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Health & Fitness

Panaderias

Enjoying coffee and some of the Colombian specialty breads is something not to miss when visiting Colombia.

Back in the late 1950's and early 60's everyday on my way home from school I had to pass my Father's barbershop. The first problem involved my hair. If he did not have a customer in the chair and my hair had grown even a millimeter, then I would be cut back to close to bald. After all what kind of advertisement would it be if the barber's kid had scraggly looking hair. The next part was a system where whatever food item my mother needed was transmitted to my father before I arrived. It then became my job to purchase such items and get them home safe.

Frequently we needed bread. My idea of bread from childhood is sliced white bread in the red, yellow and blue plastic bag with Wonder on the side. Later in life I would enjoy a restaurant in Detroit called Traffic Jam. One of their claims to fame was different breads. Often times friends hosting wine tastings made a point of getting bread from there and it made a difference.

I participate in a couple of ex-pat websites. A topic for many is the inability to get a decent bread in the country in which they live. Fortunately for me the enticing smells of fresh baked bread lingers in almost every neighborhood of Bogotá. Not only is it tasteful, but the variety is amazing. A couple of my favorites are bread with cheese cooked in (pan de queso) and chocolate bread. More exotic to me, but normal for Colombians, is pan de yucca, pan de bono and almohanadas. Colombians living outside their country frequently express a craving for these breads.

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 Except for the chocolate bread, none of the above are really sweet like the pan dulce you find in many parts of Mexico. Some of the panaderias (bakeries) also make galletas (cookies), but all seem to have two different pastries that always tempt me. The first is called roscone. Larger than a donut, but round like one it has something similar to carmel, called arequipe, baked into it. The second goes by the name of either mariaposa (butterfly) or corazón (heart). This hard bread with sugar goes excellent with coffee. Then to make things even better I always get it with chocolate on the edge. That is something my wife tells me they started when more gringos began arriving to the country.

When you come to Bogota I highly recommend a brunch or afternoon snack at one of the many fine panaderias. With many of these places you can sit at an outside table and enjoy a tinto (black coffee) and delicious product from the oven.

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