Friday, July 9, 2010

La Vitrola




In the months preceding our recent trip to Cartagena, Colombia, I prepared the way I usually do for vacations. I obsessively researched the dining scene to insure that we ate at all the "right" spots while on vacation. Now, I planned this vacation without really knowing a thing about Cartagena. Airfare was cheap and an old friend (Margaret who joined us on the trip) had mentioned it as being on her list of travel destinations. And it seeme exotic. Added to the mix was the fact that a favorite book of mine "Love in the Time of Cholera" takes place in Cartagena (and the movie was filmed there) and I was sold.

But after the tickets were purchased, my preliminary research told me that Colombia is not known for its food. In fact, I read that the food was bland and unsophisticated, even plain old bad. Oh, the horror! The whole trip was planned around L's 40th birthday and I had somehow picked a place with lousy food! However, on further research, I learned that Cartagena is considered Colombia's restaurant capital. Whew! Huge sigh of relief.

In all my research, one name kept coming up as *the* restaurant in Cartagena: La Vitrola. I couldn't read enough good things about it. According to reports, it was as legendary as it was hard to get in. I booked a reservation a month in advance, without difficulty. And then I waited impatiently for our dinner.

There were 4 of us for dinner that night. We arrived and were ushered in the somewhat secret door by the security/doorman who stands vigil at the door. He won't allow anyone in who doesn't have a reservation. We then mosied over to the bar for a pre-dinner cocktail and to catch a bit of the cuban band. The mojitos were awesome. The band was terrific.

The restaurant itself was charming. Set inside a 400 year old former monastery; it has real South American charm. This definitely was not an Atlanta restaurant. It was cavernous, yet intimate. There was something very 19th century about the restaurant, but the mojitos were definitely 21st century.

After cocktails, we sat in the dining room for dinner. Even though it was a Wednesday night, the restaurant was full. The food was cuban-inspired and everything was fabulous. I ordered the ropa vieja (which Margaret later told me translates to "dirty clothes" or "dirty laundry" or something.) It was delicious; a sort of spicy pulled beef with rice and peppers. The appetizers, mini empandas, were also great. Margaret, L, and Tom (a friend living in Colombia who joined us) all ordered pasta dishes and all raved about them. Dessert was awesome, too. ANd the mojitos flowed through out the night, while the cuban music pulsed.

We ate in many excellent restaurants while in Cartagena, but La Vitrola surpassed them all; in both food and atmosphere. I hope some day I get to return to this beautiful restaurant, but until then, I have the cherished memory of this fantastical night.