guia_gastronomica_barranquilla_baja

Hoy, además de agradables
restaurantes de comida tradicional
barranquillera y criolla nacional, de
sonrientes vendedores ambulantes
de arroz de lisa o “arroz de payaso”
servido en hoja de bijao, tutifruti de frutas
tropicales picadas, butifarras soledeñas,
matrimonio de bollo y queso, jugo de
caña, guarapo y avena; puestos de
fritos con arepaehuevo, empanadas,
caribañolas rellenas de carne o queso,
buñuelitos de fríjol o maíz, chicharrones
acompañados de yuca cocida
fría, Barranquilla ofrece excelentes
restaurantes con platos de la cocina
tradicional alemana, española, árabe,
italiana, francesa, mejicana, brasileña
y china; cafeterías de comida rápida
adaptada a la sazón barranquillera
como perros calientes aderezados con
ensalada de aguacate, papas fritas
o queso costeño, hamburguesas con
salsas italiana y árabe o suero costeño,
pizzas de ciruela con tocineta o maíz,
burritos y tacos mejicanos sin picante ni
ají. Fast food con recetas locales como
mazorca desgranada acompañada de
los mejores sabores nativos, y patacones
cubiertos de guisos de carne, pollo o
mariscos, con queso o suero atoyabuey.
Pero lo más notable en el momento es
la nueva generación de chefs formados
la mayoría en la ciudad; algunos,
descendientes de inmigrantes, con
valientes propuestas de platos fusión de
ingredientes y recetas barranquilleras
con árabes, norteamericanas, francesas
o españolas, presentadas de forma tan
atractiva que me atrevería a llamar
artística. Estos jóvenes cocineros están
dando origen a una nueva culinaria,
respetuosa de sabores y tradiciones,
con la frescura de su edad y la
“cheverosidad” barranquillera, a veces
con recetas olvidadas, servidas sobre
cucharas de totumo, hojas de bijao o
pétalos de cayena. Restaurantes con
la nostalgia de las casas del Alto Prado
y la modernidad de espíritu de sus
nuevos moradores. Con su cocina de
autor basada en lo criollo, esta nueva
generación mantiene la tradición de
Barranquilla como ciudad pionera,
amante de la modernidad, abierta a
visitantes y nuevas tendencias y a todo
lo bueno que la vida nos pueda brindar.
Barranquilla’s Gastronomic History
Enrique Morales
1.120 years B.C in Malambo, a few kilometers away form Barranquilla, the village people from the region
prepared cazabe, they grilled and cooked yucca, sweet potatoes, fish and mollusk; they smoked,
salted and dried foods with the same recipes of today. In the XVI century, when Spaniards arrived to
what today is Barranquilla, they found canoes filled up with dry shrimp fished in the Ciénaga Grande, a
premonition of a cuisine that would later on develop there with both local ingredients and foreign recipes.
In the mid XIX century, thanks to its condition as a maritime and river port, Barranquilla
became leader of the Caribbean Colombian coast. By receiving European and Asian
immigrants, they welcomed modern age to the country. A unique cuisine was born, resulting
form the fusion of the rich cuisine form Cartagena and that of the European businessmen.
The palenqueras from San Basilio, bought the cuisine form Cartagena and prepared the immigrants recipes
their own way. They sold candies, “alegrias”, cocadas, corn and yucca bollos, fruits and fish. At night, they
would offer egg arepas, empanadas, caribañolas and buñuelos. They perfected the guandú stew and
created other dishes, representative of the people from Barranquilla: the liza rice and the chipi chipi rice.
The first hotels, European owned, gave an international appeal to the city´s cuisine. They offered a
glamorous cuisine, widely admired by illustrious visitors, such as painter and naturalist Frederic E.
Church in 1853. Parallel to this, street vendors enjoyed the local delicacies such as fried fish, fried
arepas, bean buñuelos, stuffed breads, covered and uncovered panderos, coconut casadillas,
butifarras from Soledad, the tamarind jellies from Sabanalarga , fruit conserves, corn, rice or pineapple
chichas and the sweet or strong guarapo; and for the high class ladies, the various colored rosolios.
