Ecuador

[bigbear]

I have been dragging my feet about posting about Quito because I left some notes down there and I am waiting for them to catch up with me. They should be here any day now.

reesek..... About the cloud mountain, I think you're referring to babyluck's stay in Mindo at El Monte. I have only been there once, a couple years ago. They had no guests and we got permission from the eco-lodge's owners to go in and picnic at their facilities. Nice people.

Mindo is about 2 1/2 hours NW of Quito. Besides the Mindo River rapids, the other thing that sticks out in my mind is the butterfly farm. They are breeding them and you can go inside netted areas to get up close. I am not crazy about bugs, but this was cool.

Speaking of bugs, take notice of how few bugs you encounter in Quito. Another plus for that city.

If you do go to Mindo, you'll have to pass Mitad del Mundo, the Middle of the World, about 15 km NW of Quito. They have a monument with a museum inside and a bunch of touristy shops. There is a yellow line across the property identifying the equator. Everyone has to have their picture taken stradling the line, with one foot in each hemisphere.

[reesek]

Jeff - thanks for straightening me out...it seems though that i've spoken too soon - we won't be in Quito - we'll be in Guayaquil...any (fresh) words of advice?

many thanks!

[bigbear]

fresco asked me to gather some info for him about Ecuador. He was mainly concerned about the not-to-be-missed places and about the rumored over-charging of foreign tourists.

I inquired about over-charging by hotels and restaurants and received different responses ranging from “Yes, it's true” to “No way, Jefe.” The best reasoning came from an architect friend, Tito (an ex-pro-futbol player and an ex-government-official), “They charge everyone equally..... as much as possible.” Someone suggested that two tiered pricing might be hidden in package-tour pricing. I don't know. As I mentioned before, Ecuadorian visitors to the Galapagos Islands are given a price break over foreign visitors, but this is a governmental thing. At no time did I notice or even suspect the use of different price lists, anywhere. I wish I could be more definitive, fresco.

A few years ago, Quito used to rank number one as the least expensive city in the world as far as cost of living is concerned. I doubt that still holds true today, but it is still close to one of the least expensive. Gasoline is about $2 a gallon. The days of 5 pineapples for a dollar are gone. It's now 2 for a dollar. Labor is still cheap and you can buy 25 roses for $1.00. Ecuador has suffered economic hell for years and there are a lot of "have-nots." You still see beggars on the streets and the private, armed-guard industry still flourishes. As a friend put it, “We now have third-world salaries with first-world prices.”

Old/Colonial Quito has been cleaned up beautifully. We walked in and around La Plaza de la Independencia at night, under the new lighting, watching the horse-drawn carriages and enjoying it all. The Mayor, Paco Moncayo, has been working hard for a few years now on improving Quito's image and has worked wonders as far as I am concerned. The recent hosting of the Miss Universe pageant undoubtedly helped. The city was clean, clean, clean. Others tell me that he has also been trying to improve Quito's utilities. I hope so.

During my 5 weeks in Quito, a lot of my time was sucked up by a “might as well “ project. My wife, ”The Queen,” stumbled upon a great wall-to-wall carpet deal and, after a couple of beers, I decided that before we re-carpet, we “might as well” paint the place. This translated to re-finishing the baseboards, installing some track lighting and prepping and painting the ceilings and walls..... by myself. As my grand-nephew, Juanito, observed, when he walked in after nearly 3 weeks of my labor, “We coulda had this place painted in two days, for about a hundred bucks. ” Juanito is out of the will.

We still managed to go out a few of times and here's what I found.

Rusty Miller, the owner of Hamburguesas de Rusty, treated Bill, a recently retired USN flag-grade officer, and me to a "double with the works" at his hamburger restaurant. He gave us a tour of the whole operation and from what we saw, this California ex-pat is justifiably proud. His wife, Maria del Carmen, explained how they butcher and age the hormone-free beef themselves. They are currently looking to open another location. So, if you're in Quito and looking for a burger-fix, visit Hamburguesas de Rusty (Av. De Los Shyris, a couple blocks north of Naciones Unidas and the Crowne Plaza Hotel). Look for Rusty's logo on the storefront which incorporates his signature handlebar mustache and eyeglasses. Great product. Nice people. And, if you're lucky, Rusty's and Maria's youngest of three daughters, Katty, will be at the register. When the teenager isn't in school, she helps out. She has a wickedly sharp sense of humor. I really like that young lady.

