Cuenca’s Best Restaurants

Oh the meaty glory

Tiesto’s

We went to Tiesto as a celebration of the end of the rotation and a fantastic good-bye to Ecuador. I will tell, if you only could go to one restaurant: THIS ONE IS IT! The MOST amazing meat you have ever had. Ever. Forget your best steak. Forget your best piece of shrimp. RMK found it on a review site, and the stars are off the chart. Hidden behind wood-carved doors on Juan Jaramillo, the wait is 2-3 hours without reservations. The price: expect about $15-50 per person (it really depends on the alcohol, sides, and juice you order). It’s definitely pricier than normal Ecuadorian fare but probably a $150 per person meal in the US.  So worth it.

The most amazing couscous ever.

You can see the chefs cook your perfect beef in a cast iron special pan. The owner and main chef personally greets you, serves you, and invites you for a second visit. He even took a picture of us! He pushed RMK out of the way. BTW, he’s totally intimidating. I almost didn’t want to ask him for a picture.

And then this steaming cast iron pan comes out with 8 bowls of sides. Small potatoes that taste like butter but are the size of dimes. And I have never been a fan of couscous. Recipes always use a lemony/vinegar topping or they over top it with herbs like rosemary and basil with butter. This, however, is the best couscous I HAVE ever had. I ate it like ice cream.

Just delightful and perfect.

And their dessert, chocolate delight. Are you hungry yet? BTW, they gave us a jug of mora, the Ecuadorian blackberry. I gained my 15 lbs right here.

Vino’s

The perfect handmade ravioli

Who knew, South America does pasta and pizza better than the US. Handmade ravioli filled with beef or spinach or feta. A home-made sauce of butter or mushrooms (which I highly recommend). A glass of wine for $1.50. And wood-oven pizza with a crust so crunchy, you will crave it for life. The cheese is freshly made, and the brushetta is perfect in every way.  All for under $10 per person.

Perfect thin crust

We don’t recommend the desserts.  There are so many specialty bakeries and icecream shops around.  Just hit their perfect A plate: the spinach ravioli with a mushroom sauce.  Yum.

We loved their appetizers but their bread with the special dips were amazing.

El Chorro de Giron: How Chowchow Peed in Her Pants

We were hiking up in the clouds at one point. Ghostwriter as my companion.

This Ecuador trip has been riddled with hikes.  This country has preserved a lot of it’s natural beauty, so there is so much to explore.  Chowchow, who is not an avid hiker (nor am I for that matter), but RMK is–you know the type where you have to mail yourself more food on the trail as you stop by a town with a post office and bathe in freezing water found in some lake or natural spring.  Since meeting RMK, let’s just say he’s introduced me to hikes I would have never done by myself or thought of for that matter.  Anyways, Chowchow, said a whopping number of cursewords, almost vomited, passed out, etc. etc. on this hike. At one point she screamed, “I think I peed a little in my pants.”  Hahaha.  Let’s just say there was a lot of exertion to get up much less down.

The Hunchback of el Chorro with her cape! Struggling for our descent.

Chowchow other comments included “Shit, I just put my hand in poop!”  At one point, she put a towel on her back to protect her from the rain, walking in muddy, slippery terrain, falling about like a white-caped Superwoman.  I commented that without the towel, she would have better balance.  She maintained that “this is perfectly reasonable!”

You see that point at the beginning at the 2nd highest fall...far far away, that's where we ended.

Don’t get me wrong, I had to stop several times.  It was one of the hardest hikes I have ever gone on.  Slippery, muddy, rocky, over rivers beds, high elevation, seeing through fog, rain, cold, and steep, steep inclines.  Of course, RMK was fine, but he broke out in a sweat which meant it was super hard for us.  An approx 5 hour hike to get up to the 2nd waterfall, and we got lost several times.  People gave up along the way, but the view, omgosh, the end climax was amazing.  It’s literally hiking in the jungle when you get high enough, weaving through trees and spiked plants and moss-encased rocks.  We almost had to turn around, as we were running out of time, water, food, and we weren’t sure we were going in the right direction.

Our gorgeous end. The falls were amazing and loud. Monumental.

Did I tell you about our guardian angel:  Ghostwriter?  We named the dog this because we thought it was a ghost spirit in the forest.  She came out of nowhere and at the end of the hike, disappeared.  She was a beautiful German Shepard, who watched us the whole way, leading us through the trail, and waiting for us to catch up.  She loved our animal crackers, and she was just the perfect dog.  Friendly, and loyal to us.

