Colombian Immersion: Food Secrets of San Carlos

Spanish Adventure’s location in San Carlos, Antioquia, a small town just four hours from Medellín, allows students to immerse themselves in the authentic cuisine of Colombia. From remote hikes to tourist attractions, Spanish Adventure makes sure that its students’ travels are far from typical.  

Adventuring in Antioquia’s glorious nature is unparalleled: the hiking and climbing and camping opportunities are endless. The empanadas are plentiful and the palitos de queso (cheesy sticks) abundant. At Spanish Adventure we are fortunate to access all this, and more. 

We are even more fortunate to get to know a town for an extended period, to feel some semblance of home here. It’s a wonderful place with a complicated, unique history.

But as a student with Spanish Adventure, it can be easy to fall into a comfortable routine: you’ve got your favorite grocery store, your favorite arepa stand, your favorite drink order at el kiosko principal (the main coffee kiosk in the town square)…  

If you’re looking to break out of the Spanish Adventure bubble—or just to suss out the tastiest food in town—here are some starting points:

1. Scout Out Only The Very Best Produce

Craving some fruit and veg? Try skipping the grocery store and heading down to the bus station (el terminal del transporte). Here you’ll find la Plaza del Mercado, a wholesale produce market with what Spanish Adventure guide, Laura, swears offer the cheapest, freshest and most beautiful produce.

Pro-tip: It’s normal to feel overwhelmed by the unfamiliar selection of fruit and veg, whether at the grocery store or in the market. Instead of opting for whatever seems most familiar, go ahead and chat up the folks selling the fruit; they can give you tips on how to prepare the fruit and what it tastes like!

2. Make A Trip To “The Fish Man”

For a truly off-the-beaten-track dining experience, visit Don Fredy, “el señor de los pescados”—or “the fish man”. His signature dish includes a deliciously crisp green side salad, thin-sliced and deep-fried plantain chips,  a portion of the most succulent coconut rice you’ll ever taste, and what is perhaps the perfect fried fish. This heaping plate is more than worth the $15.000 pesos.

Don Fredy’s place is no mere street stall, it’s an outdoor restaurant located about 20 minutes into the emerald green hills of San Carlos.

Pro-tip: Bring a friend or two to split the cab rides ($14.000 each way). Plus, be sure to make this trip with plenty of time to spare—this isn’t fast food, and it takes a while to excavate Don Fredy’s beautiful fish!  

3)  Don’t Skip Dessert!

Some of the best cake and falafel of my entire life (and I’ve eaten many a falafel in Jerusalem!) I encountered at Antojitos, run by Sergio and Yennifer. Antojitos is just around the corner from Spanish Adventure, so it may not be “off the beaten track” per se, but Sergio and Yennifer are gems deserving your discovery.

All of Antojitos’ cakes are superb, but the organic cocoa cake (made from San Carlos cacao beans), and the lemon cake truly blew me away. The latter may not sound very exciting (I mean seriously, who ever has cited lemon as a favorite cake flavor?), but Yennifer’s lemon cake is a true game-changer.  

Pro-tip: If you fall in love with Yennifer’s cake like I did, ask about setting up a baking lesson! At $30.000 pesos, it’s a bargain.

Read more about the Faces of San Carlos.

Interested in learning Spanish in Colombia? Check out about our classes and packages.