Connie, “The Queen,” and I didn't go to Quito to paint the apartment. There were 2 graduations, a baptism, a couple of birthdays, some tea parties, some lunches, some dinners and a school reunion for Connie. I am not allowed to say how many years it has been. While Connie, Maria del Carmen and Bill's wife, Suzie, went to the reunion, Rusty introduced Bill and me to Cafe Mosaico (Manuel Samaniego near Antepara). This place has the best, not-to-be-missed view. It is perched high above old Quito and if one is seated at a table by the edge, you can see all of Quito. It is owned and run by a couple of New York ex-pats, Alex and Lydia Karras. Lydia made a special point of telling me that Alex is from Manhattan, but she is from The Bronx. We only had beers and hot chocolates because we were already stuffed with Rusty's hamburgers. Call ahead (254-2871) and beg Alex to reserve you a table at the completely open-to-the-air railing's edge in this extremely popular, casual, funky place, for about 6 PM. Don't get there any later. You can cocktail it and watch day turn into night over all of Quito. It is quite a sight.

Rusty Miller and Alex Karras in Cafe Mosaico.

Part of the view from Cafe Mosaico at dusk. That's El Panecillo, with the winged Virgin of Quito monument atop and old Quito below.

For lunch one day, we met Tito and his wife, Alicia, at il Risotto (Av. Eloy Alfaro near Portugal), a power-lunch place and one of the best Italian restaurants in Quito. The hosts and service couldn't have been nicer. We enjoyed ourselves and the food was very good, but the stand out appeared to be their appetizer buffet, the “Gran Buffet Italiano” ($8.00, small plate; $14.00, large plate). The soups and appetizers ranged from $6.00 to $16.00. The entrees (over 50 of them; most about $11.00) started at $9.00 and went to $21.00. All desserts were $4.50. A small bottle (about 12 oz.) of local beer cost $2.00. The bottles of wine are priced at about 3 times local retail ($21.00, Concha y Toro, Casillero del Diablo, Merlot).

Connie's small plate from il Risotto's appetizer buffet.

Alicia's plate from the appetizer buffet.

My carpaccio ($9.00).

Connie's veal alla Bolognese ($12.00).

Tito had the ossobuco special.

Alicia and I each had the special of black ravioli (squid ink?) stuffed with crab and asparagus in a creamy tomato sauce.

El Tambo is a restaurant in a valley outside of Quito in Tumbaco. It is popular, especially on the weekends. They have a large piece of property and, in addition to their inside facilities, they serve food in their backyard under tents and gazebos. I enjoy eating outside. Part of their backyard popularity is attributable to the stuff that they provide for kids, you know... slides... rocking horses... cable rides... playground stuff. The typical food is very good and the experience thoroughly enjoyable. When I want to have an enjoyable afternoon with family and friends, I think of El Tambo. My favorite fare is empanadas de morocho, ceviche de camaron and beer. A large bottle (about 24 oz.) of local beer cost $2.50.

The backdoor of El Tambo.

Part of the backyard.

Empanadas de morocho ($.90 each).

Lomo a caballo ($5.50).

Asado de chancho ($5.00).

Ceviche de camaron ($4.90).

One Sunday night, we drove up to the top of the hill, El Panecillo, high above old Quito, where there is an aluminum monument, representing the winged Virgin of Quito. Afterwards, we drove down to old Quito looking for something to eat. La Cueva del Oso, The Bear Cave, is where I wanted to go, of course, of course. Mea Culpa, also at La Plaza de la Independencia, is a new restaurant that I had heard good things about. Big bucks, though.

We wound up in El Rincon de Cantuna, the restaurant in the Hotel Patio Andaluz. What a delightful, boutique hotel of 30 suites. A beautiful, recent restoration of a really old, colonial building. I can see myself going back there to try their tapas bar, Marques de Jerez. We were so late that we virtually had the place to ourselves. Service was special and, even though we kept them open past midnight, they never tried to rush us. A couple of lovely, young, smiling, English-speaking, indigenous ladies waited on us. The food, IMHO, was unremarkable until dessert. I'd go back for the Leche Frita.

