This is my first international post of 2014 and it's coming to you from Ecuador! I spent a quick 24 hours in the old port city of Guayaquil before I boarded my boat to the Galapagos Islands. I was staying at the Hilton in town and while the hotel itself is very nice, it's not located in the most convenient of locations - there is really nothing nearby and if you even try to ask about walking somewhere, they all look at you like you are crazy. So you have to take cabs everywhere. Since breakfast wasn't included in our early morning check-in, Allison and I decided to be adventurous and have breakfast outside of the hotel. Apparently there is only one local option nearby which is El Cafe de Tere. I was game to try whatever, so we piled into a cab which took us literally 5 blocks away to this super cute, giant outdoor cafe. Now, mind you it was 11AM on a Friday morning and it was completely packed with people - we were surprised at how many people were leisurely eating breakfast at a restaurant during a work day, but I guess this is South America.
Since this isn't a real tourist based city, not that many people speak English and I have a very very rudimentary knowledge of Spanish - so ordering posed to somewhat of a challenge. There was lots of pointing and Spanglish going on. Usually I am a pretty adventurous eater, but I had just come off a red-eye and gotten no sleep, so I was just really hungry and sadly ordered a ham and cheese omelet ($3.07) and a side of empandas ($1.60). Allison got an omelet too and we also split fried plantains. And yes, those are the correct prices in USD. Apparently what I should have gotten if I wanted to eat like a local was the bolon de verde, which is a ball of mashed and fried plantain mixed with cheese and/or pork, or the tigrillo con chicharron, which is plantain puree with cheese and/or pork. I totally regret not getting something more local/authentic because I can always get a ham and cheese omelet anywhere but not sure how many places in the world would have these giant balls of plantains. Oh well. The omelet itself was totally fine albeit a bit on the thin and dry side. It's not like an omelet in the American sense where it's enormous and stuffed to the gills with ingredients, it was literally some ham and cheese in a thin layer of egg. The empanadas were nice and gooey with cheese - I was a huge fan of it. The fried plantains were also delicious (although we most definitely had our fill of plantains after this trip) but what made it even more delicious was this amazing and spicy orange sauce that they served with it. It was tangy, oniony and spicy as heck.
Overall, the place was really cute, authentic, and full of locals - which is always a great sign. While I wouldn't say the food is mind-blowing, it does seem to be where the locals eat and given the crowds, very popular with them. Total bill with a papaya juice: $6.93
Photo Credit: Tripadivsor
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