Also in the mid XIX century, Syrian, Palestine and Lebanese immigrants made a huge contribution: the
“suero salao”, a coastal adaptation of the Arab laban; the “chuzos”, quebabs made with Barranquilla’s
flavor, and the cheese fingers of Levantine origin. But the king of all is the quibbe, which can be found in
any fried food store in the city. A while before the Arabs, important Jew Sephardics came and contributed
the chicken rice (Spanish paella).From Venezuela came the hayacas, inevitable on Christmas time.
The Italians, which where the most numerous European immigrants, made popular by the end
of the XIX century the spaghettis, lasagnas, canelones, raviolis, noodles and short pasta for soups.
Later on, with fast foods, the pizza restaurants spread around. The people from Barranquilla created
the chicken and tomato sauce, which didn’t exist in Italia, and adapted the popular grinded meat
and tomato Bolognese sauce. The Italians processed the first canned meats: Bologna from northern
Italy, the sweet ham, spiced sausage and other delicacies. Seasonings and Italian products
were imported, pasta factories and flourmills factories were setup and restaurants were open.
Chinese cuisine also arrived at the end of the XIX century. The Chinese opened restaurants,
planted produce, and structured poultry farms, brought ginger, Chinese pepper, soy sauce and
the technique of frying with little oil while stirring with vigorous movements. Their fresh vegetables
enriched our cuisine and they provided the vegetables that once had to be brought from the interior
part of the country. The “Chinese rice” is a very common dish on Barranquilla’s cuisine. The “Chop-
Suey” and the “Chow-Mein” are milestones in the restaurant history of the country’s restaurants.
Greek businessmen founded “El Mediterráneo” with its grand terrace where a grape pie or a coffee ice
cream were tasted, and the “Heladería Americana”, home to the frozomalt, which we consider today as of
Barranquilla’s finest. People from Ocaña, Boyaca, Santander, Antioquia and Tolima incorporated their own
ingredients such as red beans, arracacia, peas, beetroot, ocañera onion, cilantro and the potato recipes.
In the 20’s, north American investor Karl C. Parrish built the El Prado neighborhood, and in he
1930´s the hotel with the same name, both which divided the city´s history in two with the cuisine
and the customs of the American way of life. That’s how cakes, pies, whisky, various alcohol
cocktails, sodas, ketchup and canned products were introduced, as well as recipes such as
chicken a la King, stuffed turkey for weddings and new year`s eve, shrimp cocktail, fast foods as
sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs and the buffet style for serving food. In the El Prado Hotel as well
as in country clubs, the restaurant and bar concepts were consolidates as those we know today.
Nowadays, in addition to the traditional restaurants of local and national cuisine, and to smiling
street vendors offering liza rice served on bijao leaves, chopped fruit mix, butifarras from Soledad,
bollo and chesse “matrimonios”, cane juice, guarapo and oatmeal, fried food stands with egg
arepa, empanada, meat or cheese stuffed caribañolas, bean or corn buñuelos, fried pork
accompanied with cold cooked yucca, Barranquilla offers excellent restaurants with international
cuisine such as German, Spanish, Arab, Italian, French, Mexican, Brazilian and Chinese. One can
also find cafeterias and fast food restaurants that offer hot dogs garnished with avocado salad,
French fries or local cheese, hamburgers with Italian, Arab or suero costeño, plum pizzas with
bacon or corn, burritos and Mexican tacos without hot sauce or spice, local recipes such as shelled
corn and fried plantains covered with meat, chicken or seafood, with cheese or atoyabuey suero.
However, what’s currently most notable is the new generation of chefs, mostly all educated in the city;
some immigrant descendants with bold offers for fusion cuisine dishes, and local recipes mixed with Arab,
American, French or Spanish recipes, presented in a unique way that can be referred to as artistic. These
young cooks with their author style cooking are given origin to a new cuisine and keep Barranquilla’s
tradition as pioneer, modern lover, open to visitors, open to new trends and all that good life can give.
Enrique Morales