. The menu was small but intriguing. I wanted something on the lighter side so what looked essentially like a salad sounded good.

I should say looked like a salad but with whole lotta ingredients. Candied peaches with curry spiced rotisserie chicken sauteed with honey, truffled cheese, avocado and zucchini emulsion, citrus marinated mushrooms and toasted cauliflower rice. With so many things, it might be expected that the end result wouldn’t be very harmonious but in fact it really was. Again a really interesting mix of tastes and textures – from the moist chicken to the tart peaches. Somehow it all worked.

After some rest, it was time for dinner, which was in the part of Chapinero where I stayed the first time. Afluente was a new kid on the block but had already achieved a lot of praise for its modern interpretations of ancient Andean food. I was ushered upstairs to a sleek, small dining room where I was almost immediately greeted with a welcome amuse bouche.

Readers, I’ll be upfront and confess that between the exotic ingredients and the broken English of the earnest chef, I can’t really list a lot of what I ate. In this case it was uh something on a tiny cracker – not bad and some delicious cheese bread.

Before I selected my courses, a server with again not the best English cheerfully explained to me the various Andean vegetables they use in the cooking. A very cool touch.

The first dish I selected was simply just called Pato (duck) with only 2 other things listed – a fruit, papacuya, which is similar to a papaya and uh something else. It was clear though way more things lurked underneath the green top, including the cold shredded duck which also made up the warm stock they poured over the top.

As was becoming common for my meals here, it was again a mix of tastes and textures. The duck was rich, the green stuff added a slightly bitter note that was offset by the sweet fruit. Very intriguing.

The next dish I had selected was called Camarón (shrimp). Again, while the description was vague, the end result was decidedly not. Crunchy toasted plantain strips hid the perfectly seasoned shrimp underneath and two of the Andean veggies all topped with a coconut foam. The best way I could describe it is a shrimp cereal – not something I’d ever had before but delicious.

For the final savory dish, I had selected Palmito (heart of palm) with coconut (the powder of top) and what was described as water of the apple. This was a real stunner. Each bite had slightly different tastes and textures – from what I assumed were strands of the heart of palm turned into a noodle to the rich coconut cream sauce. Wowza.

For dessert, I chose Feioja, a native fruit, with some uh other ingredients. This pic doesn’t really do justice to what again lied beneath the surface. They told me to take my spoon and dive straight down. Doing so revealed all kinds of hidden treasures – from basically a corn cake to chunks of another fruit and some sort of sauce. Sweet and sour in each bite, and once again wholly unique.

I was completely stuffed and after thanking the chef and staff, took the quick ride home. I’ll remember this one for quite a long time.

I was slowly starting to feel more like myself albeit still a bit foggy. After working for a few hours, I headed over a few blocks to a highly recommend spot that features the Pacific side of Colombia – Rey Guerrero.

It was a good thing I had made a reservation as it was packed with lunch goers. I had checked out the menu online and was torn between a couple of dishes – a shrimp with coconut rice and one with a word I didn’t recognize… which turned out to be a creature way too cute to eat. Shrimp it is!

The arroz con camarones soon arrived in a massive bowl teeming with goodness. I’d best describe it as a Colombian version of paella especially since it had the familiar peas and saffron although the rice was different. They definitely didn’t scrimp on the shrimp either. The massive patacon served with it was superb as well.

I walked back towards my place stopping in at a sleek bakery/coffee shop for some breakfast items – an almond croissant, apple tartin and a red velvet cookie because why not – all for $5.

After a much needed siesta, I hit the streets again with my destination being a favorite of my last trip here – Harry Sasson. Per Google Maps it was only about a mile from my place and since it was nice out, I decided to walk. Unfortunately, Google had lied to me about it being “mostly flat” as I staggered up a fairly steep hill. Eventually I arrived the sprawling grounds of the restaurant.

After being seated this time in the main dining room, I wasted no time ordering really why I was here – the wood fire roasted tomato soup with basil oil. It maintained the belt for the best tomato soup I’ve ever had – each bite bursting with flavor. As noted last time, it’s not a bisque but somehow looks/tastes like one – mixture of velvety puree and large chunks of tomato. Incredible.