My grand-nephews, Juanito, Pedrito and Pachi (Santiago is too young), kept inviting me to go with them to a gringo hangout, The Turtle's Head (La Nina near Juan Leon Mera) to swill... er... ah... try some of their micro-brews. I think the owner is an ex-pat Scotsman. I didn't make it. Next time.

All the colonial churches of Quito are quite remarkable. If I had to pick one to see, it would be La Compania de Jesus. Entering La Compania will blow your socks off. I didn't know there was that much gold leaf in the world.

El Ejido park is worth a look-see on the weekends. It's chock full of artists and crafts-people selling their wares.

The world's great bull fighters all come to Quito to exhibit their skills during the week preceding December 6th. Quito was founded on that date in 1534 and everyone gets caught up in the celebrating. The only bull fight I have ever attended was at a small ring outside of Quito where the bulls lived through the ordeal. That was fun, especially when the amateur matadors were allowed in the ring.

There are day trips from Quito that might be of interest. This is not a complete list. I'm sure you can Google-up plenty about Ecuador. Mindo was already mentioned in this thread. On Saturdays, the indigenous market in Otavalo is something to see. It's about 2 hours from Quito and starts very early in the morning. The Otavalenos are a proud tribe of shrewd business-people. They are the ones that can be seen worldwide, always in their traditional garb, wheeling and dealing. In the past, we have stopped at Lago San Pablo to eat at the edge of the lake. I think the restaurant/inn/chalets is named Puerto Lago. Food's good. Also near Otavalo, Cotacachi is known for selling everything leather. San Antonio de Ibarra is all about wood carving. Whenever you shop in Ecuador, haggle, haggle, haggle. It's a way of life. I have even been successful at bargaining in a modern department store. Papallacta, about 65 km east of Quito, is where to go for thermal baths.

A visit to one of Quito's supermarkets should be fun for an eGulleteer. I usually go to the MegaMaxi near me. I usually start in the wine/liquor/beer section. Last time, I found Ron Abuelo (about $6.00). Flor de Cana 12 (about $19.95). Cachaca 51 (about $5.50). A bottle of local aguardiente can be had for about $1.00. Stolichnaya (about $7.50). Ron San Miguel 7 ($5.32, Ecuador). Casillero del Diablo Merlot ($7.02). Pilsener Beer ($2.80, 6 pack 12 oz., Ecuador). Then to the in-store bakery for bread and rolls ($2.00 kg). They also sell Entenmann's baked goods. The first time I saw that, it made me do a double-take. Need some local aged cheese ($5.36 kg). Young cheese ($3.98 kg). Diet Coke ($1.10 2 l). Pulpa de Tomate de Arbol (frozen tree-tomato pulp for making 2 l of juice, $1.25). Milk ($.48 1 l). Definitely, Ole Hot 'n Fruity Aji con Maracuya (hot sauce with passion fruit, $.86, 5 oz). Also need some chifles, chicharron, olives, canned tuna bellies, tuna in olive oil, canned sardines, aplanchados, coffee, butter, V-8, humitas, etc. Over to produce. Gotta go get a bag of limon sutil for caipirinhas (look like key limes, $1.00, about 25). Bananas ($.42 kg). Mangos ($1.46 kg). Avocado ($1.39 kg). Uvillas ($1.85 kg). Papaya ($1.16 kg).

In an effort to get themselves out of their economic hell, Ecuador now has a national sales tax (IVA) of 12%. Almost everything is taxed, except certain foodstuffs and medications. So, when you see an IVA charge on the bottom of your restaurant check, it's not a gratuity. If a restaurant adds a service charge to your check, it's usually 10%. I believe they just raised the taxes on booze and cigarettes to fund increases for social security pensioners. Cigarettes used to cost about $10.00 a carton.

Some of my notes are still out there trying to find my snail-mail slot. I hope I got most of it right.