San Juan Bosco: My Death Defying Adventure

A family of 3 with little kids crossing. This is how they get to their town.

We went on a mini-trip to the outskirts of the Amazons for a medical 4-day adventure.  At the end, we had a nice 1/2 day where we drove to the middle of nowhere.  We couldn’t find this place again if you ask us; we literally drove on dirt roads edging on the mountains and into the jungle until it suddenly ended.

Us dangling in the air...I wasn't breathing at this point.

Our fellow Ecuador medical students said we were going to take a cable car across a river over the canopies of the jungle.  Yeah, it’s a cable car alright.  A wooden seat hooked to a cable and then hooked to a motor on a motorcycle.  If you know me, I HATE heights.  Hate them.  RMK volunteered us, smiling his ray beams at me, daring me to say no.  I started hyperventilating, my IBS started acting up, and I was lightheaded.  But I got on.

I was gripping with 2 hands. Picture courtesy of Buffy Redsecker.

The seat looked like my dad made it with his leftover wooden fence, and the iron handle bars had oil on them from the cable.  And of course, no seat belt.   From an engineering standpoint, this thing has no safety anything.  I mean we are in the jungle.  RMK swung on the cable and deemed it safe to ride on.  Looking down, there were 2 ways off: the other side and death.  He told me to not freak out on the seat, because I would fall off and die.  Oh really.  Freaking out to initiate shortly.

I am sorry, but I have no pictures of the trip over because I was too scared to turn my camera on.  But the view was tremendous.  Cliffs, mountains, and forest as far as the eyes can see.  A turbulent river of death below of which I did not look down.  And the gorgeous sun just peeking up from among the tree line.

Dr. Rodas and Anita crossing. See the white sandy splotch. That's the hillside town.

Cuenca’s Favorite Meal: Helado

The largest banana split ever

Caramel, Chocolate, Coffee Ice Cream: Triple Threat

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.  If you are ever in Cuenca, you must try Tutti Freddo.  Yes, it looks touristy.  Yes, it’s always packed.  But seriously, after trying several other ice cream places, this place beats everyone over and over.  The best gelato ever in 40 something favors.  Their brownie comes very close to the US kind, and a ginormous cone will set you back a whopping $0.90!  A hugh sundae for three people: $2.10.  And flambe banana and strawberry crepes: $3.00.  Are you jealous yet?  Did I mention freshly made cones with fresh fruit delivered daily.

Helado (ice cream) is on every block, on every corner, and on a billion carts.  We would eat it on a daily basis if I wasn’t hounding RMK to fit in his suit and the idea of armpit fat with my wedding dress didn’t give me palpitations.  I’m vain like that.  Don’t worry, we have it every other day.

Delicious strawberry and banana crepes

The Amore: We're in love.

Pure Gluttony

Welcome to Ecuador

Ready for my adventure

Ok, I just looked through my posts, and I forgot to publish this.  Going back into time here:

A cute monkey that eats bananas from your hand at our hostel in Guayaquil

We have finally arrived to Cuenca, Ecuador after a pitstop at Panama, Quito, and Guayaquil.  We kind of went in a circle after Panama, but they were the cheapest tickets at around $450.  Cuenca is a gorgeous, mountainous city surrounded in green valleys with 4 rivers that divide it.  The streets are almost European-like with the decadent architecture and cobblestone streets.  Everything is cheap here: taxi rides are $1-$3 depending on where you want to go, chocolate, juice, food.  We’ll talk about food in a whole other section.

People are friendly, and RMK, ChowChow, and I roam the streets with our backpacks on our backs and late at night just fine.  Of course, be aware of your surroundings, but I have never been pick-pocketed or had my backpack opened yet.  Even in the most crowded streets.  Which by the way, Cuenca does an amazing job keeping the streets clean.  I don’t know why third world countries alway litter, maybe it’s the lack of trash cans or the idea that it’s acceptable behavior, but they have a clean-up service at all times.

Gorgeous streets of Cuenca

Still, the weather here is a perfect 60-80 degrees, but it rains everyday for about a patch of 1-2 hours.  The most glorious things: fruit is abundant and cheap.  My favorite snack: jugo (juice smoothie) in mora (blackberries).  $0.75 to $1.50.  The cheapest, most delicious smoothie ever with all my meals

Next up: Food!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers to cheap drinks and smoothies!