Next up was the dish a couple of locals had told me I had to get – the Harry’s Bar hot dog. As shown above, this ain’t your usual hot dog as yes, that’s pizza crust (stuffed with cheese) as the bun of the massive foot long dog. While I’m usually a plain dog kinda guy, I was curious about the mustard with it, adding some nice tang.

After that, there would be no dessert so I got the check and walked back down that The same hill, taking in the scenery this time. The once bustling street was now quiet and the cool air made for a pleasant stroll back home. I hit the hay immediately as I would need to get up a bit earlier tomorrow due to my water being shut off for 24 hours. This was part of their water conservation efforts where various zones of the city are selected a couple of times a month for this during the El Niño cycles. More on that later.

As loyal readers may recall (or not) I had visited Bogota during my last trip but way too briefly. As I thought about somewhere to go next on my work a week remotely, Bogota became a prime candidate. When I found the same deal (more or less) that led me here the first time which happened to coincide with a major, uh shift, in my country, it was an easy choice.

The catch was that my flight this time from LAX was at 7am. That, of course, meant getting up at 4:30am (ouch) and then a 5 hour at DWF, which allowed me to check out various Admirals Clubs. Terminal A was my favorite as it wasn’t very full and had some retro charm to it.

I eventually arrived in Bogota and once again made it very quickly through customs thanks to our almost midnight arrival. Soon thereafter, I was at my home for the next 8 days and after being up for a very, very long time crashed immediately.

After a fitful night of sleep, I was hungry and needed a nice, hardy brunch. Fortunately, a mere 2 blocks from me was a place that seemed to fit the bill. La Boutique de las Carnes looked like a typical parrilla and the smell of various cooked meats on an open flame soon filled the air. Since it was so nice out, I chose a table on the outdoor patio, which was shaded and had a nice cross breeze.

I had already viewed the brunch menu online and had immediately been drawn to the starter of pork and turkey breakfast sausages with a mini cheese arepa. This was just what I needed, and I eagerly devoured the smoky and flavorful sausages. Delicious.

For the main event, there was really only one choice – their version of steak and eggs. In this case, it was sliced carne asada, roasted potatoes and 2 fried eggs. Sí señor!

When the skillet full of goodness arrive, I was very pleased, especially since a large spoon had been placed on the side to mix everything up together. The steak had a nice char and a perfect medium rare. The potatoes were nicely seasoned and crunchy, which even stood up to the yolks and whites that I combined with the steak for the perfect bite. Delicious.

I made my way back to the apartment to take advantage of the massive 70” HDTV and watch the NFL playoff games. There was no live TV but an app called DAZN had the offer to pay $8 for the rest of the playoffs. Not a bad way to spend a lazy Sunday.

Eventually, I headed down a couple of blocks to a well regarded local spot Attic & Keller. It was now fairly cool outside so I declined sitting in the patio and instead chose a seat on the banquet across from the large bar.

Given I was still acclimating, I eschewed the extensive cocktail list but vowed to return later in my trip to try something. Next to me was a group of very large men, including a guy who looked like out of central casting from a Viking movie, who was speaking perfect Spanish to the server. I tried to pick up what language they were speaking with each other and eventually just asked the Viking – Norwegian ofc. I introduced myself and after telling them I was from Los Angeles they asked if the fires had affected me. Thankfully no I told them.

Soon, it was time to eat. First up, arancini with octopus with dollops of olive mayonnaise and a Romesco sauce. These reminded me a bit of the Japanese octopus balls except much crunchier. A nice starter.

Since I had gone pretty meat heavy for lunch, the roasted cauliflower in a mushroom ragú was a nice contrast. The cauliflower was nicely spiced and paired great with the surprisingly rich ragú. The arugula added a nice peppery note. A great dish.

I wasn’t initially going to get dessert but it’s hard to turn down a carrot cake. This version, especially the frosting, wasn’t as sweet as typical but that was offset by the excellent vanilla ice cream on the side. Not the best carrot cake ever but a nice way to conclude the meal.

I made the quick jaunt back to my pad and after watching the last quarter of the Ravens Bills game, ended my night with a quick soak in the jacuzzi on my patio. I didn’t make it quite hot enough but enjoyed the bubbles. This made me very sleepy so dried off and then drifted off. Tomorrow would be back to the digital salt mines during the day and a return to a spot I loved last time.