[bigbear]

..... we'll be in Guayaquil...any (fresh) words of advice?

Sorry..... Haven't been to Guayaquil in many years. I have heard that they have made great strides there in improving the quality of life for everyone. I would want to see Malecon 2000, their waterfront revitalization project for pedestrians.

[reesek]

no problem - thanks for taking the time to post back - your pictures are wonderful! i can't wait to see ecuador for myself!

[Schneier]

Just returned from a trip to Quito and the Galapagos. (You can see about 200 of the 1500 wildlife photos I took here.) All meals in the Galapagos we had on our boat, but we had four dinners in Quito.

El Nispero. Equatorian nouvelle cuisine, if you can believe it. We liked the avocado and sea bass ceviche, and the corn souffle in a creamy crab sauce with sherry. The beef medallions in garlic and cilantro butter was very tasty, but the pork medallions in tangerine sauce was better. Several people we talked to considered this to be the best restaurant in Quito. Highly recommended.

Mare Nostrum. Delicious fish and seafood. We ordered the "mariscado" for two. It was a huge dish of seafood cooked in the oven with a light sauce: a lobster, two crabs, two large langostines, shrimp, clams, mussels, squid, octopus. Absolutely delicious. The rest of the menu looked good too. Highly recommended.

La Choza. This is supposed to be the best traditional Equadorian food in Quito, but we were unimpressed. The shrimp ceviche with tomato sauce, onions, and lemon was good. The empinadas were less impressive, and they weren't the plantain, yucca, and corn varieties that were promised. The entrees were overcooked, too salty, and not what was promised on the menu. Not recommended.

Swissotel. Great, and cheap, breakfast buffet. There is an Equadorian dinner buffet on weekends which looked better than our meal at La Choza. We ate at the Japanese restaurant in the basement, which was just okay.

All of these restaurants are cheap by U.S. standards; dinner never cost more than $20 per person. And they're all in "New Town," and probably near your hotel.

Bruce

[raxelita]

Heading to Quito tomorrow for a couple weeks. Would anyone kindly give me recs for great cheap eats in the city, particularly typical ecuadorian food? The Lonely Planet guide seems rather untrustworthy on this q.

[bigbear]

Raxelita..... Great, cheap, typical and you need a name right away?

For lunch, try La Tuca if you find yourself around the northeast corner of Parque La Carolina. It's near the Sheraton Four Points Hotel. It's on Finlandia, just off its southwest corner with Suecia. Suecia is 2 blocks long and runs between Av. De Los Shyris and Av. Rep. Del Salvador.

La Tuca is in a house. There is a sign outside. The nice people serve lunch from noon until 2 PM, if they don't run out of food first. You can sit inside or outside in the yard. IIRC, choice of soup or appetizer, entree of the day, either fruit juice or soda and dessert..... $3.00.

Did you look at all of this thread? See Cafe Mosaico above. Good caipirhinas and a hell of a view. Say "hello" to Alex.

Enjoy your trip.

[raxelita]

Fabulous. Thank you, Bigbear.

I can take suggestions anytime over the next two or so weeks, if anything else comes to mind. I have read the thread, but wanted to get an extra angle on good daily joints and "deals." La Tuca sounds like a perfect example.

I plan to visit Mosaico and Rusty's too. I will certainly pass on a hello.

Thank's much.

Rax

[bigbear]

Maria del Carmen and Rusty Miller invited us to have lunch with them at an Italian restaurant that they have been enjoying. It used to be located in the Mariscal area of Quito and now, it is in the town of Tumbaco. You have to know where it is because it’s not on a main drag. We enjoyed ourselves very much, but I will post about it later. I want to go back for some more dishes. I have to try the calamares, gambas y boquerones fritos con ensalda.

After lunch, Maria del Carmen and Rusty took us to see their latest edition of Hamburguesas de Rusty. It’s located outside of Quito in San Rafael in the fabulous, new San Luis Shopping Mall.

They gave us a full tour, even through the back of the house. Everything was spotlessly clean. The employees are a pleasure… very friendly and polite. Coupled with the great food and fast service, Maria and Rusty have another winner on their hands.

While we were there, we noticed many, framed groups of napkins hanging on the walls. The napkins displayed caricatures of Rusty drawn by customers. It all started with an eight year-old girl. She was sitting at a table doodling on a napkin one day. Rusty liked it and framed it. Now everyone sketches their own version of Rusty and his signature beret, glasses and handlebar mustache.

You have got to see the San Luis Mall if you’re a shopper. It’s quite a place. And while you’re there, get your hamburger fix at Hamburguesas de Rusty. They are open till 10 at night… 11 on Friday and Saturday.

The outside entrance to Hamburguesas de Rusty.

A small piece of the inside of San Luis Mall, decked out for Christmas.

The entrance to Rusty's from inside the mall.

Maria del Carmen and Rusty.

Some of the framed napkins with caricatures of Rusty.

More napkins. The first one ever drawn is bottom center.

Rusty, then and now.

Edited December 16, 2006 by bigbear (log)

[bigbear]

I wanted to go back to Trattoria Al Portico (Orellana 1130 y Eloy Alfaro – Tel: 237-3659) in Tumbaco and try some more dishes before posting about it, but it wasn’t to be. I did enjoy the one time that I was there. It was raining that day, so I put off taking outside photos. They have a large, covered, dining area in the back yard, that mostly has no walls. What walls there are, are unique. They are made out of stacked, split logs. That’s where we ate during the rain. I tend to rely on just a couple of dishes to help me form an early opinion of restaurants. For Italian restaurants, I rely heavily on fried calamari. Al Portico’s calamaretti fritti was very good. I also had their fresh cannelloni stuffed with ham, mushrooms and mozzarella and served with a bechamel/tomato sauce… very good also. Their house wines were from Tarapaca. All the prices were reasonable. The service was friendly and attentive. I’ll go back.

Owner, Siro, Maria del Carmen and Rusty.

Inside Al Portico.

Inside Al Portico.

Siro's bar and a couple patrons.

Another Italian restaurant, Luki (Av. Republica del Salvador y Portugal) in Quito, didn’t float my boat. The service seemed to be too busy with paperwork or something to tend to us. Twice, I ordered a bottle of wine from their wine list. Twice they brought out something other than what I ordered. The wines were also overpriced. Although the pasta dishes were good, I won’t go back. Oh yeah… the fried calamari tasted salty to me.

Fourteen of us decided to get a beefsteak fix on a Sunday afternoon. After asking around, we made reservations at Los Troncos (Av. de los Shyris 1280 y Portugal – Tel: 243-7377) in Quito. It is a steakhouse in the Argentinean tradition… all kinds of meats… grilled over coals. I was hoping that someone would order the parrillada at about $15, but nobody did. It comes with everything… beef, pork, chicken… to kidney and blood sausage. Most of us opted for the “Bife de Chorizo Los Troncos”, a 1¼ pound boneless beefsteak… top loin, I think. They were $13.90 with a side of potatoes. Access to the good looking salad bar was $3.80. The delicious desserts were $3 to $4. The bottles of Trapiche wine were priced at about 2½ times retail. The glasses of Sambuca Romana were $4.10 each.

Being a large party, they seated us in our own room. The rolls and breadsticks were plentiful and good. We were served complimentary empanadas… very good. The aji (hot sauce) was excellent, as was the chimichurri. The steaks are cooked to ¼ (rare), ½ (medium), ¾ (medium well) or full (order the chicken). I ordered mine at ½ and it was done perfectly. We are not talking about “Peter Luger” grades of beef here. It was a little tough, but tasty. I enjoyed it. I think they also serve imported (Argentina?) meats, but at dearer prices. One camarero, Juan, took care of our service. He was friendly and anticipated our needs. I heard no complaints about anything. I’ll go back.

[bigbear]

As Easter nears, I crave Fanesca. Served during the week before Easter, it is definitely my favorite of all the Ecuadorian soups and quite possibly my favorite of all soups, period. I had to dig out my wife's recipe to make a shopping list. While I had the recipe out, I added it to RecipeGullet.

Click here to have a look.

[rmillman]

We are going to Quito before a galapagos trip.

Anyone have any update on food in Quito?

Thank you